Posted by Tonya Washington on 3/12/08 1:20pm
Msg #239073

Certification

Thank all of you that gave me an insight on being a Notary and being a Certified Signing Agent. I have to agree with alot of you all that said that it's just another avenue to make money off of Notaries. I do believe that with time comes experience. I do not believe that I should pay extra money to become certified when I've been doing this for years. Again I work for a title company. For those of you who disagree with me I see you points as well. I will let you know though that I am a Louisiana Notary. I will say this the difference between a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Notary is an accredited school and $1000.00s of dollars and it involves a Bachelors Degree. Last time I checked you don't have to have a college degree to become a Notary in my state. For those of you that do not know anything about Louisiana.........here's a little Notary Info. The Notary test is Statewide. It weeds out the "ding bats" as some of you so affectionately put the term. It is very rigorous, 5 hours long and consists of 3 parts. 1 multiple choice, 1 research section of looking up excerpts from the law, and finally a 3 hour senario section in which you are given 3 to 4 senarios of things that a client may ask of you. You have to hand create forms that conform to the Louisiana Law. I'll give you the stats from when I took the test so that some of you can see the pass rate and the difficulty of the test. 625 persons registered 483 sat for the test 80 passed and out of the 80 only 8 passed taking it their very first time. Out of the 8 myself included 3 of us were from the same class. By the way a Louisiana Notary can do just about anything an attorney does except represent a client in court and give legal advise. The going rate for the state is $10 per signature.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 3/12/08 1:23pm
Msg #239075

Tonya
Louisiana notaries are a whole different breed! I have a whole lot of respect for Louisiana notaries.

Reply by Cari on 3/12/08 1:50pm
Msg #239080

WOW...you go girl! n/m

Reply by GA/Atty on 3/12/08 3:53pm
Msg #239085

I am an attorney and just always answer "no" when someone asks me if I am a certified notary or certified signing agent. I think most title companies are more concerned with experience. I hope so, anyway.

Reply by JanetLA on 3/12/08 4:31pm
Msg #239092

Louisiana notaries are already qualified...

We are, as Ms. Washington said, already qualified to prepare testaments, trusts, mortgages, and much more. We are under Civil Law and the test is killer. Attorneys in Louisiana are exempt from the exam, but everyone else is VERY qualified. We are not usually of much help during discussions on this board because our situation is unique. We don't have an official stamp or seal; we don't have to keep a journal; we CAN and DO prepare documents which in many situations people consider UPL in other states... Very different. Good for us, as we can charge as much as we like for our services, because it is not limited to any specific amount... In any case, Ms. Washington is right in all she says.

Reply by LKT/CA on 3/12/08 5:24pm
Msg #239101

And none of it matters...

....if the LA Notary has no ethics, morals or character.

That's proven by the behavior of the NY Gov (if he hasn't resigned already)...who is an attorney. His schooling, the tests he passed, his juris doctor...it's all moot, because he behaved like a *******!

I think the consensus on certification is clear - those with experience need not now get certified. Those who have no real estate background or loan signing experience would benefit from extra learning. The issue of certification is a belabored topic.

Reply by JanetLA on 3/12/08 5:59pm
Msg #239109

And if one has a certification and a poor moral compass?

Still, the certification does not protect anyone against someone with no ethics or morals ...Nor will it prove strength of character.

Reply by Cari on 3/12/08 7:30pm
Msg #239124

whats interesting is that LA notaries have no stamp...

so how do you notarize a document, just signature alone?

also, sounds like the work LA notaries can do is similar to what I do as a paralegal, similar yes?

Reply by Gerry_VT on 3/12/08 10:34pm
Msg #239135

No stamps

Several states, including Vermont, do not require stamps. Vermont notaries, with the blessing of the Secretary of State, often use stamps or embossing seals for documents going outside the state. Since there is no law about them, the stamps or embossing seals are designed according to the whim of the notary.

Reply by JanetLA on 3/13/08 7:23am
Msg #239152

No stamps

We are required to have our signatures on file with the SOS and that is all that is required except that our name and notary # be printed below our signatures. The seals/stamps are just for show...Some folks don't think the document is not notarized without the raised seal. We can put whatever we like on them. I have several different versions of stamps and seals, that will fit in different areas, etc. I also want to mention that we are commissioned for life, as our commissions never expire...