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September 1, 2018

How much does a Notary cost in 2018 & 2019?

Filed under: Public Interest — Tags: — admin @ 11:04 am

How much do Notaries charge?
How much can a Notary charge?
How much is a Notary?

Notary fees are regulated by the laws of the various fifty states. So, each state has a different rate that a Notary can charge and a different procedure for a Notary to get a Notary commission. In addition to charging officially designated maximum Notary fees, many Notaries on our directory travel to their clients and charge travel fees in addition to waiting fees if you keep them waiting too long. It is common for Notaries to have a fixed price for loan signing packages that range from $75 to $150 per signing which is a price that might include printing eDocuments. But, let’s try to give you a better idea of what particular states offer as Notary fees.

Please keep in mind that there are also fees for Oaths & Affirmations which are done in all states that I am aware of. There are also more obscure Notary acts done in particular states that are not done in all states.

How much can an Alabama Notary charge?
$5 for an Acknowledgment or Jurat.

How much can an Alaska Notary charge?
There is no set fee but I heard that in remote areas Notaries get paid in moose or salmon (generally fresh).

How much can an Arizona Notary charge?
An AZ Notary may charge $10 per Acknowledgment (for the first signer) and $10 per Jurat.
Fees changed as of March 2018 up from $2 per signature.

How much can a California Notary charge?
A California Notary Public may charge $15 per Acknolwedged signature or per Jurat. There are other types of fees, but those are the most common.

How much can a Florida Notary charge?
A Florida Notary Public may charge $10 per Acknowledgment, however the price is fixed no matter how many signatures are on the notarized document. Jurats would also be $10.

How much can an Illinois Notary charge?
An Illinois Notary may charge a whopping $1 per Acknowledged signature or for a Jurat.

How much can an Indiana Notary charge?
$2 per Acknowledgment or Jurat

How much can a Maryland Notary charge?
A Maryland Notary may charge $4 per Acknowledgment or Jurat

How much can a Michigan Notary charge?
A Michigan Notary may charge up to $10 per Jurat or Acknowledged signature.

How much can a Minnesota Notary charge?
Generally $2 per Acknowledgment or Jurat

How much can a New Jersey Notary charge?
A New Jersey Notary can charge $2.50 per Acknowledgment, Jurat, or Oath

How much can a New York Notary charge?
A New York Notary may only charge $2 per Acknowledged signature or Jurat or for each sworn witness.

How much can a North Carolina Notary charge?
A North Carolina Notary may charge $5 per principal signature on an Acknowledgment or Jurat.

How much can a Pennsylvania Notary Public charge?
A Pennsylvania Notary may charge $5 for the first Acknowledged signature and $2 for each subsequent signature. Jurats are $5 per piece.

How much can a Texas Notary charge?
A Texas Notary Public may charge $6 for the first Acknowledged signature and $1 for each additional plus $6 for administering an Oath.

How much can a Virginia Notary Public charge?
A Virginia Notary may charge $5 for each Acknowledged signature or Jurat.

HELP, my state was not on the list…
No problem, just click on the FIND A NOTARY link and look up your state. We have pricing for all states documented in our website.

NOTE: Prices are subject to change. If our pricing has become outdated for any particular state, do not comment on this blog, rather, email us at info@123notary.com and politely inform us of the price change.

For states not mentioned or updates in the future, please refer to
https://www.nationalnotary.org/file%20library/nna/knowledge%20center/outside%20pdfs/state-notary-fees-chart.pdf

You might also like:

See our information about Acknowledgments (string)
http://blog.123notary.com/?s=acknowledgment

Index of posts about general Notary information
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20264

Basic Notary acts
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19500

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August 19, 2018

Index for posts about general Notary information

Filed under: Public Interest — Tags: , — admin @ 2:18 am

Notary Public 101 — a comprenhensive guide to Notary best practices
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19493

Notary information for beginners — best links to articles
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10472

See our string on “Notary Public”
http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=notary-public

What is a Notary Public?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=6498

Where can i find a Spanish speaking Notary?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18824

How much does a notary cost?
http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=how-much-does-a-notary-cost

10 risks to being a mobile notary public
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19459

Basic Notary vocabulary
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19495

All you need to know about notary work
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2354

How much does a Notary charge?
http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=how-much-does-a-notary-charge

How do I get a Spanish language document notarized?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18822

How do I find a Vietnamese speaking Notary?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18816

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January 29, 2018

Journal abbreviation keys

Filed under: Journals,Technical & Legal — admin @ 12:50 am

Many people take the easy way out with their journal. Journal keeping is seen as just an arduous task with no higher meaning. Many people feel that they can do a shoddy job doing their journal since it is not required in their state. However, if you are in front of a judge you need a clearly filled out journal whether your state requires it or not.

Many Notaries use the check box journal. I recommend against this. The check box journal says, “E&O” as one of the names of a document. If the real document says, “Errors and Omissions Compliance Agreement” that is a completely different document. E&O is an abbreviation for the first three words, but what about the last two words? Don’t take liberties.

Then there are other Notaries who just write, “10 Grant Deeds.” If you are ever in court, you need to know which Grant Deed is in question and if you really notarized it. Keeping escrow numbers, names of parties involved and addresses helps to narrow it down.

DOT could be a good abbreviation for Deed of Trust. However, if you are in court years later what will the judge say? What if you have bad handwriting and use abbreviations?

My philosophy is to keep an abbreviation key in the inner cover of each journal you use. I had 70 journals in my career so I could have a lot of keys. You can have a key that says:

DOT = Deed of Trust
AFF = Affidavit
E&O Comp Agree = Errors & Omissions Compliance Agreement.
Corr Agree = Correction Agreement.

This way you have a system that is documented just in case.
Or, just write the entire name of the document out. Or you could only abbreviate Deeds of Trust since they are so common and not abbreviate the others just to keep reading the journal more straight forward.

The worst thing you can do is to write, “Loan Docs.” When you put the names of documents in your journal, each document is legally separate, and the fact they are part of a package does not make them legally all have the title, “Loan Documents.” Each document has a name that must be entered in your journal if you notarize it.

You might also like:

Here’s why you should keep a journal
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22543

Detective seizes a journal and complains about a blurry thumbprint
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22237

Index of posts about journals
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20272

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January 25, 2018

Should you use book wording for Oaths or improvise?

Most of our Notaries either don’t give Oaths or can’t give one without their cheat sheet. Some states have prescribed wording while others do not. The main thing when giving an Oath is to have them raise their right hand and swear to the truthfulness of a statement or a document.

If you don’t practice giving Oaths how will you know how to if you are put on the spot? You can experiment at home inventing Oath lyrics.

Do you solemnly swear you are a cyclops?
Do you swear you are crazy?
Do you swear that New York has bad traffic?

What I don’t understand is why it is so hard for Notaries to put together Jurat Oath verbiage from the top of their head. You need to say swear and refer to a document. Easy!

Another thing I don’t get is that I asked one guy to administer an Oath TO ME and he kept saying what he would tell THEM. I said, leave THEM out of it and just ask an Oath question to me so I can say I do, or I don’t. He kept telling me what he would tell them rather than following instructions and asking me an Oath question.

Oaths begin normally either with the phrase, “repeat after me,” or an Oath question. It is faster to ask an Oath question. Make it easy so they just say yes.

If your state has recommended wording, then memorize it. But, if you memorize an Oath without understanding the logic of what context it is used in, then it will not be very useful. You will probably use it at the wrong time.

.

You might also like:

Airline meals verses Notary Oaths & Affirmations
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19549

Oaths – How Notaries completely screw them up!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19369

Notary Public 101 – Oaths, Affirmations, Jurats & Acknowledgments
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19500

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January 11, 2018

Which Notary act does not require personal appearance of the signer?

Filed under: Notary Acts & Certificates — admin @ 12:03 pm

Most Notaries do not know their Notary acts. They cannot even name them. There is one particular notary act which is allowed in most states which does not require personal appearance of the signer.

This is a proof of execution. The proof of execution allows the signer (the principal) to sign when a subscribing witness is watching them sign. Then the subscribing witness appears before a Notary, and swears upon Oath that the principal signed the document in their presence.

This act is used when a signer is busy or not able to appear before a Notary Public. Additionally, this act is used on less than one notarization in a thousand in my estimate and most Notaries don’t even know that it exists let alone how to perform it.

Not for use on deeds. Just wanted you guys to know what this is just for your knowledge base.

.

You might also like:

Notary Public 101 – Basic Notary Acts
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19500

The pros and cons of eNotarizations
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=3672

How do you get a Power of Attorney Document
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20785

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December 19, 2017

Do you keep a journal to please your state, a judge, the FBI, or 123notary?

Most Notaries do not keep a journal because their state doesn’t require it. This is a mistake. Your journal is your only evidence in court. Many Notaries who list with us end up in court. However, since most of our Notaries keep some sort of journal records, their time in court is normally just a visit to the judge’s chambers where the judge might dismiss the case due to good evidence provided by the Notary.

Some Notaries keep a journal, but do so in a fashion I call minimal, where they do not keep the book according to NNA best practices and do not record thumbprints. Since their law might not require any journal, the Notaries often figure that they are already doing more than necessary so why do the maximum?

The answer is that your journal thumbprint which most of you refuse to keep is the ONLY way a judge or investigator can figure out who the signer is in the case of a falsified ID given to the Notary. You don’t know if an ID given to you is real, fake or falsified. But, the thumbprint is real. So you accept ID that can be falsified but refuse to take ID which is genuine — stupid! Take both.

The bottom line is that the real reason you should keep a journal is NOT to please your state (although you must uphold the laws of your state.) California is the only state I have ever heard of who audits people’s journals. If you live outside of California, the chance of your state ever seeing your journal is minimal. However, it is very likely that a judge, an investigator, or the DOJ might need to look at your journal in the case of identity theft. So, keep your journal with the intention of making their lives easier AND making sure that they don’t consider you to be a suspect! Keeping inadequate journal records is suspicious, do don’t be shoddy — be thorough!

Additionally, Jeremy (that’s me) at 123notary is sick and tired of Notaries who are shoddy and don’t keep good records. Keeping a journal is not good enough. You must keep one journal entry per person per document and thumbprint for serious documents such as deeds to please Jeremy. Jeremy wants investigators to be able to catch bad guys, so if you deny them the critical piece of evidence (a thumbprint) to catch the bad guys, then in my opinion — YOU are a bad guy! I would personally throw you in a lion’s den for not keeping a thumbprint if I could have it my way. But, I am not in charge of the world — I’m only in charge of my site.

So, if 123notary gives you a little phone quiz and asks you some questions and we find out that you don’t keep your journal correctly we will deduct points from your score. If we find out you make excuses for your abhorrant behavior, you lose even more points. Why act like a disobedient third grader when nothing prevents you from keeping good books! Only you can prevent forest fires and only you can provide the missing link to catching identity thieves — so do a good job otherwise you will get into a little trouble with 123notary. But, your state won’t care because states other than California don’t seem to take the Notary profession at all seriously! Food for thought!

Summary
Don’t keep your journal to please your state. In real life they will never see it unless you live in CA. Keep your journal using the best practices possible to please a judge, jury, the FBI, KGB, the Mossad, and Jeremy from 123notary. I will penalize you if you don’t keep good books as that reflects poorly on my reputation!

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You might also like:

Notary Public 101 – Journals
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19511

Do you keep a journal? Don’t wait until you get a call from the FBI.
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19377

How many journal entries do you use for two signers on three documents?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19391

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August 27, 2017

How many journal entries do you use for two signers on three documents?

Filed under: Journals — Tags: , — admin @ 11:51 pm

Many states don’t require a journal. However, your journal is your only evidence if you are investigated. As a Notary, for every 3000 Notary appointments (not acts) you do, you will probably be investigated once based on my personal experience. If fraud is involved on anybody’s part and you don’t have a journal entry, you will have no evidence and could be pulled into court for weeks which would result in your loss of income.

Additionally, we recommend the use of thumbprints in your journal for all critical notarizations, especially those involving Power of Attorney documents Living Wills, or Deeds affecting real estate. It only takes a few seconds to thumbprint someone. A thumbprint cannot be faked, but ID can, so you have no reason not to take thumbprints, and plenty of security related reasons to do so. NNA sells inkless thumbprinters for about $15.

If your state doesn’t require journals, use one anyway for your protection.

Back to the question. If there are TWO signers and THREE documents, you will need SIX journal entries. One per document per signer. What some Notaries do is they create one journal entry per signer and then indicate a list of all the notarized documents they signed. This is wrong and perhaps illegal. Not only is it bad to only create one journal entry per signer, but you might forget to add a document, or if there are cross outs after the fact it will look very sketchy.

However, you don’t need to write all of the info for each journal entry. The signer’s name, address, and ID information can be copied by putting a down arrow or “ditto” quotation marks. However, legally, the signer needs to sign for each document that is notarized and the name of the document, date, time, and type of notary act needs to be indicated for each document.

Additionally, there is an “additional notes” section of each journal entry near the right. If the building looks unusual you can take notes about the building. If the signer is acting weird or looks weird or has a tattoo on his neck or anything else unusual, you should write that in your journal to jog your memory if you ever have to go to court.

I did about 7000 Notary appointments and they all became a blurr to me. The only people I remember were Gary, the guy who blew up his apartment while experimenting with explosives (not a good idea) and a Korean lady who had me notarize the sales of her massage parlors (she paid cash). I also remember Dr. Kwak (pronounced Dr. Quack) who was an acupuncturist. I vaguely remember an impatient rich guy who lived in West Hollywood, did business deals in his pajamas, and played golf. And of course Mr. Yee the Attorney who had me do all of the Health Care Directives each with 80 pages of which I embossed every single page every single time to be prudent.

So, the moral of the story is that if you don’t know how to use your journal like a pro, the NNA has tutorials that you can purchase, and they are highly recommended as they could keep you out of court (or jail.) Or both!

.

You might also like:

What entities might want to see your journal?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20902

NNA – what every notary needs to know about notary journals
https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/2014/10/what-every-notary-needs-to-know-about-journals

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May 11, 2017

Notarize App turns your iPhone into a medium to get notarized!

On the road? Need to get notarized in a hurry? Well now you can! If you have an iPhone and the notarize app, you can just get notarized over the phone. Eliminate the hassle of trying to find a Notary at the last minute. This procedure has been legal in Virginia since 2011. Just go to your App store and get the notarize app today! You can be notarized using your phone in any of the 50 states plus Washington DC.

Virginia is trying to be modern which is probably why they allow this. However, the lack of personal appearance ruins the whole point of requiring a notary!

Just upload your document using email, cloud or dropbox, or other app with similar capabilities and then prove your identity by taking a photo of your ID. Never mind that 100 signing companies also have a photo of your ID and can claim to be you! Then, you can be connected on video “face to face” (or non-face to non-face) and then the notarization will take place. There is a $25 fee per notarization and the app is FREE.

Next year they will probably come out with the Marriage App, where you can marry a nice Russian girl (no questions asked). The app will process immigration paperwork and even find a flight for your new honey to board to come to the United States. If you don’t like her, just use the new app called SwapWyfe and get a new Russian beauty (who looks good without make up).

You might also like:

See the original Notarize App article
https://9to5mac.com/2016/02/04/notarize-licensed-notary-iphone/

New Notary Apps that you really need!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=9797

FASS has a brand new app
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17477

See our string on apps
http://blog.123notary.com/?s=apps

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May 4, 2017

Where can I find a Spanish Speaking Notary?

Where can I find a Notary who speaks Spanish?
Look no further. 123notary.com has many Spanish speaking Notaries on board. Just look up a Notary by zip code and then use the language filter at the top right of the site. You can enter in the name of any language such as Spanish, Japanese, Vietnamese, American Sign Language, or more! In fact, we have Spanish speaking Notaries in almost all states and metros by the dozen! Additionally, we have a search filter directly above the search results where you can check the Spanish box and find only Spanish speaking Notary service providers.

How good is their Spanish language proficiency?
On 123notary.com, we have many Notaries who speak Spanish. The degree of fluency varies from Notary to Notary as some are conversational while others are native speakers. A handful are from Spanish speaking families who grew up in America and might be excellent at conversation but not as proficient at business oriented communication. So, test your Spanish speaking Notary out over the phone to make sure they are up to your standards before hiring them!

Notary Spanish — Attorneys vs. Non-Attorneys
Please be advised that Notaries in the United States are seldom Attorneys and non-Attorney Notaries may not give legal advice. Most Notaries are also not authorized to draft legal documents. There are affordable legal support centers where they can help you draft documents. Please make sure that your document is completely drafted before contacting a Notary Public from 123notary.com.

Immigration Advice
Notaries cannot give advice about immigration matters unless they are specifically licensed to do so. For immigration questions, please contact the proper authorities.

Notarizing in Spanish?
Notaries may Notarize a document that is in Spanish, however the Notary wording would be in English for the notarization. Some states require the Notary to be able to understand the document. Other states require the Notary to be able to communicate directly with the borrower in any language they both can communicate with. Please learn the laws of your state and how they apply to notarizing foreign language documents. The actual Notary wording must be in English if it is to be notarized in any of the 50 states in the USA. Each state has their own official Acknowledgment and Jurat Notarial wording which the Notary is responsible for knowing. The Notary wording can be included at the end of the document. However, the Notary can also staple a loose certificate form to the document and affix their seal to that certificate after it has been completely filled out. Signers will be required to sign the Notary journal in states where Notary journals are used (which includes most states.)

Oaths in Spanish?
Some Notary acts such as Jurats, Oaths, or other acts that include Oaths such as swearing in credible witnesses require the Notary to administer an Oath. An Oath for an English language document or Spanish language document can be performed in the language of your choice. If the signer or affiant feels more comfortable in Spanish and the Notary knows Spanish, you can conduct your Oath in Spanish.

How can I get a Spanish language document notarized?
As stated above, some states require the Notary to understand the language of the document while others don’t. However, the language of the notarization itself would be in English. You can find a notary on 123notary who speaks Spanish to assist you in this matter. Just visit our Advanced Search page and look up a Spanish Speaking Notary by zip code!

You might also like:

Find a Notary — who provides 24 hour service on 123notary!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4635

Power of Attorney Notarizations
http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=power-of-attorney

Where can I find a Vietnamese Speaking Notary?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18816

Is it better to be “bilingual” or speak Spanish?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19264

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November 2, 2016

How can I get a Spanish language document notarized?

How can I get a Spanish language document notarized?
Some states require that the Notary Public understand the contents of the document. If a document is in Spanish, then some states would require the Notary to be able to read the document in Spanish, etc. Other states require that the Notary speak the language of the signer so that they could have direct communication without the necessity of a translator.

How do I get a Spanish language document notarized?
How do you get a Spanish document notarized? On 123notary.com, you can find Notaries in any state that can notarize any type of document for you including foreign language documents. Just visit the advanced search page and look up by zip code.

California requires direct communication
In California, the Notary must be able to communicate directly with the signer. So, if the signer only speaks Spanish, please make sure your Notary speaks impeccable Spanish.

Immigration Questions
Notaries are not permitted to assist or advise in immigration matters unless they are specifically authorized to do so. Please direct your immigration questions to the proper authorities.

Notaries are generally not Attorneys
Please do not confuse the office of Notary Public with powers associated with Attorneys. In Latin America, a Notario Publico has an elevated position that is similar in many ways to being an Attorney, while in the United States, Notaries can only notarize documents, give Oaths, and not give legal advice. So, please direct your legal questions to a licensed Attorney.

Drafting Documents
Please do not rely on a Notary to draft your documents for you. Notaries are generally not authorized to draft legal documents or advise you on how to draft them. Please have a legal support center or Attorney draft your documents before calling a Notary.

Find a Notary on 123notary.com!
Just visit the advanced search page on 123notary.com and look up by city, county, or zip code. Then, use the Spanish language filter at the top of the search results to filter your results.

You might also like:

How do I find a Spanish speaking notary?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18824

Identification requirements for being notarized
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4299

Find a Notary Public on 123notary!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4688

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