Posted by GinaKY on 11/5/09 1:07pm
Msg #309968

NNA Question

Recently I have had a few notaries tell me that the NNA is the governing body over all notaries and what they say is law. I was under the impression that they are a company that you can ask general questions and order supplies. I would love to know other notaries opinion on the NNA.

Thanks

Reply by Dave_CA on 11/5/09 1:11pm
Msg #309969

Run away...
You may ask them questions but don't rely on their answers.
JMOO

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 11/5/09 1:12pm
Msg #309970

Re: NNA Question...Gina

IMO your "few notaries" are sadly misled. Search here....and trust me...no you wouldn't..."......love to know other notaries opinion on the NNA."

Reply by Charles_Ca on 11/5/09 1:13pm
Msg #309971

Re: NNA Question TROLL??? maybe not...

If this is a serious question just click on the Orange "Search" button. It would be so easy to get into thid but I believe your question will be abswered in spades bt running a search. Governing body my derriere!

Reply by Lee/AR on 11/5/09 1:13pm
Msg #309972

YOU have it right...and so does Linda n/m

Reply by GinaKY on 11/5/09 1:22pm
Msg #309973

Re: YOU have it right...and so does Linda

Thank you all. I did not think that I was stupid for thinking otherwise.

Reply by Michelle/AL on 11/5/09 1:27pm
Msg #309974

Gina, I believe you were misinformed. I don't even believe

that the NNA would make such a proclamation about itself ("what they say is law". Every state is different. Keeping up with every state's notary laws would be a major undertaking. Your impressions are pretty much dead on. I don't look to NNA to answer specific questions regarding documents/signatures that need to be notarized. If I want general information or best practices....sure I might call them, depending on the situation. I don't have the same concerns about the NNA as some others have expressed; however, I respect their opinions.

Reply by PAW on 11/5/09 1:40pm
Msg #309976

Re: Gina, I believe you were misinformed. I don't even believe

Their opinions on general notary practice is okay. But they do have a tendency to not know or understand many of the unique notary laws and statutes of many states. Their help desk (affectionately called the "helpless desk" doles out incorrect information on a regular basis. If you want to know specifics, ask the Secretary of State's office (for most states) about the laws for that particular state. And for notary practices, especially for signing agents, the members here (and other widely accepted forums) usually provide better and more accurate responses and answers.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 11/5/09 2:00pm
Msg #309978

"NNA is the governing body over all notaries and what they say is law..."

If any notary has that idea, they are wholly misinformed.

The NNA is a marketing machine... and while there are some aspects of it that work well, a lot if does not.

Example: The NNA was instrumental in helping defeat a bill in California this year that would have forced CA notaries to accept the Matricula Consular card as acceptable ID. The bill passed and ended up the Governor's desk, who vetoed it thankfully. Without the NNA being vocal about it, it might have gone right through.

Their Signing Agent guide is a fairly decent (though a bit out dated) introduction to the field. I'll admit that... it's decent and a good start read for a notary who doesn't know anything about the business.

But, I don't think it's enough to really prepare anyone on it's own.

The rest of the organization is a big marketing machine... and I don't understand why they spend their money the way that they do. We can all attest that they waste it often in meaningless incessant mailings -- especially for renewal notices. They were sending me renewal notices every 3-4 weeks, 6 months ahead of time. It then got to the point of weekly... not to mention emails, too.

Then there are all of the documented errors and poor advice, especially through their phone "hotline". A search here will pick up on a lot of those....

...and then there's famous "suggested fee schedule"...

Reply by JanetK_CA on 11/5/09 4:07pm
Msg #309998

And then their successful attempts to convince big settlement and title co's that they should only hire NNA members, as if their certification meant anything. Then there's the background check issue. It's my understanding that a notary can only get one from them if they pay all the memberships - and re-pay every two years for a certification, test and outdated materials, etc. Yet they've also convinced many companies that they should only hire those who pay up. This excludes a very large number of the most experienced loan signers who refuse to be intimidated into paying all those fees for the privilege of working for companies that usually don't pay much anyway.

In the meantime, they've flooded the market with inexperienced people, who I'd guess are the majority of their membership. In turn, this has created a downward spiral of professionalism. It brings down the overall quality of work being performed, reduces fees, increases requests for fax backs, etc. Then there's the increase in hand holding, pages of instructions with sometimes the most basic information that we have to read through, threats of reductions in pay, and much more busy work.

Like Marian said, they are good at some things. If they had stuck to what they were good at, I'd probably still be a member. But I can't think of where they've added value to the industry on an ongoing basis, except to their own coffers.

Reply by MW/VA on 11/5/09 5:10pm
Msg #310008

OMG--"the NNA is the governing body over all notaries and what they say is law". They would like to think so, but they are not a governing body, have no offical state or federal capacity at all.
Membership is voluntary, and I'm not volunteering any of my money to their "cause" any more.

Reply by Louis/AZ on 11/5/09 11:57pm
Msg #310057

Re: They have pretty forms!

Like many here, I joined the NNA when I first became a Notary, but I have long since let my membership and background screening expire. Their training materials were fairly decent, but I only remember receiving literally one or two calls per year from my "certified" listing in their database, and I have never benefited from being background screened through them (no lenders or title companies have ever asked me if I'm screened).

Since 2000, they've really hyped up the whole e-notarization thing as the future of our industry and did a good job marketing their fancy e-notarization tools and software. Nine years later, I've never been asked once to do an e-notarization. (In fact, so far I've never even been asked to do an e-signing.)

But hey.......they have really pretty acknowledgment and jurat forms!

Reply by BrendaTx on 11/6/09 12:59am
Msg #310064

Re: They have pretty forms!

*But hey.......they have really pretty acknowledgment and jurat forms! *

LOL...ain't it the truth! Nothing says newbie like a red-bordered notary certificate.

That's just my opinion! I think they look very distracting. Seriously?? A red border??? Does that make it more official-er? VERY pretentious.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 11/6/09 2:51am
Msg #310068

Re: They have pretty forms!

I can't stand their forms. LOL!!

But if you want to talk about pretentious... I make my own. I just do it for security reasons, and each one has a unique "serial" number stamped on it that I record in my journal. It's over the top, I know, but at least I know if I use a loose cert, the chances of it being used on another document are pretty low.

I used one of their jurat forms once in a real pinch when another notary provided it. It just annoyed me.

There are plenty of great forms out there... all of them look nicer than the NNA ones, IMO.

Reply by CH2inCA on 11/6/09 10:01am
Msg #310083

Re: They have pretty forms!

I don't know; am I being pretentious?...or am I frugal? If I can down load a pdf from the CA SOS why; oh why, would I pay for forms?

I'm not sure if it's the NNA forms you're talking about, but there are some with instructions..does NOT lend to the hiring agencie's confidence that you know what your doing if you have to have instructions on your forms... (teasing)

By the way; I did put borders on mine, just as a finishing touch..

I'm just sayin'....

Reply by Todd/OH on 11/6/09 9:59am
Msg #310082

Governing Body ???

The NNA exists ONLY because its members pay dues. That doesn't mean they know anything. I was misled by them more than once.

Reply by Michele Ryan on 11/6/09 2:40pm
Msg #310128

I've read all the responses here. They are all valid in my humble opinion. The NNA is where I got my start in 2003. But that was all it was, a start. I applied to numerous Signing Services then & only got 1 call back. I keep my NNA membership & that is all. The supplies I can find on-line. The forms I go to the State of CA website & download them for free & print them myself. My background checks, my Certifications, my E&O, Bond etc., I buy them from whomever has the best pricing. Period. Notary Rotary has the be best pricing I've found. If I have ?'s about Notary stuff, I can go to the State Website or ask the Signing Service directly. I don't like being on hold forever w/ the NNA trying to find the "right answer." The NNA is a Marketing Machine. TRUE THAT. That is all it really is. There are lots of place to get supplies & info. Always try the State's Websites 1st & foremost. Cheers Michele