Posted by FlaNotary2 on 3/18/11 7:53am
Msg #376581

If you could change one thing about this profession

what would it be?

(And this is not regarding loan signings - just the actual position of Notary Public itself.)

Reply by A S Johnson on 3/18/11 8:54am
Msg #376584

The sate office that issues your Notary Commission answering your questions about notary issues with more, good information.

Reply by MW/VA on 3/18/11 9:05am
Msg #376585

National notary standards that are clear & concise. IMO this is too much confusion between varying state laws. BTW Robert, notary law is notary law, whether for loan signings or not. You choose to use your skills in one area, while some of us use it in another. I don't think you take into consideration where the real estate biz & consumers would be without us.

Reply by FlaNotary2 on 3/18/11 9:13am
Msg #376588

My purpose for this question is for some research I am doing

regarding the office of Notary Public. I mentioned loan signings to avoid a bunch of posts saying "I wish that signing services would pay us on time", because it is not relevant to the project and doesn't really have anything to do with the actual notarial profession. I am not saying this to disrespect signing agents; it is just that those types of responses are not useful to what I'm asking.

Reply by Julie/MI on 3/18/11 9:27am
Msg #376592

MW/VA could you explain National Standards and Why

Let's go back to the days before the internet.

If I am a notary in Michgan and you are a notary in Virginia chances are we are not likely to mail away to each other's states to find out what Michigan's requirements and what Virginia's are.

I think the individuality of each state is great! Please tell me why it's not in your opinion.

Reply by Julie/MI on 3/18/11 9:20am
Msg #376589

Being able to accept expired ID. Kinda like when we all complained about XYZ when those of us were certified had to get recertified. The people are still the same, they look the same, the signature is the same, the birthday is the same so how are they suddenly not themselves?

. I don't view being a notary as a "profession" and I'm one of the $10 states

Reply by Bob_Chicago on 3/18/11 9:25am
Msg #376590

A standardized, national, tamperproof, biometric

Identity Card required for al citizens and legal residents.
Require that full "legal" name (whatever that means) be on ID and used to take title to
all real estate and other "registered" (eg vehicle titles) owned by that inidvidual.
Required for any notarization. Non US residents can use Passport issued by home country. Personal knowledge and Credible Witness are IMO useless.
You have no idea who your friends , neighbors and coworkers are, other than who the tell you they are.
Yes, I am aware of the many political and other problems with this proposal

Reply by FlaNotary2 on 3/18/11 9:26am
Msg #376591

I like the idea of standardized, national definition of

"legal name" and requiring uniform use of it.

Reply by Les_CO on 3/18/11 9:35am
Msg #376593

Why bother with all these rules? And Bonds? And messing around with the State, or the Secretary of State, or the Lieutenant Governors office, or the County Judge…or anyone to get ‘commissioned’? Why not just let the NNA automatically send you a stamp (good in all 50 States, Territories, Protectorates, etc.) with your paid membership? !

Reply by Frenchie/TN on 3/18/11 9:46am
Msg #376595

I wish all States required education for notaries and the taking of a test prior to the notary being commissioned.

Reply by Les_CO on 3/18/11 10:01am
Msg #376599

Be careful of what you wish for!

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 3/18/11 10:09am
Msg #376601

I agree re training and testing...

I'll go a step further and, for Florida, wish for mandatory live classes and live testing....deeper in-dept BGC's and livescan fingerprinting...

<<pant>> <<pant>>

There.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 3/18/11 10:10am
Msg #376604

"mandatory live classes and live testing" clarification

I don't have a lot of faith in the online testing security and protocol -

Call me old-fashioned.

Reply by enotary/va on 3/18/11 10:09am
Msg #376602

I agree!!!!! Its to easy in Virginia to become a notary.

Reply by Lee/AR on 3/18/11 10:45am
Msg #376607

Not a darn thing!

First, I BELIEVE in State Rights and the Constitution. (and county, township, local government--which doesn't apply anywhere--except maybe Louisiana--to notaries--but I'm just saying~~) What is good for CA or FL is not necessarily good for AR or IL or, or, or. Each State has its' own reasons for what it does or doesn't do.

To 'nationalize' (tho' you really didn't say that, I think that's your drift) the notary laws is just one more step in the wrong direction...away from local control and toward big, brainless, bureacratic government. The only exception to this is that misguided VA webcam law.

Reply by bagger on 3/18/11 10:47am
Msg #376609

Re: Not a darn thing!

Here here, I agree

Reply by FlaNotary2 on 3/18/11 10:57am
Msg #376612

Re: Not a darn thing!

Well, for the record, it was Marilyn who suggested nationalization of notary laws. I would be entirely opposed to that FWIW. Because we are officers of the STATE, it is the state who should determine the regulations. MHO.

Reply by Lee/AR on 3/18/11 11:13am
Msg #376618

Please accept my apologies, Robert. I 'assumed' too much. n/m

Reply by Les_CO on 3/18/11 11:02am
Msg #376614

Re: Not a darn thing!

I Agree!
I’ve been to all 50 States, and lots of other places, (I used to travel a lot) and.. Guess What? They’re DIFFERENT! Different climates, populations, attitudes, mores, needs. I know the needs of the residents in Nebraska, are different than the residents of Florida, or New Jersey. I say let the local residents establish what they think the laws should be, and not some Bureaucrat in Washington DC (I think that stands for “Da Capital”). That said, I do believe there should be some National, or International ‘standards’ that would apply to all notarizations but not necessarily the qualifications of the notary.

Reply by James Dawson on 3/18/11 11:04am
Msg #376615

Re: Not a darn thing!

DITTO!

Reply by BrendaTx on 3/18/11 11:05am
Msg #376616

A few things. Y'all won't like a lot of them. :)

-Restrictive webcam notarization laws that require webcam operators to get permits in each state they intend to sign "across to" so that their patrons use this easy method of notarization, plus bond against fraudulent behavior. Biometric cards of regular users would be swiped. Much higher fees can be charged by webcam notarization operators to support higher costs of operation.

-The occasional webcam notarization user without a biometric card would need to go to an electronic notary (local) prior to the notarization. They would electronically sign a standard affidavit that said they intended to sign documents with XXX for a transaction involving XXX for the purpose of XXX. The electronic notary would electronically notarize and transmit this to the webcam notary prior to the webcam notarization.

-Upcharge of up to $5 for each electronic notarization performed to support higher costs of operation.

-Fees of $10; 15% mandatory break for Medicare card holders, or provable circumstances of pre-verified no or low income (Medicaid card/food card/unemployment benefits), and break for armed forces.

-Annual update of commission via web or via paper/mail; $10 annual fee to update address/contact info with state. Non-updates are terminated.

-Bond and E/O insurance required for all notaries.

-Sanctions for companies that unduly pressure notaries to perform improperly during employment or contractual arrangements.

-Stiffer and actual sanctions for "bad" notaries.

-Detailed manuals that notaries are required to read and acknowledge online within 30 days of commission issuance. Fee charged in the amount of $25 for this.

-More forms and materials to help notaries perform routine duties.

-$50 fee and mandatory background check with each notary application.

-Mandatory quarterly or bi-annual submission of notary journals with electronic index of transactions performed. Index the transactions in an excel file and email, mail off journal or images. Fee involved per transaction or page copied.

(Additional fees added to provide revenue for state offices to run better and to discontinue commissions that notaries are not interested in supporting.)

Reply by James Dawson on 3/18/11 11:54am
Msg #376622

Well now, that's a mouth full isn't it LOL

That'll get get some more savvy notaries, someone who knows how to read instructions and follow them for example. WOW!

Reply by BrendaTx on 3/18/11 12:11pm
Msg #376624

It's a WISH list.

No way these kinds of things will happen.

The sad truth is that legislators are only motivated to make changes to notary law based on voting blocks. Notaries do not, do not, do not have a voting block or lobbyists.

Reply by LisaWI on 3/18/11 12:20pm
Msg #376626

Re: It's a WISH list.

And they should dang it!!

Reply by 101livescan on 3/18/11 1:32pm
Msg #376627

Standard ethics, COMMON SENSE, background check, required competent training and mentoring. Just because notaries pass the test, doesn't mean they have all these prerequisites.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 3/18/11 1:42pm
Msg #376628

Great post, Cheryl... n/m

Reply by JulieD/KS on 3/18/11 8:07pm
Msg #376674

I'd have our stature increased. We are an important part of the closing process yet we don't seem to get much respect. Even the companies we think are our bread & butter companies seem to be oh-so-willing to throw us under the bus even when we are not at fault.

I turn down 9 out of 10 signings that come my way, even if I have time to do them. I just don't trust the companies that call me and am sick to death of chasing payment. It's sad because I'm a good signing agent and I like doing the actual signings.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 3/18/11 11:09pm
Msg #376682

Don't know if this qualifies for your study, but I just

renewed my commission.

The law changed during my last term, and now requires a FULL NAME on the Stamp. However- as I was so happy to discover- your notarial SIGNATURE is how you signed your application, in my case, with my normal, everyday for years and years and years signature.

Love it when new laws make ~sense~, as, in this case, having to sign with my *middle* name would have been an unbearable burden, since I've ~never~ used it in my 63 years.

I like smart laws.

Reply by Lee/AR on 3/19/11 9:02am
Msg #376690

If it doesn't, it should. That IS a smart law, Susan. n/m

Reply by Lavergne Manuel on 3/19/11 9:30am
Msg #376692

Re: We need respect

In Alabama as I'm sure as in a lot of other states, we are not shown any respect. Last year I started a campaign to ask our SOS for a Handbook and we exchanged a couple of letters and I was told that a Handbook was not needed and if we had a question we could call her office and her Chief of staff would answer our questions or direct us to some other source. I called her legal adviser who was at one time was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama and she could not answer my question.

I contacted over my state representative and asked him to introduce a bill asking for a handbook and he said that because of the SOS being a Republican and so many new republicans being elected that we should probably just take our time and ask for a little each year and we decided that we would ask for an increase for Notarizations which at this time is 50 cents and has been in effect for around 70 years. I told my Representative that we should ask for $10.00 and he said that this was a free enterprise and that we should be able to set our own fees just like any other kind of business. Let the free enterprise system work.

He introduced a bill which get rid of all fees and we could set our own. GUESS WHAT! Another Representative and a Senator both introduced another bill and their bills are exactly the same and that is getting rid of all fees except the fee for Notarizations which would be $1.00 instead of 50 cents. Guess which bill will get passed when it comes up for a vote it they all get through committee.

Our SOS knows how to promote herself. She held a first ever Notary conference in Oct. 2009 in which a member of the NNA was the guest speaker and another in Oct. 2010 and a member of the ASN was the speaker. The SOS calls these conferences training. There were 2000 Notaries at both of these conferences. Recently she wrote a letter to the NNA telling how good her conferences were and how much training the Notaries received and how exciting it was to see 2000 Notaries learning and being ready to go out and serve the citizens of Alabama better. She will be the Keynote speaker at the NNA Conference this year.

The State of Alabama does not respect their Notaries is why they do not pay them. But the Notaries who will not stand up are at fault too, because they do not respect themselves.

When I started the campaign for a Handbook, I sent emails to over 200 Signing Agents and I also emailed or wrote a letter to every single State Representative and every State Senator. I asked the Signing Agents to contact their Representative and Senator and ask them for a Handbook. GUESS WHAT!!! When the smoke cleared, I was the only one left standing. They gave excuses like if we had a Handbook, the attorneys would not like it and I would turn Alabama into an Attorney State etc......

I could just drop it because I am 77 years and I know that I don't have very many years to work and if we improve the Notary situation will not affect me one way or the other. I am not working for the money but life is boring without something to do and I am not ready for the rocking chair and if I am going to work I want to do something I like and I will continue the fight as long as I am able to go and maybe before I leave this world some improve will be made.

Reply by Lee/AR on 3/19/11 12:35pm
Msg #376697

You go! 3 cheers... and a brass band. n/m