I use Fill & Sign as much as possible. I have found that some title companies (Amrock for one) will not allow you to fill in . Soo Sad.
Premiernotary, once you have the text created, you can place your cursor on the border ot the text block and while holding the mouse click button down, drag the text to wherever you want it.
de1c1na you can use Fill & Sign to your heart’s content in the notary Ack and Jurat forms, they are your forms. Even if they have blocked Fill & Sign, you can still use a good unlocking site like https://online2pdf.com/ (who does NOT save copies of the documents) to complete the notary forms. I regularly do that for neatness, speed, and accuracy reasons. They cannot block your ability to use a tool like that in the notary forms.
Metzger_nsa the notary certificates are ours, not theirs. I have done 500+ signings using fill & sign in my notary forms without any complaints from the 15-20 signing companies I work with including First American, Fidelity National Title Group, etc.
https://online2pdf.com/ and other such sites say they don’t save the files after the processing is done. But I don’t have the resources to verify if this is true or not, so I won’t use such sites for documents where confidentiality is an issue.
If you can’t trust what a company like that says without your ability to independently verify it that’s your decision. If they say they don’t, that’s good enough for me… especially since it is such an invaluable tool that helps me to more accurately, more quickly, and more neatly complete my documents.
Metzger_nsa: I think you are blowing this way out of proportion. Any title/lender worried about ‘somebody’ making changes could simply run a pdf compare program which would highlight any changes made to the documents.
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The title company will be receiving paper back. They can’t run a pdf compare between the unsigned pdf on their computer and a stack of paper.
Thanks so much for passing this tip on to us! I just used it today and I’m so grateful that I saw this on Notary Cafe.
Kimberly
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I disagree. They scan those documents back into the system and many pages have bar codes on the bottom. You are messing with fire. As a former contract and risk manager for a large corporation, I had subcontractors change my agreements via pdf and they thought I wouldn’t catch them. Well I did and it is illegal to change digitally contracts I had sent out. There is a proper way to change agreements and you have crossed the line. Now it’s on the net for everyone to read. Good luck with that.
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I do not advocate making digital changes to PDFs before printing them, unless you have permission. As for those changes being illegal, it depends on what you’re changing. The notary section of the Vermont Secretary of State’s office have made it clear to me that the content of notary certificates is my responsibility. It is my duty to correct or replace those certificates as necessary to comply with Vermont law.
It’s hard for me to imagine how a scan of a paper copy could be compared to the digital original. I would expect the most the software could do would be to guide the human user to areas that might have been changed. Most of those would turn out to be things like signatures, initials, wrinkles, etc., but maybe changes to the typed wording could be found, if the human user was diligent enough.
It certainly wouldn’t be like comparing two digital files that had never visited the world of paper; for those files, the answer is yes, they’re identical, or no, they’re not.
Hello again Ashton,
Key word is Vermont Laws. What type of documents are you referencing when you make these changes?
I am in WA State and a standard refi pkg will involve 3 to 5 states all engaging in different state laws for notaries. We do not have universal notary laws in the US. In my notary log I note all states involved in transactions and dba’s.
If you digitally change documents that do not abide by other states laws because you find it inconvenient to make pen/ink change, not grounds for digital change.
Yes, I was diligent in my previous occupation and you would be caught…only a matter of time. Is your reputation worth the risk?
Prior to become Notary, my standards have always been set higher to be transparent, honest and to not perform any type of task that would be considered possibly or illegal. Treat others the way I would want be treated. No politics, laws, etc…just good ethics. In my business, I have developed long term relationships based on trust and respect. Not from VT but have been exposed to universal laws and experiences of the US and don’t live in a bubble.
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You claimed it would be illegal in every situation for a notary to change a pdf before printing it and getting it signed (unless the notary got permission first), right?
If that’s what you’re saying, then I disagree. The notary certificates are almost always in the pdf that comes from the client. In my state, the notary has the authority and duty to change these certificates to make them correct. It doesn’t matter where the certificate was written, where it will be recorded, where the signer lives, where the bank is located. Every time a signer appears before a Vermont notary and a certificate is completed and signed by a Vermont notary, the notary must make sure the certificate complies with Vermont law, which may mean changing the certificate.
Unless I get permission, I don’t change the certificates in the pdf before I print them. Either I print them and change them with a pen, or I strike them out and attach a loose certificate. That’s my method. But if some other Vermont notary decided to change the certificates in the pdf, it wouldn’t be illegal.
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Agree ~ WA State font size is minimum 10
I think someone in this thread has gotten a little overbearing. When we are doing signings, it is always ok for us the notary/LSA to make the required changes/corrections to OUR NOTARY FORMS whether they are in .pdf format and we use something like Adobe Reader to do so, or if we cross out and correct information like states & counties with our pens. It makes no difference, notary acknowledgments and jurats are OUR forms, not the lender’s. Let’s not get pumped up on ourselves so much that we argue about such petty things like if we can edit/correct our notary forms or not. Of course we can.
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I’m gonna start doing this to my notary certificates for loan packets! Thanks for sharing great information! I’ve also saved the How to unlock PDF in Acrobat just in case I need it.
Another tip…some docs restrict you using Fill and Sign by saying that the creator has determined what fields you can fill in. Go to Print, Print to PDF, and rename it. It will then let you access it. If that doesn’t work, use “Prepare Form” if you are using Acrobat DC. It’s $15/mo and totally worth it.
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I love having the time available to fill in the pdf docs before the signing appt. it’s the best feeling 
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Months ago, I went to pre-inked stamps for my exp. date, my name and title, and my name alone! It has saved me a ton of time! I will begin to use adobes fill & sign. I do have a question; If the ack is on the same page that the client signs is it acceptable to use my own acknowledgment form?
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If the Ack is on one of their forms, you can still use Fill & Sign to complete the information required on the Ack. The Ack is your form, even when it’s on one of their pages. I’ve been doing that for years without problem. 