I received notary instructions today that said the following “PLEASE MAKE SURE THE BORROWERS SIGNATURE IS THE SAME THROUGH OUT THE ENTIRE PACKAGE AND IT IS THE SAME ON THE
ID Provided”
From my experience, people usually don’t sign their full name on their ID or have a special signature they use but we are told that they must sign how their name appears on the documents. Which is more important? For the signer to sign how their name appears or that it matches their ID?
**DOC’ S always take presentence, as long as you have confirmed ID.
After an almost argument with a signer early in my notary career, I no longer “challenge” signers about their signature. But I ALWAYS inform signers that they are required to sign the documents the way their name is printed. I get most pushback about middle names/initials. I’ll ask a second time, but if they balk, I default to the drivers license as acceptable. I will leave a comment with the agency about the incident before dropping the package. So far I’ve not gotten criticism nor had my fees cut as a result.
I agree - I’m not going to challenge signers on their signature. What I do do, though, is ask them after they affix their little squiggly signature "does that say “whatever name is under lines”? - whey they confirm it does and if it matches the signature on the ID, I hush and carry on. Make good notes about the signature - if it flashes back on you, you can advise the company that the signers confirmed that is their signature.
JMO
I do that as well. But we are not always dealing with nondescript signatures. Sometimes it’s a matter of using a first initial and middle name or initials only and last name, or any other number of permutations. I’ve gotten into the habit of requesting that a signer include their preferred signature into the Signature Affidavit if it does not already exist as an AKA. Now we’ve both got our bases covered. I’ve had foreign signers who will only sign their documents using the characters of their indigenous language/country. Somehow it’s all gotten through with no questions.
I don’t argue with the signers. Doing so can lead to a cancelled signing. I inform the signer to use their usual and customary signature but explain the lender or title company might reject the closing if it doesn’t match their ID. This puts the Onus on the signer.
I want to agree to disagree here. The onus is always on the notary. You are the one who accepted the job and agreed to abide by the contractors instructions. In most cases the contractor has no idea whether the signature matches the ID unless they request that a copy of their ID is included in the closing package. Most don’t. Therefore, they are relying on you to verify ID and signature matches, and provide any explanations of why signatures don’t match printed name. Always on us as notaries.
Verifying Identity is different than how the signature the signer chooses to sign a document. The notary cannot compel or coerce a signer to sign in a particular fashion even if the instructions indicate the contrary. Noting any differences in importance.
As always follow the laws of your State.
