A notary public is a government official tasked with the job of verifying how authentic a transaction is to help the government curb fraud. They do this by verifying the identity of all the signers and also witness the signing of documents that are of importance. Let us get into everything to know about a notary public.
Your Duties As A Notary Public
As a notary public, you may be able to perform most of the notary duties allowed by the law. These include mostly real estate and mortgage transactions. A notary public is different from a loan closer due to the complexity of the job.
Training
As a notary public, you must have received training from a state-approved vendor. This is necessary since you will be handling important documents. Therefore, the training will help you identify and understand the importance of each document.
Requirements
The requirements to work as a notary public vary from state to state. You may check your state’s Secretary of State website and fill the form. You must notarize the application and pay some fees for submission. Some states also insist that you pass a background check, pass an exam, and even buy a surety bond.
Errors And Omissions Insurance
You must know that errors and omissions insurance is very important when working as a notary public. This insurance is to protect you against any lawsuit that may be filed in the case of any mistake. This type of insurance is cheap in most states. As low as $100 per year in some states.
Working Time And Wages
It can take between thirty minutes to one hour to complete a signing. This comes with an average wage of about $70 to $200 per signing. When working as a notary public, you should know that you will be paid per signing, not per hour. Always make sure to include additional expenses like paper and printing costs in your payment to make sure you do not run at a loss.
Diversify Your Notary Services
This is a very common mistake among many notary publics. Most notary publics put in too much effort into getting one particular type of notary gig. It is better to offer and diversify the services you offer to keep a steady cash flow. Examples of documents you can notarize include mortgage documents, wills, trusts, deeds, and medical documents among others.
Supplies
You also need to get some supplies to have a successful business as a notary public. The supplies with utmost importance are stamps and journals. Both stamps and journals can be purchased online. This is all to record the identification details of your clients. Make sure your stamp or journal does not get tampered with.
You should know that a notary public is not an attorney. A notary public is not a high-ranking official. Therefore, they cannot handle complex tasks like closing a loan transaction. You can become a notary public by meeting the requirements of your state and get commissioned.