For the Notary: Protecting the Transaction from the Beginning to the End!

As a notary service we have faulty transaction requests for notary on a weekly basis. We often get calls requesting notarization for someone who is not completely competent, doesn’t have proper ID, or doesn’t speak a common language that is to be mutually understood by both parties. It is best to confront these issues as soon as possible with a “No” answer. It protects every party involved, from the signer, to the notary, and ultimately even the community. We’ve found a few ways to inform potential customers before having to say “no”, this way things are always done right, and our customers feel secure and content with us as their service.

INFORM CUSTOMERS OF NOTARY STANDARDS PRIOR TO MEETING
We have found methods to eliminate faulty requests altogether by simply informing potential customers through our website and voicemail of the California requirements for notary. If you are a notary, you can inform your potential clients of the main requirements for notary each time you answer the phone. It’s also a great idea to prepare your website and voicemail recordings to give California standards for notary transactions. At sdsignings.com we have found that by informing potential customers we have seen a significant reduction of callers requesting notarizations that fall short of California laws. As a result, callers have been informed of the requirements to better prepare for a good transaction and secure notarization.

INFORM CUSTOMERS AGAIN OF NOTARY STANDARDS AT THE APPOINTMENT IF NECESSARY
Here and there, we’ll meet a signer at the transaction and find that an ID provided does not meet California requirements. The ID might not indicate the signer’s full name as needed to mirror the document. Again, these are scenarios where the notary should simply inform the signer of California law, the need for proper Identification, and the need to return for a reschedule of appointment with proper ID. It secures the transaction and It protects everyone. It can seem like a giant inconvenience, but ultimately, it would be a larger inconvenience to find everyone in court months later over a transaction that was not legitimate. Never be afraid to say “No”, you’re protecting all parties, even if they seem unhappy within the moment. Always reaffirm that it’s in the signer’s best interest to have everything lined up properly in advance. They’ll probably agree with you.

KEEP GREAT RECORDS
The better the records the better you’re prepared if your journal is called upon later. It is easy to forget the small important details of a transaction that occurred 6-12 months ago. If you are called upon, the moment you arrived and the moment you depart, all matter! …Including everything that happened in-between! Review all the California requirements for a notarial journal and decide to go above and beyond the journal requirements. It doesn’t even hurt to provide your own forms for each transaction possibly informing customers as to your role as the notary, and the methods of the notary that are required by law. If you notarize often, there will be a day your journal will be called upon. Be prepared!

FILL IN THE GAPS
Take a few moments and think about the transactions you have encountered. Maybe you’ve had faulty requests over the phone too. How can you eliminate these occurences in the future? Find all the holes from start to finish and fill them in. You’ll pave the path for a better business practice, a happier client base, and a more secure community. Ultimately, you’re experience and theirs, will be better!

See the simple steps we take to inform customers in advance at sdsignings.com/prepare

Acceptable forms of Identification to present to a Notary Public

IDENTIFICATION LIST

•State Driverʼs License (Any State)

•State Identification Card (Any State)

•Canadian Driverʼs License

•Mexican Driverʼs License

•United States Passport

•Foreign Passport
(Must be stamped by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services)

•United States Military ID Card

•ID Card issued by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
(ONLY FOR USE ON USCIS Paperwork)

•One (1) Witness is acceptable if the notary knows this person. THE WITNESS will need to provide an approved ID.

•Two (2) Witnesses are needed if the notary does not personally know them. THE WITNESSES will need to provide an approved ID.

A Child-friendly transaction!

Our agents understand that you have business to be done, but we can see that you also have a family. We have an option! Bring your kids along, we have educational and fun activities for the kids while you conduct business. We are very serious about our professionalism, but we know life happens. Sit down and we’ll let you in on a little secret, behind our business attire, we’ve got families nearby too. Bring the kids, we are child friendly!

A Notary Embosser is a Great Idea for Fraud Prevention!

The role of the notary is to identify individuals and affirm their willingness to sign the documents presented. In doing this a notary is preventing fraudulent activity. SD Signings suggests taking extra precautions to ensure that fraud is deterred.

Use an Embosser! Emboss the document signed along with your attached notary acknowledgment/jurat! Do it in such a way that half of the embossing is on the signed page and the other half is on your notary certificate. This is an extra precaution to ensure that your certificate is fully “attached” to the important document presented. Go ahead and staple the documents together afterward.

Another way to deter fraud is to apply a special memo with your acknowledgment/jurat certificate. The memo should state the document name, it’s number of pages, it’s date, and the signers involved. Many companies sell notary certificates that include an optional section allowing a notary to state this information. It is a great idea!

Make sure to take notes for your notary journal too, if a questionable situation ends up in court, you should be prepared with a well recorded journal entry. Case Closed.

Ultimately, the reason for physically attaching certificates (by means of a staple or otherwise) to a notarized document is so that documents cannot be exchanged or altered in the future, this fraud is being prevented.

Signed to perfection!

The dates are big and clear. The signatures are signed just as the name is printed. The recission dates are clear and correct. The forms are filled out completely.

Did you know that SD Signings takes extra precautions with every signing. We go over all the necessary procedures with the signers to ensure that the documents return correctly. We complete personal checklists to guarantee that we have completed all of our necessary tasks. We double-check each page for any document blanks, scratchy dates, or missing signatures.

We make sure the signing is done just once. No more, no less.

Thank You San Diego! ….and Spread the word!

Thank You San Diego!  Thank you for using our notary services! We’re glad to serve your escrow offices, law firms, and businesses repeatedly!  We consider it a great honor.

The greatest part of participating in this line of work are the new people we meet and the relationships we hold dear. We’re glad to have a strong reputation among San Diego’s finest companies! We value integrity and workplace excellence! We hold strong to client privacy and security. This is what we’re about!

We’re excited to let you know that because of your appreciation of our company, we are growing throughout San Diego County. We are able to share and accommodate others like yourself!

In hearing this… would you? and could you spread the word? Would you ‘YELP‘ about us and have us ‘Linkedin’ to your close friends? ‘Crossing‘ over your reviews and kind comments of our services on the net we’ll have us shouting ‘Yahoo’.  We already owe you a ‘Google-plex’ [....googolplex ] of thanks for your loyalty to us.  So ‘Sign on San Diego’, we’re  growing like the ‘Kudzu’ plant (Pueraria lobata) and we find ourselves ‘twittering’ in excitement.

We hope you enjoyed all of that. It was fun for us too!

If you have used our services and do leave us a review, we have thought up a special way to say “Extra Thanks”. Drop us a note including: your name, the approximate date of notary transaction, site reviewed, and your mailing address. We’ll send our thanks

SD Signings Errands – Notary and not…

SD Signings offers a wide variety of services beyond simply the notary service.

• We are able to print your documents and deliver them to the appropriate party for signing.

• We are able to have a document picked up from a location and delivered to another location for notarization or not.

• SD Signings’ agents regularly have documents authenticated through the county clerk and delivered to the Secretary of State for Apostille, to be returned to a party same day.

• SD Signings runs courthouse errands for document filings.

• We know the latest drops for overnight deliveries!

• We are a completely mobile service.
• We are available day and night.
• We are always professional and always on time.

Trust us with a service you might need today!

SD Signings frequently picks up loan documents from local San Diego escrow offices, will have them signed and returned by 9am the following morning for the Escrow Officer. This service is included in the normal package price! We exceed expectations to be a GREAT notary service that you can depend on!

We operate 24/7 for your convenience! San Diego’s Premier Notary!

Taking every precaution… and going the extra mile!

Many times documents are presented to an SD Signings notary public that require a signer to be identified by a name that isn’t printed on their Identification. For Example, a signer must sign “Joesph Presley Cook” on a document. The Notary views the signer’s driver’s license and it reads “Joseph Cook”. The notary public is unable to verify that this person has the middle name “Presley”.  The SD Signings Notary cannot notarize the document as it requires. What does the notary do?

On many occasions SD Signings notaries will drive the extra miles to see a satisfactory identification that reads all the correct names. That’s right, with the signer’s permission, we will leave the signing location and follow a signer to obtain a proper ID. This is crucial to identifying an indiviual properly. We do this so that others are not affected. It is a courtesy, and it protects Californians and others from fraud.  It also provides that a transaction affecting multiple parties can process without the delay of redrafting docs. In a loan transaction many people have worked hard for this transaction to process!  It is better to drive the extra mile to get a job done right.

Unfortunately, if there is no identification, whether a physical ID Card or Credible Witnesses, then the notary will continue to protect all agencies from likely fraud, and politely decline. Fortunately, that typically isn’t the case, the signers and transaction coordinators are pleased with a job well done!