Part 4 – The Best Printers for New Notary Signing Agents

We are on Part 5 of  Necessary Technology for Notary Signing Agents in 2020 and today, we are going to talk about printers.  In case you missed the previous three articles on technology in general, scanners, and computers, those are linked at the bottom of this article.  We will cover standalone printers rather than all-in-one printers that scan, print, and fax.  I prefer a standalone printers and scanners because they are more flexible and are easier to transport in my vehicle in the event that I have to take one of them with me to a signing appointment. Durable, good quality all-in-one items are fairly expensive. The cheaper ones don't usually do as well when pushed to scan 200 pages or print...

January 24, 2020By Featured, Loan Signing Agent, Supplies16 CommentsRead more...

Safeguarding Your Notary Gear (and More!)

Notaries are public servants.  One of our primary responsibilities is to safeguard tools and records that can be used to harm others.  That's why the message for today is “Double-down on safeguarding notary gear!”   Read on for  -- Tactics to safeguard your seals, notarial acts, and record book What to do with retired notary seals and record books List of steps to take for lost or stolen notary gear

TAG YOUR NOTARY GEAR WITH YOUR NAME AND PHONE NUMBER.

Take a page from nursery school rules--put your name on everything!  As soon as you receive your seals and record books, label them.  Make it easy for finders of lost notary seals, stamps, or record books to connect with you. When you add your contact information on...

December 6, 2019By Featured, Notary Business, Notary Public, Supplies0 CommentsRead more...
Foreign Document Notarization

Notary Errors on Documents Destined for Foreign Countries

Last week, our article Use Caution when Notarizing for Elections and Political Candidates described how notarial errors on election and candidate forms can cause a notary to become an ugly headline in the media. There is one more situation that brings notary errors under a microscope.  Today’s topic is about errors that appear on notarized documents that will be used outside of the U.S. and requires an apostille or certificate of authentication.

Example of Document Requiring an Apostille

Suppose a citizen of China intends to marry a U.S. citizen and the wedding will take place in China. Before this can go forward, according to information on the website of the Consulate General of China  in San Francisco, the U.S. citizen must...

May 30, 2019By E & O, Insurance, Notarization, Notary Stamp2 CommentsRead more...
Top 10 Things a New Notary Must Know

Top 10 Things that a New Notary Must Know

Are you a new notary public?  Do you feel as if you are -- Swimming around in murky notary laws that are too complicated? Trying to learn rules stuffed with terms that you do not understand? Attempting to make sense of confusing notary group discussions?  Unable to get a straight answer on anything? Drowning from information overload? If so, take this to heart:  You can't learn it all at once.  You really can't!  Don't make yourself feel bad because you don't know it all. Let's slow down and take your move into the notary world one small step at a time.  Today, I want to go over the barest requirements and most basic skills you need to learn before you slap the Mobile Notary sign on your car and drive off...

May 9, 2019By E & O, Featured, Insurance, Notarization, Notary Business, Notary Journal, Notary Public, Training2 CommentsRead more...

The Mysterious Contents of a Traveling Notary’s Bag

The bag or briefcase carried to appointments by a brand new traveling notary is usually a lightweight and slim model.  It contains very little--a few pens, a notarial stamp, notary journal, and a pocket for carrying documents.  However, once notaries begin traveling and having experiences with signers, they learn to be ready to accommodate a multitude of situations.  Soon, the traveling notary bag is bulging at the seems, a zipper breaks, or the thing won't shut at all!  It must be upgraded to a larger size. As the miles click by and notary journals fill up with signatures from appointments, a notary's bag selection leans to something bigger and more capable of organizing gear. Some notaries eventually graduate to an elaborate...

May 2, 2019By Featured, Notarization, Notary Business, Supplies, Traveling5 CommentsRead more...
who what when

Six Key Facts to Collect for your Notary Journal

Even if you aren’t required by law to maintain a notary journal, noting a few key facts about the documents you are asked to notarize may some day save a relationship with a favorite client  or vindicate you if you are accused of wrongdoing as a notary public.

What facts should you collect for your notary record book?

If your state’s notarial laws require you to keep a record of your notarial acts in a notary journal, notary log, notary register or notary record book; you must collect the information that your state requires.  However, you might want to add six mental prompts to your notary routine so that you know that you have identified clearly the act and the...

March 5, 2019By Notarization, Notary Business, Notary Journal1 CommentRead more...
Trodat 4913 Ink Colors

Rainbow of Colorful Notary Stamps and Ink

There's a notary myth that rolls around in forums and on social media from time to time about notary stamp ink color.   It goes something like this: the majority of notaries believe that seal ink must be black.   Many believe colors may be blue or black.  The truth is that only one-fourth of the 50 states have laws that require notaries to select a certain color.  All of the other states can choose from any color of ink that can be reproduced darkly on a copier or when scanned.   Notaries who are not restricted to a certain color may select from blue, purple, red, blue, or green in addition to black or blue.  If you are not sure what color you...

February 27, 2019By Featured, News, Notary Business, Notary Public, Notary Stamp, Supplies, 0 CommentsRead more...
Notary Records Journal

Improved Notary Records Journal

We have upgraded our popular Notary Records Journal to be even better.  In addition to the new cover image this thoughtfully-designed journal has an additional 96 entries and thicker paper.  We have also brought back the soft cover version, making this journal fully Hawaii compliant!  Check out all the features of this journal: Durable binding (pages will not fall out) 496 individually numbered entries 128 individually numbered pages 4 entries per page (no spanning across two pages) Check boxes for common notarizations Easy logging of complicated entries (such as credible witness) Soft cover version is good for all states and territories (Hawaii-compliant) Hard cover version is good for all states and territories (except Hawaii)

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We now have two additional journal options

While we love the...

October 8, 2018By Notary Journal, , , , , , , , , , , 0 CommentsRead more...
Notary Records Journal

New Colorado Notary Journal Requirements

With the passage of the 2018 Colorado RULONA (Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts), there were slight changes to the standards of care for the Colorado Notary Records Journal.  You can read the actual Colorado Revised Statute below this article. All RULONA updates will be reflected in our updated Colorado Notary State-Approved Online Course on or before July 1, 2018. You can also order your Colorado RULONA compliant notary journal here: Notary Journal C.R.S. 24-21-519. Journal (1) A notary public shall maintain a journal in which the notary public chronicles all notarial acts that the notary public performs. The notary public shall retain the journal for ten years after the performance of the last notarial act chronicled in the journal. (2) A journal...

June 3, 2018By Colorado, New Laws, Notarial Law, Notary Journal, , , , 0 CommentsRead more...