Notary Public Career

Online Colleges - Search for an Online College and get your College Degree on your own time.

What a notary public does is witness the signing of the documents and ask each party for a sworn oath of authenticity. A notary (or a notary public) is a person legally authorized by a state to administer oaths, take acknowledgments & certify documents. A notary public shall exercise no power or jurisdiction in criminal cases.

A notary public must ensure that the person signing a document to be notarized is who s/he says s/he is. Because identities are critical, a notary public may also spend some time verifying the names of the parties involved in the signing.

One misconception about a notary public is that his or her official signature and/or embossing stamp automatically makes a document 'true and legal'. Documents certified by notaries public are sealed with the notary's seal and are recorded by the notary public in a register maintained by him/her.

The notary public's seal shall either be a seal press or a rubber stamp. These shall be the exclusive property of the notary public. A notary public's signature and seal is required to authenticate the signatures on many legal documents. The notary public verifies the person's identity, usually done with a driver's license, presses the notary seal on the document and signs it.

If you're an inpatient, you may also ask your nurse or unit clerk to arrange for the services of a notary public without charge. Additionally, mail-box shops, copy services, and banks often provide Notary services to the public.

Authentication of a Notary Public's signature is often required when foreign and other jurisdictions are involved. The public may access this record and verify the "official" signature of the notary at the county clerk's office. If not, then a sample of the Notary's signature and seal must first be authenticated by the appropriate provincial authority responsible for Notaries Public.

Each notary public shall have a seal of office, which shall be affixed to his instruments of publications and to his protestations. The term of office of a notary public is four years commencing with the effective date specified in the notarial commission. The Office of the Secretary of State performs random background investigations on individuals submitting new or renewal notary public applications. The applicant cannot act as a Notary Public until he receives his certificate of appointment from this office. An appointed notary public may begin notarizing documents after receipt of a certificate of appointment from the Secretary of State.

I have an in-home notary business. Well, actually it is a little more than just "notary" work, as I also walk borrowers through the process of signing their loan documents. I began by searching the net for any and everything I could find regarding notary publics and loan documents. It took months of research before I would even allow myself to start looking for clients and then a few more months to get up enough nerve to make those "cold contact" calls. But with each call, things became a little easier. I'll have to admit that sometimes I wish I took the easy way out and begged my friend for all the information, but I saw too many friendships end because of petty rivalry once business picked up, so I decided to start from scratch and learn everything I could. And boy am I glad that I did. Because all that research paid off in more ways that I can count. As I learned, I grew more knowledgeable and more confident in my abilities, which has allowed me to expand beyond my own limitations.

At first I was excited about this new venture, but when I learned that there were well over 72,000 notaries in the state of California alone I began to get really worried. I thought I had better jump on this wagon fast, before there were no more jobs left for me. I was on the computer every moment of every day. I wasn't quite sure what I was looking for, but I knew it was out there somewhere. Eventually I began to hit pay day and all my efforts began to pay off. But I still felt pressure as I waited for clients to call for my services. Then one day, I got a taste of what it would be like to be gone all day and all night. I didn't get to see my babies (5 and 9) and by the time I got home, even my husband was in bed. That's when I realized that as much as I wanted this business to take off ground floor, I wanted to be a stay at home mommy more.

So, I sat down and re-evaluated what I wanted out of life. I realized that I wanted to be readily available for my kids and husband, but I also wanted a career I could call my own. So, I decided to continue to pursue this business, but do so on my own terms. I would only accept jobs that worked around my family life and I would not take more than two jobs in one day. And to this day, I am glad that I made that choice.

California still has 72,000 notaries, but what I learned is that not all notaries are in my line of work. In fact, there are only about a third that do my line of work. And of that third, I can still choose how much money I make in any given month by how many hours I am willing to put into it. And best of all, succeeding in this business adventure has allowed me the strength and courage to try other avenues, such as writing a book entitled, "Tid-Bits for New Signing Agents".
Whatever you do in life, do it on your own terms. If you want to work less hours and spend more time with the family, you can do it. It's all about choices.