t's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a Hybrid certificate! Hybrid notarial certificates are certificates that combine both an Acknowledgement and a Jurat. Most all of the 50 states authorize their notaries to complete those two acts separately. Not all allow those two acts to be combined. We have only started seeing these types of certificates in the past 4-5 years. Before that, they just didn't exist. I don't know who's bright idea it was to combine them, but it took off like wild fire and has left the notary in a tight spot. The notary squeeze comes because most of our notary regulations do not specifically address the Hybrid certificate. So how do we know if we are authorized to complete this type of certificate? Some would say that if it's not addressed in our handbooks then it's fair game. I say, that our handbooks are not designed to list EVERYTHING that we can't or should not be doing. If it did, our handbooks/manuals would be the size of the IRS tax code. And really, that is not reasonable as we as humans can come up with some pretty off the wall stuff. But that's just my opinion. I am based in Arizona and have been faced with this dilemma myself. Can I use this hybrid certificate or not? Ultimately I went directly to the supervisor of our Notary Division at the Secretary of State and posed the question. After a few days, some research and round table discussions internally at the SOS, here's the answer I got; "...statute that a "Notary must include 'A' Notarial Certificate". This would indicate that all notarizations must contain ONE of three allowable notarial certificates. Therefore, combining certificates in Arizona is not an option, additionally the Notary is to have one journal entry for each notarization. Therefore the journal entry cannot indicate both an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT and JURAT." (10/13/2021) This subject comes up time and time again. And sometimes going to the horses mouth (SOS) can yield different answers at different times depending on whom you are speaking to. That's why I chose to go the department supervisor and requested the answer in an email so that I could share it with all of you. The fact that our own state and federal websites that have downloadable forms for various state specific documents that may include a Hybrid certificate in the preprinted notarial certificate is always an arguing point with your signers. It is not easy to explain why it's not state compliant and yet the form came from our own government agency. We assume that they should know notary regulations. But honestly, none of them have a clue. And most attorneys are not schooled in notarial law either. So, you see how well versed we need to be in our own regulations?!

THE RIGHT PRINTER FOR ME What is the best printer for me? Spoiler alert, the answer is: you have to figure it out for yourself. Don’t listen to Facebook or YouTube without doing your own research (or at least reading this article). Find the printer that is available and you can afford. There are dozens of combinations of factors to consider. Inkjet or laser? B/W or color? Print only or Multi-Function? Notaries need laser printers. In this article, we will discuss how laser printers work to understand the printer parts and compare different features. HOW INK JET PRINTERS WORK Ink jet printers squirt droplets of liquid ink onto the paper and laser printers use powder toner and heat to melt the image into the paper. While ink jet printers may cost less than laser printers initially, ink is more expensive than toner per page and inkjet printers take longer to print. In general, you can print hundreds of pages per inkjet cartridge but thousands of pages per toner cartridge. The ink can smudge or run if the paper gets wet. Many title and loan companies will not accept pages printed with inkjet printers. Laser printers and toner cartridges can be more expensive, however they last a lot longer. HOW LASER PRINTERS WORK Laser printers use 3 main parts that will need replacing: toner cartridge, transfer roller ( imager), and fuser. The printer uses light (laser) to create an electrostatic image on the transfer roller (imager). Toner is pulled to this image on the transfer roller and transferred to the paper as it passes against the roller. The paper is then pushed under presser between the fuser rollers and the heat melts the toner into the paper. A video illustrating the process can be found at: https://youtu.be/EwvmNv1leUo. In most HP printers, the transfer roller is built into the toner cartridge: https://youtu.be/WB0HnXcW8qQ. WHEN WILL I NEED TO REPLACE THESE PARTS Toner will be the first item to replace. Manufacturers state approximately how many pages you can print per cartridge, usually 8,000-12,000. Most state at 5% coverage, this means 5% of a letter size page is covered in toner. Real estate documents and legal size pages use more toner. You should expect to get about 50-75% of the stated number of pages per cartridge. There are 3 types of toner cartridges available. Manufacturer (OEM) cartridges are made by the printer manufacturer and filled with their specific blend of toner. Compatible cartridges are made by separate companies and filled with toner that is close to but not quite same as the OEM. Think of name brand vs. generic prescription drugs. Remanufactured cartridges are used (usually OEM) cartridges that are cleaned and filled with compatible toner. The transfer roller (imager) will wear down and start to develop streaks and spots. This is when you need to replace it. A transfer roller will usually last as long as 3-4 toner cartridges. Since HP builds the transfer roller into the toner cartridge it is automatically replaced when you insert a new toner cartridge. Fuser units eventually need to be replaced after frequent use. Most laser printers will inform you when the fuser unit needs to replaced. An easy way to identify when a fuser unit needs to be replaced is when there is smudging or smearing on your printout. Smudging and smearing occurs because the fuser will not heat the toner particles enough to fully melt them onto the page. HOW DO FEATURES AFFECT THE PRINTER Laser printers are monochrome (B/W) or color. Monochrome printers are generally less expensive, have larger toner cartridges, and print faster. Color printers use four different colors and generally take longer to print because the page has to cross over these 4 colors and the printer has to process each color. Color printers often need more time to cool down after a large number of pages have been printed. Some color printers may not print is one toner is empty. Laser printers are simplex (single sided) or duplex (2 sided). A duplex printer has an extra part, the duplexer, that turns the page over and runs it over the transfer roller(s) a second time before sending through the fuser. This feature is not needed for printing loan signing documents. It may slow down the print speed and is an extra part that may break. Printers can be print only or multi-function printers (MFP or all-in-one). Multi-function printers may include the ability to scan, copy, and fax. They usually print slower than ‘print only’ printers and these added abilities may not match stand alone machines. For example, a stand alone scanner may have more features, scan faster and have a better resolution. Generally quality is dictated by price and the more features means there are more parts that can break. WHAT BRAND IS BEST This is the question you will have to figure out for yourself and your budget. Xerox invented the laser printer and holds market share in business printers and MFPs, thus the term “Xerox” a page means make a copy. Xerox focuses on business printers and copiers. They use a special formula of toner and drum, which can be difficult for other manufacturers to make. Because Xerox usually leases and services their machines, they can be hard to buy. They are directly available for sale through Xerox or an approved third party dealer. Xerox dealers are available in most metropolitan areas. Used machines are available on Craigslist, OfferUp, and eBay. If you lease a machine, you usually will receive an allotment of pages and toner for free, then be charged beyond that. The good news, maintenance and repair is usually included. Brother focuses on retail printers for individuals and small/home offices. They are available in office supply stores and online. For this reason, they are widely recommended by notaries. Most Brother printers have the ability to use compatible or remanufactured toner, however this varies by model and Brother highly discourages it. Some people report issues with printing from Apple computers and Adobe Acrobat. HP makes almost half of the printer models available today They focus on home, small business, and large corporation printer needs. HP is known for its quality business enterprise printers and availability of its retail printers. Many of the retail printers are MFPs. Enterprise printers are made to handle hundreds of thousands of prints per month and millions of prints over the life of the printer. HP brand toners can be expensive because the transfer roller is part of the toner cartridge but you will never have the expense of replacing the separate transfer roller. Most HP toner cartridges have a memory chip on them knows how much toner is left and approximately how many more prints you have. Many new retail models have software which requires an original HP manufactured (OEM) toner be used, while some models give you a warning if you insert a HP compatible cartridge. Most enterprise printers do not have this software and compatible or remanufactured cartridges can be used. HP printers can be found new in office supply stores, Walmart, Target, and online. Used and refurbished (defective parts replaced) enterprise printers can be found on Craigslist, OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, and eBay. These printers can last a lifetime and are usually leased or traded in by large corporations and small businesses. Many websites claim the per print cost is very close between Brother and HP. HP toners might be more expensive but HP does not require a separate transfer roller to be purchased. If you buy compatible or remanufactured toner cartridges, the price would drop dramatically in HP’s favor. When you buy a brand-new printer, the toner cartridge will physically be full size, however it will only be filled with about 50% of a regular toner cartridge. There are other brands like Canon and Dell but not enough notary feedback to include. WHAT MODELS ARE RECOMMENDED Because they are not sold in stores, Xerox is not a popular choice for notaries. They are quality machines and a great option. Check with your local Xerox dealer for a recommendation. Notaries recommend the Brother HL-L6200DWT printer because it has two large trays at the bottom. This printer prints up to 48 letter size pages per minute. Brother has it listed for $319, however as of 9/19/21 it is out of stock and has been for most of 2020-2021. It will cost $600-900 depending on where you can find it. D means it has a duplexer, which is not needed. W means you can print directly from a wireless device like a smartphone or table with going through your network. T means it comes with an extra tray, which is technically the 3rd tray. If you open the front cover, you will see a multipurpose tray which holds 50 sheets of paper. If you can only find the DW, you can use the multipurpose tray for either letter or legal and still have a dual tray printer. A great alternative is the HL-L5200D or DW or DWT. It only prints 42 pages per minute but is essentially the same printer as the L6200. The 5000 and 5100 are less expensive models. People report having difficulty printing with them, but they may be worth a try, especially if you have free return. HP fans recommend the enterprise printer models P4014, P4015, and M600 series for the office. The P4014 and P4015 were made in the early-mid 2000s while the M600 was made 2008-2012. HP also has the letter system. D means duplexer, N means network, T means extra tray. As the printer comes; flip down the front door for tray 1 and tray 2 is the main tray. If you add an extra tray, it would be tray 3, 4, or 5. You can add extra memory to these printers for about $15 to help handle really large files. Originally these were thousands of dollars but you can find them online or locally for $150-300 and they can last a lifetime or at least a notary career. You can find an extra online for $50-100. Because of the popularity of these machines, replacement parts are easily found online and there is probably a repair place close to you.

Attorney State vs the Notary Signing Agent (Here’s my disclaimer: I am not an Attorney, and this is not to be construed as legal advice.) The second biggest career question…. Can I be successful as a Notary Signing Agent in an Attorney Closing State like Georgia? People who are interested in becoming a Notary Public and a Notary Signing Agent that also live in an Attorney Closing State often wonder if it’s worth the time, money, and effort if all the real estate closings are (by law) done only by Attorney’s. First let’s define what an Attorney closing state is. In some states, preparing real estate documents is considered the ‘Practice of Law’ that only an Attorney can do. While many states (not all) require the documents to be prepared by an Attorney, there are only a handful that specify that the closing/signing of the documents also be conducted by an attorney. Often, when the documents are required to be prepared by the attorney, the documents are then submitted to the Title/Escrow company to complete the process. In a few states, an Attorney must be present or involved in the signing process. Those states are; Connecticut Delaware Georgia Massachusetts New York South Carolina South Dakota Vermont The key words in the paragraph above are “present or involved”. This language appears in the RE laws for the state of Georgia (for this example). While they will often encourage the signers to come into the office to sign their documents, they can be “involved” at a remote location via phone. This is enough to satisfy the requirements in the law. I am located in Arizona and often find myself placing an Attorney on speaker on my phone while conducting a closing on a property that is in an Attorney State. This is pretty common for those of us not in an attorney state. My notary colleagues in Georgia, New York and South Carolina are very successful NSAs in those states conducting their business in the exact same way. They take documents to the signer’s location, place the attorney on speaker phone and complete the signing in exactly the same manner that I would except they are actually located in that attorney state. So how do they make their business successful with these restrictions? Many have told me that their business looks something like this 40% of their total business from Signing Services Of that, approximately 25% is for properties located within their state boundaries. And yes, they have an Attorney on the phone during the signing. And 5% is for properties outside of their state. The remaining 60% of their total business is represented as 45% directly from those very same attorney law firms. Yes, and yes ! They market themselves directly to Real Estate Attorneys. And that leaves 15% of their total revenue coming from General Notary work. I hope that this has helped answer the question if you have ever wondered if you can do this type of work in your state. I always recommend you network with another notary in your state (maybe not directly in your immediate area) for pointers to get you started and techniques that they have used to go after and get that direct business.

My recommended 8 steps to become a Loan Signing Agent Read Bill Soroka’s book, Sign & Thrive, to see if this is for you. This is a quick read and packed with information. This book will show you, step-by-step, how to start a mobile notary and loan signing business from scratch. I find this a valuable resource for many people; Those considering becoming a loan signing agent, current signing agents looking to take their business to the next level or any professionals looking to promote their brand. Become a Notary Public in your state and sign up with the National Notary Association (NNA) to purchase your supplies. Each state has different requirements, laws and procedures. The NNA has all of the information you will need. They sell high quality must-have supplies like ink stamps and embossers with competitive pricing. My current kit includes the NNA Commission ink stamps #4913 & #4912 and their hand-held commission seal embosser #05300. Learn and understand your state specific notary laws and requirements. Some states have solid notary public training available, however many do not. I found the NNA Notary Essentials online training to be quite valuable. Another great resource is mentoring through Laura Biewer at atyourservicemobilenotary.com Promote your brand and perform notarizations. Tell EVERYONE you know that you are a notary public! Share it to your facebook profile (not in a spammy MLM way). Tell your friends, co-workers, classmates, family members, everyone! Network with local professionals, join your neighborhood facebook group pages to participate in the discussions. Do not spam the group with your services, but engage in discussions and connect with people in the group. you are not promoting a MLM, but a real service people will need eventually. Must have FREE resources include; Facebook business page Google business page - This provides the majority of my General Notary Work (GNW) Yelp business page Select a loan signing agent training program, complete the training and obtain certification. I personally recommend Notary2Pro and Sign & Thrive (in that order). The training and mentoring are outstanding. There are other popular training programs available (LSS - Loan Signing System, etc. Do your due diligence and select a program which you really relate with. Obtain your NNA signing agent certification and background check. Obtain your annual Signing Agent Certification and background check report from the NNA here. It is nationally recognized and required by many signing services. To prepare for this certification, download the Code of Conduct PDF from the Signing Professionals Workgroup (SPW) here. This will be an open book exam. Hustle. Connect. Give. Work hard, promote yourself, network with like minded professionals and GIVE. Share your knowledge and help others who reach out to you. Givers do gain! Continue your education. Never stop learning. Continue learning. Learning more about the loan signing business, networking, personal development, professional development, business acumen, etc. This process never ends! signingagent loansigning LSA loansigning

Knowing whether you need a witness on a document has more than one aspect to it and that fact has a lot of Notaries a bit confused. Let's break it down for you here. 1 - You may need a document witness or two (witness to a signature) on a document in a loan signing package. Often on conveyance documents (Quit Claim Deeds, Warranty Deeds, etc.) and on Security instruments (Deed of Trust, Mortgage, etc.) you will see witness signature lines. Those documents are created by the lender and if the lender is based in a state that requires witnesses, this document will likely come pre-formatted with the witness lines, regardless of where the property is located. So just having those witness signature lines on your document doesn't necessarily mean they will be used at your signing. So you are tasked with finding out or deciding whether you are using those witness lines or not. A quick call to your hiring party can answer the question, but as you become more experienced you can use some critical thinking skills to determine the answer. The first thing you should set out to discover is where the property is located and is it in a 'Witness State'. Currently there are five (5) states that require a witness on a Deed. They are; Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Regardless of what state you are commissioned in, you will need witness(es) if you are assigned to assist in a closing for a property in one of those states. The second discovery - Can you, as the Notary on that document, also be one of the witnesses? That question can only be answered by your Secretary of State or other governing agency...not the title company. If you can't find the answer in your State Notary Manual, then you will have to make a call. The following list is current as of the writing of this article, but always double check your state regulations. Connecticut; Deeds require two (2) witnesses and if you are a Notary in that state you may also be one (1) of the witnesses. Florida; Deeds require two (2) witnesses and if you are a Notary in that state you may also be one (1) of the witnesses. Georgia; Deeds require one (1) witness and if you are a Notary in that state the Notary can't be the witness. Louisiana; Deeds require two (2) witnesses and if you are a Notary in that state the Notary can't be the witness. South Carolina; Deeds require two (2) witnesses and if you are a Notary in that state you may also be one (1) of the witnesses. If you are signing on a property located in a witness state but YOU are NOT in a witness state, you should follow the regulations for your state to know if you can also be the witness; Arizona; Notary cannot be the witness when notarizing a document for property in a witness state. California; Notary cannot be the witness when notarizing a document for property in a witness state. Oregon; Does not have a law that addresses whether or not a Notary can act as the witness and the Notary on a single document. Washington; Notary cannot be the witness when notarizing a document for property in a witness state. Kansas; Notary cannot be the witness when notarizing a document for property in a witness state. Maine; Notary cannot be the witness when notarizing a document for property in a witness state. This is not a complete list so you will need to check to see if your state regulations address this. The NNA suggests that it is "generally better to say no" because it can create a possible conflict. 2 - The next confusing element comes when we look at a document known as a Power of Attorney (POA). This is not a document where you are deciding whether or not you need the witness lines. This usually falls in the category of General Notary Work (GNW) and is never at the discretion of the Notary. If there are witness lines on the document then there needs to be witness(es) present to witness the signing. Witnesses to these documents should never be the Notary. They are private individuals, over the age of 18-yrs and not a party to the document. Close relatives might be prohibited as well. 3 - And yet there is another process that involves the word "witnessing" and that is a notarial act called, Signature Witnessing. Witnessing a signature is a different act from an Acknowledgement or a Jurat and not every state has this act available to their Notaries. There are thirteen (13) states that have Signature Witnessing as a notarial act. Georgia, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas and Pennsylvania are among those. Signature witnessing is used when it is required to prove that a document was signed on a particular day. An acknowledgement does not require that the document be signed in your presence in most states. A Jurat establishes that the document was signed in your presence but is also a sworn oath. So Signature Witnessing is a different act with different requirements. California, Arizona, Florida, Texas are just a few of the stated that are not authorized to perform Signature Witnessing. How do you know if the certificate is Signature Witnessing? It will say 'Signed (or attested) before me' and will not require an Oath. 4 - Then there is a Subscribing Witness. Sometimes called ' Proof of Execution by Subscribing Witness'. This is a person who watches the signing of a document and then takes it to a Notary and acknowledges the principal did in fact sign it. Not many states allow this and can you imagine what opportunities for illegal activity would exist. Pretty much leaving the door wide open for fraud. 5 - And the last one (that I can think of) is the Credible Witness. This is not a signature or a notarial act. This is actually a human ID that is used to identify the signer when they do not possess valid government ID. It has been strongly recommended that a Credible Witness Affidavit be completed and retained by the Notary.

For Notary Signing Agents just getting started or even those in the business for a while, we have come to know and love our Rescission Calendars. These are important because they tell us when our Signer's last day to cancel is. We use it every time we go to a signing to check the dates, or enter the correct dates on the Signers' Notice of Right to Cancel form. We have printed copies that we carry with us. We have it on our smart phones. And we check it every time we print a new package that requires a NRTC to be in the package. But, are we too attached to it? We should be educated enough to figure out the correct date for the last day to cancel a transaction on our own without referring to a Rescission Calendar. Why? Because those pre-printed rescission calendars COULD potentially be wrong. And, in 2021 the NNA Rescission calendar was wrong TWICE. The first time was when the US Congress arbitrarily threw in a new holiday...Juneteenth, two days before it was to be observed. That left everyone scrambling. The second time was for the Fourth of July Holiday. There are eleven Federally recognized Holidays; New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. When a Holiday falls on a Saturday, it is observed on the Friday before. When it falls on a Sunday, it is observed the following Monday. We, in the industry call these "PUSH" Holidays because they are pushed forward or back by one day. The NNA Calendar for 2021 incorrectly listed the rescission date for Thursday 07/01/2021 as 07/05/2021 when it should have actually been 07/06 (because 7/5 was a PUSH Holiday). And for Friday 07/02, it was listed as 07/06 and should have been 07/07 (because 07/05 was a PUSH Holiday). And for Saturday 07/03 it was listed as 07/07 when it should have been for midnight on 07/08. The regulations state that certain loans must give the borrower a (3) three day right to cancel. Nothing in the regulations state that they can't have a day or two longer. It just can't be less than three days. So when we are figuring out the last day to cancel for ourselves (not relying on the rescission calendar), we are counting (3) three days from the date of the signing BUT you skip Sundays, Holidays, and skip PUSH Holidays. So all you really need to know is what the Federal Holidays are and what day they fall on.

HECM (pronounced "heck-um") is an acronym for Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. It is more commonly known as a Reverse Mortgage. A Reverse Mortgage is simply the opposite of a Forward (regular) Mortgage. Where the forward mortgage loan balance reduces as the years go by (by making monthly payments), a Reverse mortgage balance grows larger because you are not required to make any payments at all. So why would anyone want a Reverse Mortgage? Most of those reasons are financial in nature and the pendulum swings from the very poor to the very rich. A Reverse Mortgage allows the homeowner to access the equity in their home and pay off any current mortgage. And they are not required to pay anything back. No monthly payments....ever. Standard HECM loans can go up to $726,000.00 and the Jumbo products go up to $4 million. Let’s look at a couple of reasons to get a Reverse Mortgage; Seniors living on a fixed income, often just their Social Security would benefit from never having to make another mortgage payment, and having access to more cash can supplement their retirement. The opposite of that is the very well-to-do homeowner who wants to access the equity in their home as a means of liquidity. Maybe for investments or just to free up some tax-free cash. At the same time, it pays off their current mortgage (if any) and they never have to make another mortgage payment. Reverse Mortgages are available to anyone who is 62 or older. It must be a primary residence and there must be some equity in the home. So, if they currently have a mortgage, the equity is the difference between the value of the home and the amount of the current mortgage. Most HECM products require roughly 50% equity to qualify. You can also purchase a home using a Reverse Mortgage as well as refinance a current Reverse mortgage to capture any additional equity growth if the housing market has gone up. Not only will the homeowner never have to make another mortgage payment, but they may also have cash coming to them as a result of the Reverse Mortgage. They will have a few options on how to receive that money. The most popular is in regular monthly payments or they can open a Line of Credit that they can draw from. That Line of Credit will have a growth rate that far exceeds traditional Savings accounts. The other great thing is that most HECMs are backed by FHA/HUD. That means IF the lender does not do their job, is late on making payments to the homeowner, or becomes insolvent, then FHA/HUD will step in and administrate the remainder of the loan for the homeowner. These types of loans are also NON-RECOURSE Loans. That means that the homeowner or their Heirs will never owe more on the loan than the house is worth. Knowing that the loan balance increases over time, if the homeowner wants to sell the home or the family needs to decide what to do with it after they pass away, it is only a matter of what the market will bear. If the family can sell for $310,000 but the loan has increased to $340,000.00, the family will NOT owe the $30,000 difference. Likewise, if the loan balance is $310,000 and they sell for $340,000 then the Heirs keep the profit. Maybe this has helped you know a little more about that weird mortgage called a HECM. If you are interested as a Notary on learning more about Reverse Mortgages please consider becoming a member of our site to review our training videos and train LIVE with us once a month specifically on Reverse Mortgages. Article by Beth Hathoot for Notary Stars 05/27/2021

If you have never purchased or refinanced a home you may not have a full picture of how the loan process develops and what happens when. This is a great article written by Ms. Carol Ray, owner of Notary2Pro. Carol was an escrow officer for many years before creating one of the best-known and recognized training programs in the county for Notary Signing Agents. In this article, you will have an overview of the progression of the loan from application to close. And you should get a good sense of how important your role is in this process. Notary2Pro Articles 0 Comment(s)

Corrections are going to be much more a part of your Notary Loan Signing Agent career than your encounters with requests for backdating. Therefore, we want to clarify the difference between a correction and backdating to help enlighten the Notary community. First and foremost, if you miss guiding a signer to sign in the correct spot or date a document (even if notarized) and you must obtain the signature or date at a later time- as long as the document was present and reviewed you are fine to have the signer sign and/or date for the date the document was between you both for the date that it originally appeared. The same thing applies if you have miss-dated a notarial certificate, forgot to stamp a document, or misspelled a name and you are asked to correct it. You may apply your corrections if allowed or requested. Corrections can only be applied to documents that existed between the notary and signers. Now if you have a completely new document requesting a date in the past or future you absolutely may only date that document for the date your notarial certificate for the date the signer appears before you. Otherwise, that is backdating or postdating and just should not and can't be done. It is unethical and can cost you your Notary commission. Notaries will face requests for backdating and postdating documents throughout their term. It is not an uncommon request. Remember: the people or companies that ask you to do this are in some sort of need and although you may not be able to help them you should always decline them with care and concern. Never make people feel poorly about their request; however, you may educate them on your State laws (which is dangerous in all States). There are no circumstances that a notary should ever backdate or postdate any document. If a document is already dated for a signer, however, the notary in most cases can still notarize the document by entering the date the signer appeared before them on their notarial certificate as long as the date for the signer matches or is a previous date. For instance, in Arizona, documents may be signed on the date they are issued or any date thereafter as long as the notary enters the date in their notarial certificate for the date the signer signed in front of them. Notaries may not notarize documents that have future dates printed for the signers. REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE: We recently received a call on the notary line here at NotaryStars.com where one of our members did in-fact make a mistake on a Deed of Trust. She was more than willing to help fix it but something wasn't quite right. When she received a copy of the document for correction she realized that the Deed had actually changed. The vesting and signature line of the Deed of Trust had changed from John J. Star to John Joe Star. She also recognized that the document's bar code had been altered. It was twice the size of the bar code on the original documents. This was a tricky case and our greatest minds came together to help the notary make the decision not to correct the new version of the document. We advised the notary obtaining the missing signature and date would be okay; however, if she executed the Notarial Certificate for a new document that would be backdating. We further advised her to let the Title Agency and Signing Agency she would only be able to apply corrections to the original Deed of Trust that appeared between her and the signers. That could have either been a fresh copy of the original copy as long as it was identical. (REPRINT IS YOUR BEST OPTION IF YOU HAVEN'T DELETED THE DOCUMENTS YET). This was a bit stressful for the notary but we helped her compose her email to the Title Agency and Signing Company explaining politely her position and they digressed.

It is important for new Notaries to understand the difference between Listing Sites, Signing Platforms, Signing Agencies, and Title Agencies in order to manage their business leads. Below we've broken out the differences and listed some examples (or where to find more information about each). Listing Sites- Listing sites include sites like NotaryStars.com (which also offers training) but also include sites like 123Notary.com, NotaryRotary.com, Google My Business, Yelp, and even NotaryQuest.com. These sites generally charge a fee for listing in their directory and offer you the ability for their external clients to search you and hire you directly. The sites themselves will not send you direct business but the customers who use these sites will reach out to you directly. It is your responsibility to answer the inquiries quickly in order to ensure you capture the lead and it turns into business. Signing Platforms- There are several Signing Platforms available to notaries. Snapdocs.com, SigningOrder.com, SignatureClosers.com are two of the most popular. Signing platforms are where companies pay a fee to the platform to locate Notaries in their database. There are other databases like ZigSig.com which are starting to come up in the ranks as well. Multiple companies buy into these platforms and in the beginning, it can be confusing for a newer Notary. Sometimes newer notaries refer to whom they are working for as Snapdocs but this just isn't true or correct. They are working for a particular company through Snap Docs and it's important to always know what company each order is coming from through the platforms. If only to look as professional as possible. Signing Agencies- Many Signing Agencies do not work through the Signing Platforms. For instance Mortgage Connect, Inspire Closings, or Amrock have their won platforms to assign notaries. You will always want to sign up with these companies as well as they are often much stronger than companies on Signing Platforms because they've built their own infrastructure. Title Agencies- You can work with many Title Agencies through Listing Platforms, Signing Platforms, and Signing Agencies but you can also work with them directly as well. Direct business is for sure the most sought-after business for Notaries as it pays the most (most of the time). The problem is it's harder to find as most busy Title Agencies either turn to Signing Platforms or Signing Agencies for ease and stream-linging. If you are able to get a direct Title office using you you will definitely want to protect it. If you are seeking more companies to work with check out the hiring list at Notary2Pro.com and our hiring list at NotaryStars.com once you are a member. Combined there are over 140+ companies for notaries to get started with outside of what's listed in this blog. *This article contains affiliate links for companies we truly believe in in order to help the valuable content we produce for you free. Notary Public Loan Signing Agent Hiring Companies Signing Agencies Title Agencies Listing Sites 0 Comment(s)

BLACKLISTED... It is a word every Notary Loan Signing Agent should wish never to hear associated with their name. And, unfortunately, if you have been Blacklisted you may not even know that you've been Blacklisted. This is why so many Notaries, especially during a Refinance Boom, fail to ever realize that BLACKLISTING is very real and it can happen on so many levels to a Notary. This Notary Stars Blog is to open your eyes to the level of Blacklisting that can happen to any notary and the most common reasons we are seeing it happen across the country. Levels of Blacklisting: Individual Signing Agency Blacklist- Notaries who are Blacklisted by an individual Signing Agency may not suffer too much unless they are one of your big clients. However, if the Signing Agency is on a program like Signing Order or Snapdocs it may be shown to other highering companies that you've been Blacklisted which it is not a great thing. Also, many Signing Agency owners share information with each other (such as preferred Notary list) which could do further damage. Entire Platform Blacklist- It may not seem possible that Signing Order or Snapdocs could remove a notary from their platform but it is indeed possible and you want to be careful to not get Blacklisted by too many companies (or do any of the items we will list below). Title Agency Blacklist- Working direct with Title is an amazing aspect of the Notary Loan Signing Agent industry. It pays more and a lot of times faster as there is no middle man. However, whether you are working with a Title Agency through a Signing Platform or direct you can get Blacklisted from ever working with that Title Agency again. If you messed up big time with a Fidelity file this would strip you from working Fidelity files with any of their Signing Agencies or Platforms. The same goes for First American. Lender Blacklist- Getting Blacklisted by a Lender is probably the worst possible scenario for a Notary. You would generally have to do something terrible or malicious. Many lenders have the same Underwriters and believe us (Notary work is on the radar). If you were Blacklisted by a large company like Chase, Wells Fargo, or Bank of America you may never work again. Reason We've Seen Notaries Being Blacklisted For: Not Reading Notary Instructions Carefully- Notary instructions vary from company to company. It is important for all notaries to read instructions sent to them with their orders to ensure they give the hiring party what they need to service their file. It is sometimes apparent when Notaries do not read instructions and if it becomes apparent you can easily get Blacklisted. Excessive Errors- When you represent yourself as a Notary Loan Signing Agent it means you know what you are doing when it comes to closing a loan package. It does not mean you are still learning. There are many training courses available (including Notary2Pro and Notary Stars) to help ensure you know what you are doing. Missing a signature is one thing but missing several is really bad and can ruin your career. No Call/ No Shows- Just as with any job there are major repercussions for not showing up to a work. If you have a confirmed appointment you need to be there or have a very good excuse. Because most closings are time-sensitive not showing up could delay a closing. Most Signing Agencies we know will not hire notaries who have Negative Feedback as a No Call, No Show. Trust is lost immediately! Excessive Fees- We've actually seen a lot of Notaries who tried to jack-up fees at the beginning of the COVID-19 lock-down who were Blacklisted right away. If you are not able to service a file for a reasonable price you should just not be available. We've seen notaries attempting to charge up to $350-$500 for a closing that's less than a mile from their house. These notaries get Blacklisted and eventually only are used in dire need. Pigeon Holding- When you take an order for a fee you have to see it through. Changing your price to ship documents will land you without work. This kind of feedback on your record will remain forever. Over-booking- Notaries need to know how to schedule themselves properly. Over-booking and being late for assignments will eventually lead to Blacklisting. No one likes a late notary (even if they are nice about it). Rude, Condesening, Know-It-All Attitude- Notaries who do have a background in Title, Escrow, Lending, or even being a Realtor need to watch how they speak to the hiring parties. You are only working as a Notary Loan Signing Agent. You can't tell your assigning or hiring party how to conduct their transaction. You must bend to their needs instead. Cursing or Swearing- If you curse or swear at a Signing Agency you will be removed from Signing Agency platforms without question. Many companies record their calls these days and if it's forwarded to the platform you will lose your listing and they could even choose to escalate the issue to the Title Agencies and Lenders they work with. Not Returning Documents On-Time- Once a signing package is signed it's important to treat it like a hot potato. You have to get it returned ASAP. Notaries HAVE to know about disbursement dates (funding dates). If you don't know then you will look terrible at your job at some point. This will come from good training like at Notary2Pro or here at Notary Stars. We see notaries being Blacklisted regularly for not understanding disbursement dates and holding packages until it's too late. Drinking On the Job- It should go without saying but it happens. Notaries go to lunch with a friend, start eating dinner and the phone rings, or you weren't expecting any calls and you just start having a glass of wine.... ALL BIG NO-NO'S! Make it a rule that if you have a sip of Alcohol that you wait 8 hours before driving or conducting business. If a customer smells alcohol on you (even if you don't have a problem at the signing), you can probably kiss your relationship with the Title Agency, Signing Agency, or Lender good-bye.

One of the biggest questions we receive about working for Fidelity National Title is "How Do I Become Fidelity Approved?" From what we know currently, since the inception of BancServ, Fidelity is no longer approving Notaries or Signing Agencies directly on a regular basis. Only existing Notariesand Signing Services who have kept their approval renewed on-time before this rule started a few years ago is the exception. This does not mean there is a definite no as with any company as strong as Fidelity they may have growth spurts in areas where they have to recruit outside of BancServe. There are many rumors that if an Escrow Officer wants you bad enough and they have any pull with the company at all they may be able to push you through to direct approval. Signing Services that existed before Fidelity switched to BancServ are still in existence and can also get you approved through their service; however, it is important to understand you will need to get Fidelity Approved through each individual service you want to work with. If you are approved through BancServ but receive an order that requires a Fidelity Approved Notary through another platform you could derail an entire loan by taking the order. Fidelity is extremely strict and you must be on the list to work with them. They are strict and very powerful as well because they've been in business longer than most Title companies. It is in your best interest never to try to slide under the radar trying to get noticed because you could ruin a potential relationship forever. And they really are one of the best companies to work for as a Notary Signing Agent. You may ask- why BancServ? From what we know BancServ is Fidelity's choice for Signing Services. Be Careful Of These Important Things: 1) It is okay to seek out business but do not become annoying when searching for a Fidelity Officer to advocate for you. This could get you barred from ever doing a Fidelity File. Experience is key when working with Fidelity and you will get noticed in your Notary community in due time by even Fidelity offices. 2) Never approach an Escrow Officer for a direct business that comes through BancServ or any other signing service. This is not only unprofessional but also against the Signing Agent Code of Conduct set for by the NNA. Let your relationships develop naturally and if someone thinks you stand out while working with any platform and approaches you- then you are Golden. 3) Never accept a Fidelity File unless you know for sure you are approved to take a Fidelity File with that SPECIFIC company while working with them. For instance, if you are Fidelity Approved through XYZ Signing Company you are not Fidelity Approved through ABC Signing Service unless both have given you explicit approval. This has gotten many notaries in trouble and not knowing is not a respectable reply when you've botched someone's signing. That's exactly why you are reading this particular article because you wanted to know.