Two Florida notaries may be in trouble

Two Florida notaries allegedly admitted to detectives they notarized homeowners' signatures without the signers being present. These quitclaim deeds allowed a third person to rent out vacant foreclosed homes he purportedly did not own; he has been arrested.

Florida law states "A notary public may not notarize a signature on a document if the person whose signature is being notarized is not in the presence of the notary public at the time the signature is notarized." (Chapter 117.107(9), emphasis added)

Notary public applications are now available online in the Virgin Islands.

One web site suggests that notary work is "high paying" and implies one can earn a living from being a notary public. The site also states notarizations in hospitals and jails (?) can be tricky. (Yeah, those jailers just don't understand.) I realize the guy is trying to hustle a $68 loan signing "certification" (also available in $119 and $179 editions). How are those poor students going to react when they discover the truth?

Being a notary public is a great second job but I don't know anyone who's doing it full time today.

---brought to you by 12 Tips to Make More Money as a Notary Public.
Available for just 99 cents from Kindle or Nook or instant PDF download
Probably tax deductible as business expense--ask your accountant.

Image courtesy of photostock

Does anyone make a living being a notary public?

Is anyone making a living from being a notary public, someone asked on Yahoo Answers. He'd heard people can make $50,000-$100,000 doing this.

That would probably be a surprise to most of you!

I'd guess the majority of notaries have a tough time recouping their costs for application, seal and insurance. State limits on fees are usually low.

Six or seven years ago I had a notary friend making $50,000 a year. He was doing mortgage loan signings.Besides his notary charge-per-signature, he was paid to make sure the docs got signed correctly. (In some states, such as South Carolina, notaries are not permitted to do this.) Since the mortgage collapse following 2006, this kind of volume is not possible.

Notaries may be able to perform marriages (as in Florida and Maine) or issue marriage licenses (California if specially trained; some notaries then offer to do the service in a non-notary role). Proctoring traffic school exams is another way to use the commission.

If a notary dusts the commission and waits for the public to come, it's likely to be a lonely job. Knowing how to market what you offer will bring better results.

But being a notary public is at best a second job right now.




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Nebraska--The spring 2011 Notary Bulletin is out. The Secretary of State reminds that a notary public's signature must be consistent and that Nebraska notaries are not required to join a notary associaton.


--brought to you by 12 Tips to Make More Money as a Notary Public. Probably tax deductible as business expense--ask your accountant. Available for just 99 cents from Kindle or Nook. Or instant PDF download


Image courtesy of Michal Marcol