Hey there, I’m in the process of becoming a notary public and want to be and NSA. I have a few questions.
First off, I know nothing… I AM already signed up for a seminar from a local here. It’s not one of those training classes on the big marketed websites like NNA. However, I’m not sure if she certifies… After paying for her website (she was highly recommended btw) doesn’t say anything about it. I’m wondering if there is a way to still take the exam with out paying for another class if she doesn’t. Does anyone have a link of how to take the exam to be certified? My understanding that being certified isn’t even required, but that lenders are much more likely to contact you for signings if you have a certification and a background check.
Also… Printers. Any affordable recommendations to get me by until I start making money at this? Is a fax function required to do this job? Or are lenders okay having a scanned/emailed copy of documents before you mail them off. I do know that I need a laser printer, and that I want to get one that prints fairly fast. Also that it is helpful to have dual try. If I don’t get one with dual tray is it fine to just print everything on legal size?
Thanks for you answers. These are the only questions I can’t seem to find much info on.
Usually scanned/emailed copy is OK. There are online fax services available where you scan the docs into a PDF, send the PDF to the fax server, and it dials a phone and sends a fax on your behalf.
As for “how to take the exam to be certified?” The only mandatory exams are those given by states to become a notary. You didn’t say what state you are in. When you post here you should always give your state, because almost all answers depend on what state you are in. Your state might have an exam, or it might not. If it does have one, it might farm out the process of administering the exam to an outfit like the National Notary Association, or it might give the exam itself.
When people talk about a “certification” exam, they usually mean an exam given by a private company with no government authorization. The exam mainly covers what you ought to know about real estate documents, above and beyond how to do a notarization. Each company has it’s own exam and it’s own “certification”. It’s up to individual signing services, title companies, and lenders to decide if they want to pay any attention to these “certifications”.
As for the certification question(s), Ashton has the correct response. It is state specific. As for the printer question, I purchased an HP Laserjet M426fdw with a wireless connection and just love it. It is a workhorse. It comes with a 100 page ADF for scanning, another integrated 100 page ADF and a 250 page tray, which I keep legal in. I added an optional large capacity 500 page tray for letter size paper just so I wasn’t having to feed an ADF constantly. This unit also serves as my scanner and fax machine. The scanner can be set up to scan to a PDF and place it in a network folder on your PC, which is very convenient. Toner replacement costs less than $50. Oh, and it is NOT okay to just print everything on legal. You must exactly replicate the document sizes you were sent. It is very helpful to have a dual tray printer that will automatically select the correct size source paper based on the size of the source document.
As far as “certification” I’m finding out it’s more of a marketing ploy than a requirement. That’s not to say a lendor might like to see it. I AM taking a seminar to at least learn of what exactly I’m going to be doing.
I will look into that printer mentioned. I appreciate your help.
