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November 16, 2020

Notary fined $385 for botching a Notarization

Filed under: General Articles — Tags: — admin @ 10:49 am

Originally posted in 2018

Many of the Notaries on our site are so incompetent about communication and Notary practices that I shutter to list them. The fact is that I am not always informed when Notaries get in trouble. I would like to hear more stories of Notaries who goof and get in trouble because I want to learn how to prevent the problems from happening in the future.

The fact is that a Notary in Louisiana (I don’t remember clearly the name of the state but think it is Louisiana) did a Notary job for a loan signing. The Notary was new and had no idea what she was doing. There were numerous mistakes on dates, signatures, notarizations, etc. In fact there were so many mistakes that the Lender make the Notary pay for the redraw of documents. The bill came out to $385. Ouch. What a nasty surprise for this enthusiastic but clueless Notary.

The moral of the story is that you cannot just get a Notary seal and start working without knowing what you are doing. The states don’t prepare you at all for Notary work. Even California gives very little hands on training. NNA certified notaries have been trained in some basic aspects of loan signing, but that course does not teach basic Notary knowledge. So, if you think you “know what you are doing” because you are NNA certified, try taking NNA’s Notary Essentials course first. It is better to know how to be a Notary than a loan signer, because most of the mistakes notaries make are either rudeness, leaving people high and dry, not following directions, or you guessed it — Notary mistakes. Notaries very rarely get in trouble for not knowing their loan documents and rarely get in trouble for dating an RTC wrong although it could happen.

So, become an expert at being a Notary. You can get into trouble with me if you don’t and trouble with the law, lenders and customers as well. Knowledge is power and ignorance comes at a high expense.

.

You might also like:

Notary loses $4000 in legal fees because a fraud added a name to the certificate
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19477

If you’re named as an identity theft conspirator, it could cost you $20,000 in legal fees.
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19481

Do you keep a journal to please your state, a judge, the FBI or 123notary?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19483

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November 15, 2020

Why Notaries don’t like Snapdocs and why companies do

Filed under: Signing Company Gossip — admin @ 8:37 pm

Originally posted in 2019

Let me go point by point about how Snapdocs is designed for those who hire, and not for the convenience of those who are Notaries.

1. Cattle Calls
Cattle call style mass texts make life easy for those hiring Notaries. They just input a few lines of text, click a link and a desperate Notary will come crawling to them. One minute of work for the signing company, but dozens of Notaries will have their life interrupted only to find that the job has been given to someone else.

2. Thumbs up or thumbs down?
The Notaries cannot see what the comments are about them. But, companies can get an idea of what other companies think about the Notaries. These comments do not compare to 123notary’s skill analytics. But, this game is no longer about skill, but price and not making any major blunders or leaving people high and dry. I tested many of the best Notaries on Snapdocs and the vast majority did not know how to follow instructions nor did they understand Notary Procedure well at all.

3. Downloading & Uploading
The process of downloading documents or uploading documents is easy for signing companies. It is also easy for Notaries, but designed more with the intent of convenience for those paying to use the system.

4. Record Keeping & Data
Snapdocs stores lots of data about who your connections are who you do signings with as well as job information. This is very convenient for those using the system except that your information about your secret clients will become known to Snapdocs for better or for worse. That was an issue for several companies I am acquainted with.

Personally, I prefer a system where you can get to know the notary in person over the phone before you use them. But, for the millennials out there, Snapdocs fits their cultural model. It relieves people of the necessity and burden of actually having to talk to others. Where has humanity gone? I have to post my latest selfie on Instagram.

You might also like:

What notaries don’t like about snapdocs
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21246

Snapdocs – when the texts stop
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21163

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November 14, 2020

Snapdocs: When the texts stop

Filed under: Signing Company Gossip — Tags: — admin @ 8:02 am

Originally posted in 2019

Notaries are always complaining about low-balling, cattle calls and a shortage of work. But, in the last few months, business has been so bad that many have reported that on Snapdocs, the texts stopped all together.

I have lived through different economic cycles from inflation in the 70’s to a recession in the 80’s to the dot com bust in 1999 and the 2008 financial crash. However, I have never seen an industry crash quite like now. I am amazed that 123notary is surviving so well in this difficult time.

So, what do you do when the texts stop? Do you get another job? Do you sit and wait? Do you cry?

When business is bad, I tend to work even harder. That means we get less sign ups so I have to scour the internet to sign people up myself, screen many out, and repeat the process. What about you? When business is bad do you try harder or get more apathetic? The winners in this industry try very hard. I suggest doing exactly that.

.

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Compilation of posts about Snapdocs
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21531

See our string of posts about Snapdocs
http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=snapdocs

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November 13, 2020

Penalties for Notary misconduct, fraud, and failure of duty

Filed under: Notary Mistakes — Tags: , , — admin @ 11:23 am

Originally posted in 2018

Notaries by and large do not willfully engage in any type of illegal activity or illegal notarizations. The normal types of crimes Notaries commit are due to complete ignorance of Notary procedure, Oaths, and certificates. The only serious and purposeful crime I have ever heard of a Notary associated with us committing was one that assisted someone in fraud concerning real property — and the Notary ended up in jail. Please keep in mind that Notary law is different in every state and changes all the time as well. Penalties and fines for Notary misconduct are different in each state, California being the most stringent.

Negligent vs. Willful Misconduct

In California, the penalties are much more severe for Notaries who have engaged in willful misconduct rather than just making a careless mistake or omission.

Failure to keep your seal & journal under lock and key.
In California this is very serious and is a crime. You can keep your Notary equipment in a bag with a small lock that locks the zippers together. If you are the only one with access to your car, then the trunk of your car could work as well.

Unauthorized Practice of Law
The definition of UPL differs from state to state. However, offering opinions on legal matters or offering to draft legal documents might constitute UPL. For a professional opinion — ask an Attorney!

Asking a notary to do an improper notarization.
This is a misdemeanor in California. If it involves real property, then it is much more serious. Clients might ask you to notarize their signature using a different name variation that is not documented on their identification, or put a false date. This is illegal. They would guilty for asking you to do this, and you would be guilty if you give in to their pressure. If you have driven forty minutes to a signing job, in a sense you have a beneficial interest in notarizing their document unless you have gotten your travel fee up front when you walk in the door. So, to be prudent and avoid this issue, you MUST get your travel fee BEFORE you see the document, or are informed who the signers are, or see their ID, because a conflict of interest can easily happen. If someone asks you to do something illegal, you can threaten to report them to the Secretary of State’s office. This is a serious crime and you should treat it as such.

Issuing a false certificate
A notary who signs and seals false certificates, and this could include backdated certificates would be guilty of a misdemeanor. A false Acknowledgment certificate constitutes FORGERY. Additionally, the notary public could have their commission revoked if found guilty of this crime, with an additional fine of $1500 per incident in California (fines change over time so look this up in the statues).

Failure to Identify a Credible Witness
A fine of $10,000 per incident could occur if a notary fails to check a credible witness’s identification documents and see that they have acceptable identification.

Failure to get a thumbprint!!!
This is my favorite. Thumbprints are critical for identifying a signer if fraud is suspected. Powers of Attorney and Deeds require a journal thumbprint in California. A fine of up to $2500 per incident would be the penalty. Most other states do not require thumbprints, and Texas and Florida actually recommend against thumbprinting as those states do not trust Notaries with biometric data which is the only foolproof way to identify a signer. How ironic!

Failure to administer an Oath
A fine of $750 per incident could be incurred, not to mention revocation, or suspension of a notary commission, or refusal to grant a commission. I heard that some Notaries in Oklahoma had to go to court for a loan document signing in question. The Judge found out that the Notaries had not administered Oaths on the Affidavits in the loan package. I heard that the Judge overturned the loan and had the Notaries commissions permanently revoked by their state.

Felony Convictions
If you have a felony conviction or have been convicted of a crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude, you will most likely not be allowed to get a notary commission in the first place. If you already had a notary commission, it would be suspended or revoked the minute your state’s ntoary division finds out about it!

Professional Misconduct
This refers to dishonesty in your professional activities. The penalty would once again be suspension, revocation, or refusal to grant a notary commission.

Failure of Duty
This means that you refuse to serve a member of the public who has a legitimate request for a notarization. However, if the signer doesn’t have proper identification, or doesn’t have a properly filled out document, or seems very questionable, you have the right to refuse service to such a client. The penalty would be refusal to grant a notary commission, suspension, or revocation of a notary commission. Additionally a fine of $750 could be imposed on the California notary public.

Falsely Acting as a Notary
This is a misdemeanor. Borrowing someone’s Notary seal and doing Notary work is a serious crime. If you are a Notary, keep your seal and journal locked up.

Making false statements to a notary
Anyone who induces a notary to make an improper notarization with regards to real property can be found guilty of a FELONY. This is the most serious type of fraud possible in the notary profession.

False or misleading notary advertising
Making false statements in notary advertising is illegal, and the penalty for a California Notary is $1500 per incident. Additionally, such a notary’s commission could be suspended, revoked, terminated, or there could be a refusal to issue a commission. Claiming to be an immigration expert, or be able to give legal advice could be a serious example of false advertising and perhaps unauthorized practice of law.

Selling personal information
It is illegal for the notary sells or misuses personal information of those he/she has notarized. Remember to keep your journals locked up, so that nobody can have access to that information. When making copies of journal entries, make sure that the neighboring journal entries are covered, so that their information is not shared with the public. Once again, your application could be denied, or your commission could be revoked or suspended for this type of crime.

Misstatements on a notary application (Application misstatement)
Your notary commission could be suspended, revoked, or refused if you are guilty of this misconduct

Here are some other crimes… I will just list them here, but may or may not describe the penalties.

Failure to deliver a journal to the county clerk at the end of your commission. – misdemeanor
Failure to safeguard seal and journal – revoke/suspend/refuse
Failure to report a lost or damaged seal – $1500 fine
Nonpayment of judgement / Refusal to pay child support – refusal to issue a commission
Failure to keep a journal – such notaries will be prosecuted

There are a few others laws that I am not going to mention, but these were the interesting ones…

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A Notary loses $4000 in legal fees because someone changed a name on a certificate

Notary loses $4000 in legal fees because fraud adds name to Acknowledgment certificate.

All you need to know about notary work

All you need to know about notary work

How to complain about a notary public

How to complain about a notary public

Notary Fines and Penalties

Notary Fines & Notary Penalties (gulp)

Fraud and Forgery in the Notary Profession

Fraud & Forgery related to the notary profession

Notary Public General Information

Notary Public Information

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November 12, 2020

123notary trained her and now she is getting jobs off the hook

Filed under: Marketing Articles — admin @ 5:29 am

It all started when someone signed up for a listing many months ago. I talked to her on the phone and the phone call lasted for seven hours she was so interesting. I gave her lots of tips, and she read my blog tutorials on Notary work. When she took my new and more difficult quiz, she got 84% while the others averaged about 35-40%. My new quiz
has many following directions, handling situations and tough notary questions which most people just cannot handle.

The last time I called this lady, she said, “I can’t talk, I’m at a signing. The listing is really working out well.” Then we talked later on that evening and she said she had been getting a lot of work. Something like eighty signings in the last two months which is amazing for someone brand new with no experience.

So, this is an example of someone who listens to our advice, studies hard, and puts attention into their listing. The result is success and happiness!

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He took Jeremy’s advice and got new title companies
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What is the secret to Carmen’s success?
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November 11, 2020

Oaths — how Notaries completely screw them up!

Oaths are an official Notarial act in all states if my memory serves correctly. Oaths unfortunately are very misunderstood and generally poorly administered if administered at all. So, let me straighten out some common problems that I have seen with Oaths.

By definition, all Jurat Notary Acts must include an Oath. A Jurat is a Notary Act with a written statement and an Oath. The documentation of the Oath has verbiage such as, “Subscribed and sworn to before me ______ on this ______ (date) by _____ (name of affiant).” There are various problems that occur here. Oaths also can occur as independent and purely oral acts.

1. Omission of Oath
Most Notaries omit the required Oath for a Jurat. In California, your commission can be suspended, revoked, or terminated by omitting an Oath and you can also be fined $750 per incident. Other states do not teach Oaths, not fine you if you forget to administer it which is exactly why most out of state Notaries simply don’t do the Oath. Nobody is putting a gun to their head, so why should they unless they have integrity which they usually don’t have according to my recent findings. Sad!

2. The word Swear omitted.
When administering an Oath, you must use the word swear, otherwise in my book it is not an Oath. A good Oath requires the signer to raise their right hand, the word solemnly should ideally be used before the word swear (for good form), the phrase, “under the penalty of perjury” could also be used, and the clause, “So help you God” should also be used. Although there is no prescribed Oath verbiage, if you don’t swear, it isn’t an Oath. Some Notaries prefer to affirm, state, acknowledge or attest rather than using the word swear since swearing offends the ultra-religious and ultra-athiest members of the public. So, for those who don’t want to swear, don’t use an Oath — use an affirmation instead which does not mention God or swearing.

3. What if people don’t want to use the word swear?
Some people find it offensive to use the word swear or God in an Oath. For them, you use the sister act which is an Affirmation which is allowed in most if not all states. But, don’t confuse the two acts even though they are interchangeable — they are not the same thing and you can not cross use the verbiage for one act on another. If you Oath you swear and if you do an Affirmation, you Affirm. You do not affirm with an Oath.

4. Using exchangeable verbiage.
Some states allow or prescribe verbiage such as, “Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the contents of this document are true and correct?” That is acceptable to me as an Oath because you used the word Swear even though you had alternate verbiage. But, you did not omit swear to only use the alternate verbiage which would disqualify the act as an Oath.

5. Court Oath vs. Jurat Oath.
There are many types of Oaths out there. You can swear people into court, solemnize a marriage, swear someone into office, or have them swear to a document. Notaries should PRACTICE the various types of Oaths so that they can master each type and not confuse them otherwise the Notary will look like an idiot (this happens a lot with our members.) It is common for me to ask for an Oath for a document and the Notary says, “Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” I say, “I do, but can we now say an Oath for my document?” That is not a document Oath, that is a swearing you into court Oath.

6. Swearing that I voluntarily signed a document
Many Notaries will have me swear that I voluntarily signed a document. This is required in many instances in Massachusetts, however, swearing that I signed a document is not necessary in most states since the Notary watched the person sign, and making sure you signed voluntarily has never been an issue for anybody I know. If you were under duress, would you suddently tell the Notary simply because he asked or would you get nervous? Hmmm. There is no harm in asking if I signed a document on my own free will, so long as you don’t forget to give Oath verbiage about the document in Jurat Oath where the point of the Oath is to swear to facts contained in the document.

7. Swearing that I am the person in my ID
This is ridiculous. If I were an identity fraud, would I say that the ID was not mine? Many Notaries administer an Oath on my ID when I ask them to do an Oath on my document. The ID is not the document — get it straight.

8. Omitting the word document
If you are doing a Jurat Oath but give an Oath that “the information” is true and correct doesn’t cut it. If you are giving an Oath about a particular document, you must reference the document somehow. “Do you solemnly swear that the contents of the document before you are true and correct to the best of your knowledge, so help you God?” That would be an acceptable Oath because you are swearing, and swearing to a particular document rather than to thin air.

9. Relying on cheat sheets.
Many Notaries can only do an Oath when they have their recommended wording from their state with them. If for any reason they should lose the cheat sheet, they would not be able to lawfully conduct their duties as Notary Public. If you practice giving Oaths, you can give them by heard. Additionally, many Notaries give inapplicable Oaths as I mentioned above, so relying on reading text that you don’t understand the meaning of is useless. You need to understand the meaning and significance of the Oath you are giving otherwise it serves no intrinsic purpose.

10. Subscribed and Sworn.
Many Notaries say, “Subsribed and sworn to this ____ day of ___” when I ask them to deliver an Oath. That is the written documentation that an Oath took place. It is NOT the Oath itself. Oath wording typically starts with, “Do you solemnly swear…” and you should have the person raise their right hand.

11. A Jurat is not an Oath
Oath is to Jurat what Motor is to Automobile. A Jurat has an Oath, but a Jurat is not an Oath. An Oath can be an independent Notarial act which in most states has no written certificate. Florida has a useless certificate which says there was an Oath, but doesn’t give any indication of what was sworn to or the type of Oath. You might as well not have paperwork if it is that lame.

12. Notary Acts
When I ask people to name some Notary acts, most people claim not to know what I am talking about. They commonly mention Acknowledgments and Jurats. Few mention Oaths. Oaths and Affirmations are Official Notarial Acts in all or nearly all states. Notaries are required by law to administer Oaths if the public requests them from you. If you have never been asked to do one, that doesn’t preclude the possibility that you will be asked to do one. You are also not exempt from the responsibility of knowing how to administer one. If you are a commissioned Notary Public, you are responsible to administer Oaths, and correct sounding relevant Oaths, otherwise your state has the right to decommission you — and in my opinion they should.

MY RECOMMENDATIONS

Here is some standard Oath wording I like for documents.
“Do you solemnly swear under the penalty of perjury that the information in this document is true and correct to the best of your knowledge and that you agree to and will abide by the terms — if any in the document, so help you God?”
Please notice that I mentioned terms. What good is swearing to an agreement if you only agree that the agreement is true? The point of an agreement is that you agree to the agreement and will follow the terms of the agreement. Having a “useful” Oath rather than a correct but “useless” Oath makes a lot of sense. If your Oath serves no purpose, then why give one?

BAD OATHS
Here are some examples of wrong Oaths for Jurat documents for your reading pleasure.

“Do you acknowledge that this is correct?”
“Do you affirm that the document is correct?”
“Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?”
“Subscribed and Sworn to before me.”
“Do you solemnly swear that this is your true ID?”

OKAY OATHS
“Do you swear that the foregoing is correct?”
“Do you solemnly swear that the document in front of you is true and correct to the best of your knowledge?”

COMMENTARY
Most states do not teach the art of Oath giving, but they should. Notaries are required by law to administer Oaths, yet the majority of Notaries either give no Oath, inapplicable Oaths, or poorly worded Oaths while others rely on cheat sheets which is bad. Using cheat sheets is okay, but relying exclusively on some standardized wording for Jurat Oaths is not acceptable. There are situations where there is REQUIRED prescribed wording where you have to use that particular wording. In such a circumstance it is okay to rely on particular wording. However, for Jurat Oaths, you should be able to make up an Oath, otherwise I will fail you.

.

You might also like:

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

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

Affirmations – pleasing the politically correct while offending the traditional people.
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19606

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November 10, 2020

Which Dual Tray Printer do Notaries like? And what does 123notary say?

Filed under: Business Tips — admin @ 10:47 am

Originally posted in 2018

There was a conversation about Dual Tray Printers on the NNA Linked In page.

Nobody had a twin brother, but someone bought an older brother. That solves my problem of being an only child — buy a sibling. Available at Walmart and Amazon.

Recommendations by Notaries

Brother MFC-9970CDW. It’s a workhorse!

Brother MFC-8710DW. I’m happy with it.

Brother multifunction model is 8850

Brother 5200. and it’s AWESOME

Brother HL-L5200DW

Brother HL-L8350CDW and like it. It allows you to purchase the second tray separately (as an addition)

brother HL6180-dw I have tried many different ones this has been the best I ordered on Amazon

HP Laser Jet 4350 DUAL tray 10,000 per cartridge black only same as my Bank uses, it is a work Horse

Warning:
One Notary says that Brother printers aren’t easy to set up with a Mac.

123notary recommends
When starting out, a less expensive, but reliable printer might do the trick. But, if you get good business you should consider having two printers. A fast one for home and a small one with a good power source for your vehicle so you can print on the road which saves tons of time going home to print. Here is what we think you should look for:

1. A reliable brand.
Notaries in the business seem to like Brother best with HP as a second choice. Model numbers that experienced Notaries like are above.

2. Dual tray
means that the printer has two trays. You can use one tray for legal and the other for letter sized paper. Title companies prefer dual tray. It is more professional and means that you don’t need to use special software to sort out the different sizes of paper using a single tray.

3. Speed of printing.
You will be printing a lot if you do loan signing. If you do four packages a day that are 100 pages per package, and all need borrowers copies, that is 800 pages. If you have a printer that prints 45 pages per minute, your job will be done fast. Otherwise you will be sitting and watching for a very long time while your assignments print.

4. Replacement ink or toner
I do not use dual tray printers myself and have been out of the signing game for a long time. If you have a printer that uses ink, make sure you have a few good sources to get replacement ink, order in bulk, and have it in your pantry ready to go. Make sure it is affordable too, otherwise your yearly ink bill will be a tax deduction that is a little too good. If your printer has a toner cartridge, research replacement parts and their costs and how many pages it covers to estimate your costs over the life of the printer.

5. Repair
If you buy from a well-known brand, it will be easier to find places to repair your product. Hopefully, you will never need a repair. You might have a back up printer too just in case you have to leave your printer in the shop for a few days.

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Split PDFs into Letter & Legal separate PDFs

Split PDFs into Letter & Legal Separate PDFs

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November 9, 2020

Which Notary directories get high paying signings?

Which Notary directories can help you get $150 jobs? Which Notary directory will help you get a high quantity of work. Which Notary directory will get you nicer clients? Here are some answers.

123notary — email us for a quote at info@123notary.com
123notary is a directory that refines its information daily. We attract all types of Notaries, but refine our list to put the absolute cream of the crop at the top of search results by using a complicated algorithm. This is why we are popular with Title companies and attract more high paying work than all other directories combined! Experienced Notaries on 123notary average $110 per signing. Disclaimer: Not all jobs from 123notary are amazing, but the percentage of good ones is higher than other directories, which puts you in a position to filter out the undesirable companies.

We put roughly 300 new notaries online every month and then take off half of the free new listings that have bad stats. We also have to remove older listings where the Notaries have become unresponsive. This constant refinement has made us the most reliable source for accurate information of any Notary directory.

123notary offers top placed listings in your county. All you have to do is email us at info@123notary.com and ask us for a quote for a high position in your area. Notaries with a top spot on 123notary get an exponentially higher quality of work as well as more total offers.

NotaryRotary
They are famous for their forum which is the most popular in the industry. Their directory is easy to use as it shows results in order of proximity to the search zip code. NotaryRotary focuses on closeness rather than on the quality or knowledge legal of the Notary. NotaryRotary gets a little bit of high paying Title Company work, but mostly signing company work.

SnapDocs
SnapDocs is a clearinghouse for the lowest paid and most undignified Notary work out there. Notaries get cattle calls via mass texts to all Notaries in the area for low paying jobs that often only pay $50 or $60 per signing. If you are a beginner and want to get your feet wet then try them. However, Notaries with experience are dropping off this medium like flies!

NotaryCafe
This is a much smaller directory that capitalizes on quality Notaries. Jobs are often higher paying, but there are not a lot of jobs to go around. Quantity is not a specialty of NotaryCafe unfortunately, but we still recommend them to more experienced Notaries.

SigningAgent.com
NNA’s directory has a lot of Notaries. Most of the Notaries are newer while there are a few experienced ones on board. The high point of this directory is that you can see the dates when Notaries became NNA certified and/or background screened which means a lot to signing companies. However, this company has not generated that much work for signing agents for years.

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Best virtual comedy 2016 edition
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Elite certification will benefit you for the rest of your life
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20770

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November 8, 2020

Elite Certification will benefit you for the rest of your life

It sounds ominous, but could be good too. Like if it were a goose that laid golden eggs. How can one possibly get such a goose? Easy — from 123notary!

Many Notaries say, “I studied already, why do I have to study again?” The answer is that in any profession, to keep you up to the highest standards you have to keep studying. And we have raised our standards and want to raise you with our standards. In the old days, we only asked a few questions to elite certify people because we were not organized about that particular test simply because so few people would take it. Now, we are giving it for free to many, and asking several dozen well organized questions falling into several categories. But, let’s do a cost and benefit analysis.

Cost – Free, but you need to invest 5 hours
It might take a few hours to study for the elite quiz. However, it does not cost money now. We used to charge $179, but now it is free, and lazy Notaries are not jumping at the opportunity because they want to get paid for services when they don’t understand what they are doing (despite their claims of being an expert.) I quiz people all day long and only 3% of you guys know what you are doing regardless of how many decades you have been doing Notary work incorrectly or illegally.

Just review basic notary acts and procedures. Review which documents cover what topics. Review the advanced elite topics in our study guide. It is not that hard and you can learn it.

Benefits:

1. Elite Certification is something you can keep for life.
We might want to do brush up quizzes from time to time, and you might have to review, but it is given with the intention of being a life designation. Whatever studying you do will benefit you with this icon for the rest of your career — day after day, month after month, year after year. You will get more money and jobs for the rest of your career.

2. Make $14 more per signing.
A poll of three hundred Notaries revealed that those who passed our elite certification made $14 more per signing than those who were not 123notary certified. Most Notaries complain that they don’t get paid enough and that they want to find a way to get paid more. Meriting the pay by proving your knowledge is the key. Our elite certification is highly prized and will get you more pay

3. Get more work
Those who are elite certified get a lot more clicks to their listing and a lot more work. I would estimate that they get close to double the work and more money per job. That translates into perhaps triple the income after expenses are paid such as car, printing, phone, etc.

4. Get favors from 123notary
We don’t always do people favors, and sometimes we do unfavors if you don’t login for 120 days (I’m sure you heard about that.) But, Elite Certified Notaries are a special breed, and if we can find a way to raise them up the list, we will. I am not promising anything, but we regularly reward Elite Certified members.

5. Get more respect from title companies
Title companies prefer our Elite members. If you are tired of signing services, get elite!

6. Legal safety
Most Notaries are not aware that being a Notary has legal liabilities. Some of the liability comes because of fraud or misunderstandings that can happen to you that is beyond your control. However, a lot of the danger that happens to Notaries happens because they do not take safety precautions in their paperwork, nor do they follow the law in many instances. Our elite program helps you be cautious and law abiding which could save you from being a witness or defendant in court. Being subpoenaed to court happens to 15% of full time Notaries eventually and is more common that you think. Reduce the chances of this happening to you by being safe and taking all the possible precautions.

7. Knowledge and pride
Most Notaries are proud of themselves thinking that they know it all when they know close to nothing. Having our Elite Certification proves that you are in the top 2% of our Notaries and really know your stuff up to a very high standard. You can feel pride based on real knowledge and not on an arrogant misconception of knowledge.

Elite Certification can change your life. It only takes a few hours of study. I assure you that it is more than worth it.

You might also like:

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

Studying to be elite certified is worth $533 per minute
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20774

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

Attention Title Companies – what you need to know about our new certification standards.
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21065

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November 7, 2020

A comprehensive guide to Notary organizations

Originally published in 2016

Are you a Notary? Do you want to join some Notary organizations? There are many of them out there. Some help educate Notaries while others have helplines or hotlines. Some sell Notary supplies while others help Notaries advertise their services.

123notary.com
http://www.123notary.com/
123notary.com has been around since 1999 and helps Notaries advertise their Mobile Notary services online. Title, Escrow, Signing Companies, Attorneys and individuals love using 123notary to find some of the best trained and most experienced Notaries anywhere. 123notary also sells loan signing courses and has a very entertaining and informative blog. Check out their list of signing companies with reviews to see who you should and shouldn’t be working for.

National Notary Association
https://www.nationalnotary.org/
The NNA has been around since 1957 as a California Notary Association to help Notaries with educational resources and tools. In 1964 it became a National Association. NNA sells Notary supplies, errors & omissions insurance, education to help pass the Notary exam and become a signing agent, andmore… Advertise your signing agent services on signingagent.com

Notary Rotary
http://www.notaryrotary.com
Notary Rotary has been around for decades and offers a very potent way for Notaries to advertise their services. They also sell seals, and E&O insurance. Signing Agents can place an add and get found based on how close they are to the zip code being searched for.

SnapDocs
http://www.snapdocs.com/
This organization makes it easy to find newer Notaries who work for cheap as well as providing a system for downloading documents. More seasoned Notaries are complaining that SnapDocs is contributing to the lowering of fees in the industry. We recommend this organization for newer Notaries who want to get their foot in the door.

American Society of Notaries
http://www.notaries.org/
ASN offers a phoneline for technical support just in case Notaries have a question while on the job. They also sell Notary supplies and more.

American Association of Notaries
http://www.notarypublicstamps.com
Buy your stamps from the AAN!

Notary Café
https://notarycafe.com/
Notary Cafe is a smaller directory of Notaries that seems to specialize in the more serious Notaries. We do not have records to show how popular their directory has been in the last few years, but they have been popular for a long time.

Pennsylvania Association of Notaries
https://www.notary.org/
Need help becoming a Notary in Pennsylvania? Try this organization.

California Association of Notaries
http://www.calnotaries.com/
This is yet another Notary directory.

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You might also like:

Snapdocs — see our feed for posts about this company
http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=snapdocs

The Towles Booth (pronounced Tolls)
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=9456

Why the Notary industry went South
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16500

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