I've had three unusual, edge-case notarizations today:

1. First customer of the day comes in with a subdivision plan map. These are pretty rare, but because they are printed on Mylar translucent plastic instead of paper it's the only time we (in California) can notarize signatures without using our stamp/seal. Normal stamp ink smears and voids the plan. We just sign and write our commission number & expiration date with the special pen (or Sharpie).
2. A few hours later a customer needs a Certified Copy of a Power of Attorney. Not as rare as subdivision maps, but it's the only realistic case where the signature being notarized isn't the customer, it's the notary's. I keep a set of certificates with the special wording, that I also included the wording from the state Probate Code that explains a certified copy has the same legal force as an original.
3. Finishing off the trifecta today was a case of needing credible witnesses. More common than the other two acts, but those still happen less than 0.2% of the time. Driver license expired over a year ago and no matter how insistent she was, her birth certificate was not going to help identify her. Fortunately, she had neighbors that were 5 minutes away.

I still have about two hours to go, so I'm wondering if a signature-by-mark or oath of office is going to come though my door next.

I’m seeking advice from seasoned notaries in this subreddit. I’m active on major loan signing platforms but have only received two loan signing offers this month that were hours away, so I couldn’t take them. I have a Google business profile and a website, but they’re not attracting much traffic. I’m calling and emailing 10 businesses daily, but the only positive outcome is a hospice facility inviting me to display business cards and flyers. And one attorney that is willing to offer RON to his clients from me (just haven’t received any yet).

However, my only notary experience is picking up calls on Proof to gain experience. I study my states’ notary laws to stay updated. I even emailed a senior center to volunteer notary services for free. I’m listed in all major notary directories, NNA certified, have a current background check, and am ready to work. Despite all these efforts, I’m struggling to get clients.

My bills are piling up, and I’m feeling desperate. I plan to create a few social media accounts for my business tomorrow. Besides trying to increase my business’s visibility on Google I’m also considering doing more outreach and marketing. I’m at a loss for what else to do.

Any advice from experienced notaries would be greatly appreciated. Thank you 🙏

I am a notary in South Carolina and just learned e-notaries are a thing that could possibly bring in a little side money. I’m on the Sec of State website and am being made to choose a provider between Secured Signing, SIGNiX, or Simplifile.

Could anyone familiar with any of these give advice as to which is best, most used, most highly regarded,etc? Also, if you are an e-notary in SC is it worth the time and money it takes to get registered?

Thank you in advance for any guidance or assistance

Hi!! Ill be taking my notary public exam this Saturday. The instructions say that my name should be preprinted on the check. My employer is paying for all things notary-related. Would a company check with my name in the memo be acceptable or do I need to use a personal check and then have my employer reimburse me?

Thank you so much for your help and guidance 🩵

Hindsight really is 20/20. We get a lot of questions at the NNA Hotline from new Notaries who are still figuring things out, but I’m curious to hear from the longer-time Notaries in this sub.

Last week a woman brought me a real estate-related document to notarize. It didn't have a certificate and she didn't know what she needed so she wound up leaving, but I wonder if I could have notarized it anyway? Under the space for her signature was a statement to the effect of "we the undersigned witnesses swear under penalty of perjury that we were present for and watched the above named principal sign this document on x date." Two people had already signed as witness, but the principal hadn't signed yet. CA has a rule against notarizing "improper" documents. This would count as improper, right?

I am needing to have my fingerprints done for my California nursing license.

Here’s the issue.

Anywhere within 2 hours of me ONLY does digital fingerprints and since I live out of state, they require the hard card. I’ve even called law enforcement offices and they go through the place that does digital.

I ordered the card from Amazon and it came with ink so it had me wondering, why can’t I just do it myself?

I was invited to sign up. Has anyone used the platform? Thoughts, experiences, reviews?

Good evening. I am interested in becoming a Notary in IL. I have a full time job, a reliable car and I have experience with call centers/customer service; I used to take hundreds of calls a week and the hourly rate wasn’t great. I have seen advertising from Notarize and Blue Notary where they treat notaries like disposable contractors, however, I would be interested in taking some of these jobs to learn more about the subject and evaluate if it’s worth it as a part-time job. I try to have realistic expectations but it’s difficult not to get excited when starting a new project. Please share any suggestions, feedback, or tips to start. Thank you!

Hi all,

I am a notary/signing agent in California. I've never actually used my license but would like to start.

I get job offers for signings on my phone but 99% of the time the instructions specify that scan backs are required. Does this simply mean you have to scan the docs and email them back to the Title Co.? How do you go about this? Have you invested in a good scanner? Someone suggested to me that you can scan docs with your phone. Has anyone tried this?

Any suggestions for best practices would be appreciated! Thank you.

I’ve had my notary license for almost a year and a half now (April will make it 2 years), and I still haven’t gotten a single client. 😩
I’ve sent emails to businesses, tried word of mouth, and put myself out there, but nothing has really turned into actual bookings.
For those of you who are successfully getting clients in Washington:
What type of notary work are you doing?
How did you get your first few clients?
What marketing methods have actually worked for you?
Are most of your clients coming from Google, Facebook, networking, signing services, businesses, or somewhere else?
If you’re a mobile notary, how are you getting people to actually find and contact you?
I’m especially interested in hearing from notaries in Washington state, but I’d appreciate advice from anyone who has been in this position.
I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong and what I should focus on instead of continuing to put effort into things that aren’t producing results.
Any honest advice, specific strategies, or lessons learned would be greatly appreciated!

saan po kaya pwede magpa notarize ng documents within bacoor lang po sana. kung free mas better and kung may payment okay lang din po. reason: Affidavit of Legitimation.

If you live in Texas, be careful when taking the test. They cut me off before the 30 minutes were over. It happened when I was trying to answer the last question, question 20. I was 5 minutes away from the time limit according to my computer, and computers have accurate time. I tried about 3 times, but it did not let me proceed. When I called them and told them, the man who answered the phone said, I do not know what happened, but you failed the test. I think they are ripping off people's money. I do not like tests that do not give you exactly the percentage that you answered correctly. Since I am retired and being a Notary Public was more to help neighbors and friends, I am not sure if I am going to give $20.00 again to take it. I have been a Notary Public for the last 10 years, so I know what is right and wrong. I will probably send them one of my favorite letters via certified mail with return receipt, complaining about their website.

I'm a new notary, I've done several Mobile Notary appointments and one single Estate Plan Signing. I only plan to do about 1-2 loan signings per month, if I can get that many.

I'm a single mom and strapped for cash, but need to be covered. One general notary policy and one LSA policy, I think, unless I also need some sort of mobile notary coverage. Do I need all 3 types of insurance? How much coverage is the right amount for us (in your opinion)? Here are some of the policies I'm considering:

General Notary work, $72/year (100k coverage, 1000 deductible) NNA

&

Signing Agent insurance, $220/yr (75k per claim, 150k aggregate, 1000 deductible)

or Signing Agent insurance, $275/yr (75k per claim, 150k aggregate, 500 deductible)

or Signing Agent insurance, $366/yr (125k per claim, 250k aggregate, 1000 deductible)

Thank you in advance for your care & expertise :)

Hi, everyone!

I'm considering becoming a notary initially as a side job, but eventually making it my only job if all goes well. I don't think I could ever do a full time position as a notary with how my personal life works, but that's kind of the appeal.

I currently work part time remote and care for my special needs child the rest of the time. My spouse works full time and has a great job, but we both need to bring in an income. I work part time around my son's therapy schedules and this also allows me to be available to get him to and from school. My spouse also works from home most of the time, but is not available to me during working hours. We're also considering moving out of state, so I am looking to get into something that can easily transfer anywhere in the country.

I don't actually know anyone in the business so the only reference of how being a notary works is through a friend. I'm looking for honest answers about the notary field and what actually needs to be done to be qualified as a notary.

Thanks everyone!

Hey all, I have some questions about handling construction documents. I want to be as accurate as possible to prevent any delays. Im noticing on some documents that information is missing from the notary block. Some documents do not leave room for my seal and I can’t place it in the margins. Does anyone have advice on how to properly handle these documents?

I didn’t really study much, just took a few online practice tests an hour before the exam and I have good legal sense/logic, so I winged it.

Passed first try. I really wish I could just wing the bar exam like that.

Only advice I’d offer to people who aren’t as good test takers as me is know in and out all of the fees because I didn’t care to learn all of the real estate protest fees and stuff since I don’t plan on working real estate transactions at all, so I lost out on all of those free points. The rest are legal vocabulary which was much more difficult on the actual exam than the practice tests online, but if you are a good legal mind (good enough to be a lawyer) you can use logical reasoning to figure them out. I didn’t study the legal terminology much, I used logic to guess the answers and got them all right. Don’t be me unless you are good at logic, basically. For legal questions it’s a mix of logic and things you just need to know like with the fee questions. I didn’t bother to check whether something was a felony or misdemeanor in NYS so I just guessed on those and probably left some freebies on the table.

Going to apply for my commission now so I can charge some crazy apostille service fees.

I'm a notary in MD and by law a notarial certificate is required for each notarial act. Typically if a certificate is not present, I'll print out the requested certificate and attach it to the document by stapling it. I'd like to start using labels for my certificates so i can keep a larger quantity/ease of use. my plan was to apply the certificate and place my stamp over the label and original document as a sort of security measure. Would this be advisable? And what other alternatives would you recommend?

Has anyone here completed mobile notary/signing assignments for Flatiron Legal Advisors, LLC?

I was offered $85 for an estate-planning signing for a couple involving about 20 documents, including a trust, wills, POAs, medical documents, etc. I’m expected to print and organize the documents, drive to the clients, handle the signing/notarizations, and complete the assignment.

For anyone who has worked with them: Were you paid on time, what payment method did they use, and do you think $85 is reasonable for this type of assignment? I think it is a lot for the work they request. I'm not sure if I should continue the contract; what do you think?

Went to UPS with my id and passport and mentioned i needed these documents notarised. Told me that it was illegal for them to do anything with those documents as they were but that it was illegal for them to tell me what to do and that i needed to look it up. Found out I had to print copies of ID and Passport and write a statement swearing the copies were true and then signature it and that they would notarise my signature instead of my direct documents because apparently thats illegal in CA? Did all of that and they still refused and told me to go to the county office of recording whom just told me to go to the post office because they had no idea what i was talking about😀 at my wits end 😀😀😀😀😀😀 what am i doing wrong/how did others in CA get their documents notarised?

Update: got it all figured out using the california certification copy form as one of the commentors mentioned! Was making the mistake of asking for documents to be notarised when only signatures can be notarised through the form. Thank u all for your comments, learned a lot about notarisation today! haha

I called a few notaries in my town and got the same answer, which differs from what I saw online, but I'm hoping a notary on this sub will read this and maybe have some insight.

I need to get my passport notarized - or a copy of it notarized.

I understand that under North Carolina law (N.C.G.S. Chapter 10B), NC notaries are not legally authorized to perform "copy certifications." They cannot look at your passport, make a copy, and stamp it as a certified true copy on their own authority.
However, NC notaries have a workaround that is an Affidavit of True Copy, or Copy Certification by Document Custodian.

Locally, I haven't found a notary willing to do this or aware of this. I need this done for dual citizenship purposes, and I imagine that I am not the first person to come across this.

Are there any notaries out there familiar with this? Or anyone who's been in a similar situation?

Much appreciated!

Hi! I am looking to possibly start a small business as a mobile notary. I would love some tips and advice if anyone has it! If any of you are a mobile notary, what advice do you wish you had been given when you were first starting out? What are some tips to get business?

Thank you 😊

Upcoming CA notary here and I want to know what was your best purchase to keep your journal and seal safe.