Sometimes a state does a great job of letting everyone know that new rules for notaries are forthcoming. Sometimes, not as well.
The state of Arkansas quietly had new rules for notaries go into effect yesterday. It is part of act HB 4150 passed in Arkansas 91st Assembly. The changes have deftly avoided the news feeds, and we were led to the text of the bill just yesterday.
Read MoreWe recently covered upcoming rules changes for notaries in Pennsylvania.
New notary education rules were passed in Pennsylvania, requiring all new and renewing notaries to complete a three hour course. The course must be completed within six months before filing an application, or filing a renewal, to be a notary in the state of Pennsylvania.
The update here comes for current notaries. In the initial language of the rules, current notaries were “grandfathered” in and not required to meet the same educational demands as new notaries.
Read MoreYou can add Indiana to the states lined up to update their notary laws soon, as Indiana has approved changes to take effect in 2018. The changes will bring Indiana closer to the rest of the nation in regards to notarial law.
Of course, we’ll see tighter testing requirements for notaries, as we are seeing across the country, as well as changes to reflect traveling and other common notary issues.
Indiana did previously have testing for new notaries, but the test was not very substantial, and allowed potential notaries multiple guesses to get questions correct. That is going away and will be replaced by a new, more comprehensive test for prospective notaries. Current notaries will need to re-take the test every two years, as well.
A big update is being made to reflect the fact that notaries are traveling more and more to provide services. Previous law only allowed a notary to charge up to $2 to travel to a signing, even though many, if not most, signings required more than $2 worth of gas to travel to.
Seriously, two dollars!
Fortunately, the new law allows for notaries to charge for travel expenses at the federal mileage rate. It also raises the amount notaries are allowed to charge for their services.
Another issue being addressed is who can become a notary public in Indiana. Current law states that you must be a resident of the state. The new law states that you only need to work in the state to become a notary. We have also seen this issue recently in North Carolina.
This is yet another reason you need a nationwide notary company like Sunshine Signing, who has notaries ready in all 50 states.
It is common practice for many businesses to have someone in the office commissioned as a notary. This has been a problem in border areas of the state. Many of these businesses employ individuals who live out of the state. These employees were automatically disqualified from being an Indiana notary due to their residence. To eliminate this inconvenience, Indiana will allow individuals primarily employed in the state of Indiana to become Indiana notaries.
— Eagle Country Online
Another issue that will affect notaries directly are bond requirements. Currently, a notary has to hold a $5,000 bond, which will be raised to $25,000. For current notaries, though, there will be no change until the end of their commission. Their current bond will be grandfathered in until their current commission expires, and won’t change to $25,000 until then.
Laws affecting notaries are changing all over the country now, to reflect the changing times we live in, and to protect notaries and their clients. Expect to see more states update their laws in the coming months and years.
Increase your efficiency and bottom line with Sunshine’s Mobile Notary Services and Online Notary Services. Sunshine is always there when you need us.
The Revised Uniform Law of Notarial Act will take effect on October 26, 2017 in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of State published its notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
This long awaited Notarial Act will replace previous laws enacted in 1941 and 1953. The law was actually passed in 2013, but compliance requirements for the state are just being completed. The law was always scheduled to take effect 180 days after approval from the when Department of State completed its work on new programs for the education of notaries in the state.
This is a sweeping change of notarial law, and includes many important updates. Some of them are simple and common sense. For example, the new law requires that a notary to identify the identity of any person for whom a notarial act is performed. It also simplifies the process to notarize electronic documents.
Some of the other changes are more complex and should make you take note.
Users of notary services are protected from errors and omissions by notaries and challenges to the validity of notary certificates. The failure of a notarial officer to perform a duty or meet a requirement of the law will not invalidate a notarial act. Instead, any remedies for misconduct by a notary aided or abetted by a user of notarial services must be sought under other laws. In addition, a rebuttable presumption is provided regarding the validity of the signatures and titles of notarial officers and a conclusive presumption is provided with respect to the authority of judicial officers to perform notarial acts
— Lexology
This section in particular is of note, and we are going to have to see how it plays out. While it disallows a notarial act to be invalidated because of failure to have perfect documents, it also opens an avenue to pursue “remedies for misconduct” through other channels, presumably civil.
Sanctions for violating the law will also increase. Greater enforcement powers have been granted to the Department of State, and sanctions have been increased.
Of course, this is accompanied by new notarial forms to help keep you in compliance, as well as new, mandatory training for new notaries, as well as those seeking to re-instate their license.
Pennsylvania is now the 7th state to adopt the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, with more states likely to follow in upcoming years. It was also the birthplace of the notary that helped found a nation.
This is just another reason you need a nationwide notary service that can navigate the changes laws for you.
Edit: Important Update for Pennsylvania notaries.
Increase your efficiency and bottom line with Sunshine’s Mobile Notary Services and Online Notary Services. Sunshine is always there when you need us.
The North Carolina Secretary of State faces impeachment charges after it was revealed that over 300 notaries in the state were non permanent residents.
Representative Chris Millis, a Republican from Pender County, NC held a press conference where he levied charges against Elaine Marshall, the North Carolina Secretary of State. His office poured over 1,700 pages of documents that show that over 320 notaries in the state did not legally reside in the United States.
“If the secretary chooses not to resign, I will proceed with all legislative actions, including a resolution for impeachment,” Millis said.
There is no law that says a notary must be a United States citizen, but the law does say that the person must reside in the United States legally. The issue focuses mainly on people who used DACA status to become notaries. DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which began in 2012, and is a limited immigration program offered by the Department of Homeland Security.
Millis says these same documents show Marshall’s office regularly accepted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) cards as forms of identification which he claims on his website are not valid to prove residency. “A DACA card is a temporary employment authorization to facilitate safe and legitimate employment and income for otherwise undocumented aliens but does not confer legal immigration status.” — Fox News
— Fox News
Elaine Marshall called the claims purely political.
“This is simply a rehashing of the political attack used by my opponent [Republican Michael LaPaglia] in the recent election,” Marshall said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has authorized the specifically mentioned notaries to work here lawfully. That federally authorized status continues to be unchanged by the new presidential administration.” — WRAL
— WRAL
For his part, Millis has filed a new bill in North Carolina that would require all notaries to be United States citizens.
Increase your efficiency and bottom line with Sunshine’s Mobile Notary Services and Online Notary Services. Sunshine is always there when you need us.
Last week the federal reserve announced for just the third time since the financial crisis, that they are raising rates to a range between .75 and 1 percent. The fed announced in their decision that they are planning for slow economic growth, which stands in contrast to some in the market who think the market is growing at a faster pace.
But, does this mean anything for the mobile notary?
How will the fed raising rates affect new housing sales, as well as refinances? The scary answer is that it would discourage buyers from coming to the table. But, the reality may be far different.
Rates are still at historic lows, and the fed is looking at raising the rates again in the coming months, maybe several times. This could encourage buyers to close the deal before the rates rise again.
Ms. Zentner said she expected the Fed to raise rates again at its June meeting. The Fed’s policy-making committee next meets on May 2 and 3. — New York Times
— New York Times
Some analysts believe that we may see four or five more rate hikes in the next two years.
Federal Reserve Chairperson Janet Yellen has made it clear that she expects to recommend (a minimum) of three increases in the Federal Reserve interest rate in 2017. The extent of the effects of these rate hikes will depend in part on the size of the rate increase. — Yahoo Finance
— Yahoo Finance
The banks are already bracing for the higher rates. Early reports had bank stocks slightly increasing on the news. But, expect them to make a push to get buyers and refinancers to the table before the next hike.
A contentious battle has commenced in Idaho regarding a new law to set forthcoming rules for notaries in the state. The notary law passed out of committee last week after a long debate. Among the topics brought up against the bill were unstable foreign countries, the Hague Convention and the UCC.
The bill looks to modernize the rules for notaries in the state. It recognizes the use of electronic signatures and other technological advancements that are becoming staples in the field.
Read MoreWhile doing outreach and marketing yourself is vital for a notary when business gets slow, it’s simply not enough.
You can’t really wait until things slow down to decide it’s time to get started bringing in more clients. By that point, you’re already behind. Rather than let that happen, there are some specific ways you can market yourself on a consistent basis, so you keep your income as steady as possible.
By having a gameplan each and every month, and adjusting that plan as necessary when you see what works and what doesn’t, you notary business can achieve its highest level of success.
Do the local title companies know about you? If not, why not? Make sure you have a good list, updated periodically, of the title companies in your local area. Decide how far you’re willing to travel to offer your notary services, and then get on the databases of all the companies in the area that could possibly use those services.
The more companies know about you and have your contact information, the higher the chances that you will have consistent work all the time. That can help you build your business, so you don’t see those dips in income during slower times of the year.
Full-time notaries can earn $36,000 per year or more, and part-time notaries often earn between $10,000 and $15,000 per year, on average, though their are ways to make more money.
With that in mind, it’s clear that you need to keep working and expanding your business if you want to be successful. Keep track of the companies you work with, and how often they contact you.
If you haven’t been contacted recently, you need to reach out before too much time passes. There could be a specific reason they haven’t contacted you. If there is, you’ll want to find out what you can do to get them reaching out to you more frequently.
There are directories for notaries, just as there are for many other types of professionals. You want to be in those directories, but make sure you’re listed the right way.
Think about what you would want if you were hiring a notary. What would you look for? When you know what your clients need, you can offer them the things that matter. Your listing needs to have that information, so people who are looking for a notary know that you’re the right one for them. Some databases allow you to input more information than others, so it’s a good idea to have several variations of your information.
Make sure that all of your information is up to date in all databases, and that includes the correct spelling of your name and any company name you might use, your address and phone number, your email address, and your website. The more ways people have to contact you, and the more consistent you keep your presence across all directories, the easier it will be for you to avoid business dips, slow seasons, and waning times in your notary service. Marketing yourself is a full-time job, and should be treated that way as a big part of your business. By contacting Sunshine Signing today, you can get a notary that will give you prompt, courteous service and make sure your documents are correctly signed. That can give you peace of mind, as it’s important to use a notary you can trust. With the right notary and the ability for them to come to you, your individual or business needs can be met more easily, allowing you to get on with your day.
The more different types of signings you do, the better prepared you will be if there is a dip in the market. They say don’t put your eggs all in one basket, and it is true here. Adding diversity to your work helps to level out any changes in business in one sector.
Increase your efficiency and bottom line with Sunshine’s Mobile Notary Services and Online Notary Services. Sunshine is always there when you need us.
Like banking and related fields, notarizing documents is generally a Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 type of job. If you are not at the bank during those hours, whatever you need notarized will simply have to wait.
That can be very problematic for people who need something notarized on the weekend or after hours on a weekday. Fortunately, there are options beginning to appear that will forever change the notary business. With a mobile notary signing service, for example, you can have documents notarized anytime, anywhere, on a 24/7/365 basis. But, most people do not know about mobile notaries, and getting the word out is important.
If you really want to succeed as a mobile notary, there are some specific things you can do to build your business.
The National Notary Association offers certification options. These are not required for a notary, but they can set you apart from the pack.
Being certified may also help increase your business, because it indicates that you are actually able to do the job you are offering. You would not have the certification without passing requirements for a governing body, which can put people’s minds at ease when they are considering hiring you for their notary needs.
Make sure you prominently display your certification on your website, so people will notice you have attained it. If you do not have a website, a service like Google My Business is probably straight up your alley, as it is easy and free. You should have a listing there no matter what, even if you do not use their website builder.
If you create relationships with title and real estate companies that have regular needs for signings, you can increase the level of business you do. Most of these signings will be on a 9 to 5, Monday through Friday basis, but that is not a bad thing. It simply gives you more business and frees up your weekends and evenings to work with other clients.
As a mobile notary, you can go anywhere at any time, so traveling to title companies and real estate companies around the area can be a great way to create consistent work.
If you are not going to answer your phone or call people back quickly (for example, if you are in the middle of a signing and cannot answer at that moment), you may not get far as a mobile notary. People will be calling you because they need your services at that particular moment in time, or because they need information about your services quickly.
When they do not get a response, they may decide that they are just going to move on and look for someone else. While it is possible they will not find another mobile notary to help them, it is also possible that they will work something out that does not involve you. If you call back hours later, it could be far too late to get their business, so make a fast response a continued priority.
Providing service after hours and on the weekends is one of the main ways a mobile notary can be successful. We know even the thought of being a 24 hour notary is rough, but even if you are not sure why someone would need anything notarized at 3 a.m. on a Saturday, you should still be available.
That can be difficult, and the on-call life can be stressful, but the odds are low that you will get many of these types of phone calls. Regular business hours, early evenings, and weekend afternoons will likely be much more typical.
Still, being prepared for any eventuality can make all the difference when it comes to success and setting yourself apart as a mobile notary.
Increase your efficiency and bottom line with Sunshine’s Mobile Notary Services and Online Notary Services. Sunshine is always there when you need us.
Notaries offer clients the convenience of having a professional notary travel to them or meet them in virtual space. While clients greatly appreciate this level of convenience and flexibility, they still will lose faith if critical notary errors are made.
When this happens, it is likely that the notary will lose their client.
Here are 6 mobile notary errors you need to avoid in order to retain the majority of your clients. And don’t forget our other article on notary mistakes, which this article builds on.
Some notaries prepare for every signing as a hard signing, so they get their preparation checklist filled out for every notarization.
Few mistakes doom a mobile notary quite like making a scheduling error. Whether the mistake is showing up too early, late, or missing a scheduled appointment entirely, this is a mistake you cannot afford to make.
After all, much of the appeal of a mobile notary is that their professional service revolves around the client’s schedule and needs. When that schedule is violated, expect a client to look elsewhere for their notary needs.
A mobile notary has one job function above all else. Namely, the job is to have the qualifications, credentials, and equipment needed to legally function as a client’s notary public.
Please avoid this most heinous of notary errors, and avoid putting your nose into the client’s business. Don’t have strong opinions on matters that do not concern you. A common example is giving a strong opinion on a loan. For example, if the notary looked at a loan’s interest rate and mentioned that the interest rate was too high, expect a client to get annoyed.
As a mobile notary, you cannot know the signer’s credit rating and financial specifics. Those terms may have been the best rate they could receive. Regardless, keep the strong opinions to yourself and don’t make one of these notary errors.
Failing to follow instructions leads to trouble in many client-based professions, and the same holds true for mobile notaries. Ignoring important instructions may lead to missing important deadlines that prevent a loan from being properly funded on time. When the blame on such matters is traced back to a notary who did not do as they were instructed, a client is probably going to find a notary who will follow instructions. This is one of the notary errors that will lose you clients quickly.
Mobile notaries who fail to dress the part or speak professionally will give clients reasons to doubt their choice in notary.
A suit and tie may be overkill, but simply dressing professionally, demonstrating good hygiene and being well spoken will do wonders for a mobile notary’s reputation. And, when the alternative is losing clients, behaving professionally and looking the part is the clearly correct path for a mobile notary to take.
In today’s online world and socially driven era, businesses and professionals must also ensure they appear professional in their online interactions. Rude and insulting online interactions will lead to a potential client looking for a different notary. There is no reason to sabotage your professional prospects when searching for clients because of hostile discussions on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn.
Finally, you may think that having a healthy book of business is a good thing, and in most cases, it is. However, notaries must pay close attention to their appointments to avoid notary errors. Cutting appointment times too close can lead to late appearances and last-minute cancellations.
Before long, you may find your big book of business became much smaller, because you did not space out your appointments accordingly. Be smart with your scheduling and give yourself the time and flexibility needed to provide punctual and professional notary services to all clients.
Increase your efficiency and bottom line with Sunshine’s Mobile Notary Services and Online Notary Services. Sunshine is always there when you need us.
