Posted by sp/MI on 10/18/12 12:55pm
Msg #439068

Anyone being asked to provide their Drivers License?

I just got paperwork for a closing... which has fax backs.... and they are requiring me to fax back a copy o my drivers license witht the docs, and include it with the package when mailed. What do they need my drivers license for and why?

While we are on that subject, why are some of the signing/title companies requesting my auto insurance policy information. What if I don't own my vehicle of transportation and what business is it of theirs regarding my auto insurance?

I really do not intend to include my drivers license with the package and if I do not get anymore from this company because of this...oh well there are other companies.

Reply by CentralNY on 10/18/12 1:33pm
Msg #439078

in very rare instances when i have done purchase closings it has been a closing requirement to include it. it seems to be mostly southern states? (florida investment properties). i think it is because of the large funds being handled if not wired. i follow up and ask them to destroy, so far no identity problems. i comply as i want to get paid. again, it's not often.

Reply by HisHughness on 10/18/12 1:48pm
Msg #439080

This issue has been around the block many times ...

... on this forum.

You are assisting a company in the conduct of its business. If you are involved in an accident while doing that, and get sued, there is a great likelihood that any competent attorney is going to sue the title company, lender or signing service also. And before you say it, it doesn't really matter whether they are actually liable or not; there is a good chance they will be sued along with you. They want to know that you are covered and have access to counsel. That works to their benefit.

It probably does not work to <your> benefit to get stiff necked and refuse to provide the license; after all, you show it for every check you personally deliver. Just mark out the DL number.

Reply by sigtogo/OR on 10/18/12 3:00pm
Msg #439087

just do it as Hugh says. I block my BD too n/m

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 10/18/12 7:14pm
Msg #439103

Re: This issue has been around the block many times ...

I don't get it. What good is a copy of our DL if we mark out the DL number and, as Shoshana said, our BD. We would never accept that for ID, why would anybody else? Makes no sense if they are serious about identifying us. If they accept a blacked out DL, it just proves to me it's a bunch of corporate attorney voodoo.

Why not continue with marking out the expiration date, which in many states is our birthday, and then our picture, as well, so nobody will know what we look like?

Reply by NVLSlady/VA on 10/18/12 4:02pm
Msg #439092

Yes, since we are MOBILE and their representatives . . .

Just be glad no one is asking us to put on our cars: "How's My Driving?"
Amazes me how many times I've been cut off or tailgated by aggressive drivers who have this on their car/truck! And with the company name flashed all over as BIG AS . . .

Reply by HSH/WA on 10/18/12 5:06pm
Msg #439095

I think the SC has a good reason to want to know we are licensed and insured to drive as they are giving us jobs involving driving. I hope they get the info up front and not at every signing - but will go along either way.

Reply by Art_PA on 10/18/12 7:21pm
Msg #439104

They don't need it & there is no good reason to provide it. With your license & SSN it will be much easier for an unscrupulous employee or ex-employee to steal your identity. A title company is hiring you to do a closing not drive its vehicle.

You are an independent contractor not an employee. They don't need you auto insurance information either. The only insurance a title company has a right to is your E&O.

If you have an accident on the way to or from a closing, and the title company gets joined, it will be represented by its carrier.

You are right that you don't need this company's business. The answer may be different if the facts are that you have been doing a lot of closings for the company and wish to continue.

Reply by HisHughness on 10/18/12 9:12pm
Msg #439113

***there is no good reason to provide it.***

Some people will never understand the difference between a valid reason and a good reason. There is not just a good, but an excellent, reason to provide the license. Like companies all over the world that use independent contractors to carry out their business, title companies, lenders, and signing services want to be sure that their independent contractors are driving legally.

They don't want the license for ID. They want it to be able to establish that they can defend against a claim of negligent hiring.

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 10/18/12 9:17pm
Msg #439114

Oh n/m

Reply by jba/fl on 10/18/12 9:31pm
Msg #439115

Independent contractors also fill out I-9's....gee - we

verify and get copies all the time for just those same purposes....right to work in this country, that all in on the up and up and legal.

The paranoia factor here is sometimes hilarious.

Reply by jba/fl on 10/18/12 9:32pm
Msg #439116

should be: that all IS on the up and..... n/m

Reply by VT_Syrup on 10/18/12 10:53pm
Msg #439125

Re: Independent contractors also fill out I-9's....gee - we

I'm not sure what jba means. Yes, notaries are sometimes hired as agents for employers to inspect their new employee's ID and fill out the I-9, so that the employer can assure the feds that the new employee is allowed to work in the US. But I have never heard of any requirement for a person or company who purchases services from an independent contractor to verify that the independent contractor is allowed to work in the US. The working of the I-9 indicates it would be completed by an employer and employee, not by a service consumer and independent contractor.

Reply by Alan Jorgensen on 10/18/12 10:27pm
Msg #439123

I agree Art, they don't need it and I don't care if some think it is a bad attitude. It's my identity and I unless they can show me their secure practices of sensitive information to my satisfaction my Commission and NNA certificate is evidence enough I am competent to go do what you need. What's next? DMV driving records and credit reports?

Reply by HisHughness on 10/18/12 11:29pm
Msg #439131

***my Commission and NNA certificate is evidence enough I am competent to go do what you need.***

I guess California must be much different from Texas. Here in the Lone Star State there is no requirement to establish that you are a licensed driver to get a notary commission. Thus, when I send my commission to a prospective client, the client has no idea whether I am driving to their assignment on a suspended license, whether my license was jerked because of age and senility, or whether I actually ever had a license. All of those would be a factor in whether a company had negligently retained an incompent subcontractor.

Glad to learn that about California. Have you told other California notaries about that quirk of their state law?

I think July nailed it. The level of paranoia here sometimes is thicker than in some mental institutions.

Reply by BrendaTx on 10/19/12 5:37am
Msg #439150

I agree with Hugh and Jba. n/m

Reply by JanetK_CA on 10/19/12 1:24am
Msg #439142

Our SSN is one thing I definitely think we shouldn't be giving out. It's very easy to get a TIN/EIN #. It can be done in 5 minutes on-line and that should be sufficient for anyone, as it's connected to our SSN.