5 Ways to Save Money as a Notary Public

1. Don't pay to become a "certified" signing agent. Your state doesn't require it. The escrow companies and loan officers probably don't care.

2. Spend 5 minutes on Google before buying supplies and insurance. Look at any bundles and see if you can do better buying the items separately elsewhere.

3. Same thing with any required education. In Pennsylvania, for example, prices for the required 3 hours class range from $30 to $115. Maybe it's just me but I'd rather pay $30 for the class and have money left for gas and dinner and .... .

4. Don't pay for long distance. Set up a Google Voice account and call free (at least through the end of the year.)

5. Stay on top of what the state regulator is doing. Perhaps check their web site once a month. This will avoid any fines for something you didn't hear about.


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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