Most Notaries don’t want to bother studying. They are lazy, not well educated, and have a bad attitude in general. Additionally, most of them do not care about their work, don’t care about safety precautions, and most of all don’t care how they treat me. The purpose of being Elite Certified is to prove that you are one of the good Notaries who does care and who represents the top 2% of Notaries in terms of knowledge.

It is unclear how long it takes to study for the elite test. That depends on how much you already know. Let’s say it takes 10 hours to study — what are the benefits if you will be in business for another ten years?

$14 more per signing.
Elite Certified Notaries get paid $14 more per signing based on a poll than uncertified Notaries.

Double your work
I cannot say how much extra work Elite Certified signers get, but their clicks are far higher than the rest, so I will estimate realistically that it is about double.

Before vs. After
If you were getting five signings per week at $100, and you get ten signings per week in the long run at $114. that means you go from an income of $500 per week to $1140, but your expenses don’t go up. Over the course of ten years that is $570,000 in income compared to $250,000 which is $320,000 extra income. So, your ten hours of study netted you $320,000 extra income. Ten hours of study is 600 minutes which means that each minute of study is worth $533 in the long run.

Most Notaries typically make very bad financial decisions. Most of them chose not to get educated. Most of them chose not to try hard at their job or career. Most of them chose and choose not to study hard for my tests. They would prefer to spend time at a birthday party or working for $20 per hour rather than to study for the elite which is worth $533 per minute! If you are having trouble making up your mind, just ask yourself —

Do you prefer 30 cents per minute or $533 per minute?
Most Notaries actions suggest they prefer 30 cents which is exactly what they get if they get paid at all.

.

You might also like:

Why you should consider getting 123notary elite certified
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20094

Elite Certification will benefit you for the rest of your life
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20770

The elite certification study guide
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20118

Back in 2004 to 2012, many people wanted to get 123notary certified and studied hard to get this designation. In the last few years, we retested our certified members and found that the overall skill level of people on our site had declined a lot and that most people were not willing to study. This is a huge mistake. Title and signing companies care about experience above any other qualification. However, they still reward people for knowledge and the clicks and jobs dispatched prove my point. If you want to have an edge over the other Notaries, 123notary certification is one of the most effective investments of your time — the other two being reviews, a stellar notes section and accumulating mass amounts of experience the old fashioned way. Below are some significant benefits for 123notary.com certification.

1. Get more clicks (but, not on route 66)
123notary certification currently gets Notaries an average of about 30% more clicks to their listing. It is one major factor of several that determines whether or not your listing will even get looked at. More clicks typically translates into more jobs, however, this relationship is not directly proportional. 30% more clicks in real life would translate into 40-50% more jobs. Many people will click once on your listing during a query. But, if they give you extra clicks, that means they are strongly considering hiring you which is why the click to job ration is disproportional and in your favor.

2. Get more jobs from Title
One Notary wrote to me after he failed his certification retest audit. He said that calls from title dropped altogether the minute I took his certification icon away from him. This is not true for all Notaries, but was his case which is why he studied many hours to pass the scrutiny of my questioning. People who work for title want solid Notaries, and they look at a number of factors including certification — and for God’s sake, please don’t have any spelling mistakes in your notes section on your listing or you can expect your phone to be dead.

3. Feel more confident about yourself
Many Notaries who master our materials like the fact that they know what they are doing. At the risk of sounding more like a deodorent commercial — many signing agents have told me that the feel happier and more confident talking to title and going to signings. Yes, they spend many grueling hours studying for our test, but they feel it was worth it and I respect their diligence.

4. Be one step closer to elite certification
You cannot just become elite certified at 123notary. You need to have a solid understanding of Notary procedure and vocabulary as well as a 123notary basic certification. Certification brings you one step closer to being ready to study for the elite test which is very different material and much more obscure.

5. 123notary certification is sought after by particular companies
I have gotten correspondence from Notaries who claim that 123notary certification is informally recognized by 1st American Title among others.

6. You will be a safer Notary
Many Notaries put themselves at legal risk because they do not know the legal significance of how they handle situations. Not keeping your journal correctly could end you up in trouble with the FBI or a Judge in court. Not keeping thumbprints could get you named as a suspect in an investigation as it looks like a cover up. Doing cross-outs when it is not necessary can get you in trouble with certain county recorders or Lenders. Knowing what you can do, and knowing what you can do that is prudent are two different questions. Learn how to please your client without creating liability for yourself by mastering our Notary materials. We have written blog articles where Notaries have gotten into legal trouble and had to pay up to $20,000 to defend themselves when they were innocent. Imagine how much easier it would be if you kept proper records and acted prudently at all steps along the way.

7. Multiple certifications make you look serious
As someone who deals with Notaries all day long, I can attest to the fact that I have a higher level of respect for Notaries who have three or more certifications. Those who just get the NNA certification and say, “That is all I need.” seem like underachievers to me. I have a higher opinion of those who took notary2pro, NNA, and 123notary certification, or Loan Signing System. When I was a Notary I got certified by five organizations to give you an example of someone who takes this business seriously.

8. Make $8 more per signing.
We did a poll many years ago and learned that our 123notary certified members average income made per signing (according to their claims after a mass email was sent asking them how much their average signing netted) was $8 higher than people not certified by 123notary. Elite members made $14 more per signing. Making more income per signing means that after expenses, you will be making a lot more per year. The extra income could add up to $5000 to $10000 extra per year for a busy Notary which might be $200,000 in their lifetime. It only takes ten hours to do a good job studying for our test. Is your ten hours worth $200,000? That’s $20,000 per hour. What else can you do that is worth that much even if you do brain surgery (or are a hitman) on the side?

9. Get perks from 123notary!
If we notice you are 123notary certified, you would be more likely to get opportunities for free or paid upgrades that the others might be overlooked for. Stop being overlooked and get certified today! If you are late paying your bill, we might give you a little longer grace period. And in general we will value you more because you represent knowledge, quality, and come across as being a serious Notary. Over all you will get better treatment from 123notary if you pass our test.

10. Be more fluent explaining things to borrowers
In real life there are certain things you can and should explain to the borrowers while there are others that you should refer them to a professional about. If you pass our test you will know where to find the prepayment penalty, how to explain the APR, what is on the HUD or CD, and when their first payment is due. You will have this information memorized. You will know that a signer can legally presign an Acknowledgment (in most states) whether the Lender “prefers” that or not and how to administer an Oath without falling on your face. You will be more professional and smooth in all of your transactions.

SUMMARY
Certification will help you get more clicks, get more work, make more per signing, be smarter, feel better, be a smoother Notary, and get on the good side of 123notary. It only costs a few hours of study and a small fee, so the only thing holding you back is lethargy. Get off your assets and get 123notary certified today!

You might also like:

Compilation of posts about certification & elite certification
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16264

123notary’s comprehensive guide to getting reviews
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16290

How to write a notes section if you are a beginner
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16698

Unique phrases from the Ninja course
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14690

The lady who studied 30 hours for her elite test
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21238

123notary will be retesting several hundred certified members in the next few months. We will be retesting all of our certified members between now and 2020, but many will be tested in April, May and June. Please study from Notary Public 101 and the 30 Point Course so that you will not be caught unprepared. The quiz will be by phone, unannounced (other than in this blog and some automated phone calls) and timed. Questions will not be hard, but most of you don’t know the answers to the easiest questions yet claim to “know what you are doing.” Once again, here are some pointers about the quiz.

1. Timed.
We will be asking several dozen questions this time around. The quiz will be longer than the previous questions we asked. However, the time limit given will be short. If you don’t know answers with away, we will fail you and you will lose your certification for at least half a year.

2. Several Sections.
This quiz will be composed of several sections. You need to get a passing score in each section otherwise the quiz is over and you lose your certification indefinitely.

3. Sections Involved.
Intro (several quick basic questions)
Basic Notary Knowledge
Following Directions
Handling Unusual Situations
Loan Documents

4. Date of Quiz
Unannounced. However, several hundred of you will be quizzed between April and June 2018, so be ready at all times. You never know when the call will come. But, if we can’t reach you four times in a row, or if you are unprepared you will fail.

5. Study Recommendations
Study from Notary Public 101 on our blog which is free and requires no password. The 30 Point Course is also a good study guide. Study and go over all the information until it is memorized. To pass under time duress you need to know this information inside out and not in a wishy-washy way.

Conclusion
Notaries who are self-proclaimed experts who have a wishy washy knowledge of Notary and Loan Signing Procedures are bad for our reputation. Nobody will take our certification seriously if people who can’t explain basic Notary procedures have it, and that is unfortunately almost all of you. So, we would prefer to give all of you a chance to learn what you should have known all along and test again. All I can say is take this seriously, because you will lose if you aren’t prepared and there is no second chance this time. Please be at the top of your skills at all times because you never know when the quiz is coming.