NOPE
I don’t feel like we are doing our job in that situation
If the documents have the signature line as Jan Doe
but the signers legal name is Jane Doe I don’t feel comfortable
notarizing and just having her sign as is. Some kind of correction needs to be made
Any thoughts?
I’ve had to have docs re-drawn many times over errors in the name. A man listed as IV instead of VI. Was the first.
wow that’s an interesting error LOL. and an impressive lineage
@jennjoneis 
Concur 
percent!
In my direct experience over the course of nearly two decades, there have been multiple occurrences wherein I reached out to the Title/Escrow Company [T/EC] in light of the name error, regarding their choice of how to move forward with the Signing Appointment (due to a spelling error of the signer’s name or generational indicator).
In each & every instance the T/EC was happy that the error was brought to their attention to directly address.
SPECIAL NOTE:
Reviewing the document package for errors PRIOR to departing for the Signing Appointment is a CRITICAL ELEMENT of providing Professional Signing Agent [PSA] services.
It’s also an additional component of why each PSA would be best served having a document package RECEIPT CUTOFF TIME as well as AVOIDING the acceptance of last-minute Signing Orders [SOs]. This provides the PSA with the time to thoroughly Review the document package, ensure the critical documents are within it, and confirm there are no name errors.
Document preparers can make big mistakes. I’ve seen some doozies.
In the loan package is a doc called a “Compliance Agreement” - it’s a limited power of attorney. Its purpose is to allow the TC to correct typos - misspelled names, wrong property address (i.e. 1234 North Broadway but should have been 1244 South Broadway, etc.). after the docs are signed without requiring the docs to be redrawn. It does not allow the TC to change any terms of the contract (i.e. loan amount, interest rate, title vesting, etc.). It would have been okay for you to complete the loan signing.
@jennjoneis In the Document Packages I receive the document is titled: “Correction Agreement.”
This document authorizes the closing agent to correct any clerical or
typographical errors in the loan documentation that has been signed in connection with the closing of the mortgage loan with their lender.
Typically, the corrections that can be made are:
FYI: The “Correction Agreement” cannot be used in any way to change the terms of the loan including the interest rate, loan terms, loan amount, monthly
payment, or closing fees.
Normally, if the “Correction Agreement” is utilized, the signer(s) will be notified. In addition, the signer(s) will receive a copy of the corrected document.
The Compliance Agreement included in a standard loan or refinance package is an agreement between the borrower and the lender regarding the correction or completion of loan documents. It is not directed to the notary public and does not alter or expand the notary’s statutory duties under state law.
A notary’s authority and responsibilities are established by the laws of the commissioning state—not by the lender, title company, or any document contained within the loan package. One of those fundamental duties is to identify the signer through satisfactory evidence, typically a valid government-issued identification document.
The Compliance Agreement does not authorize a notary to disregard the legal name established by government-issued identification, nor does it permit a notary to accept or certify an identity that the notary cannot independently verify under applicable state law. The notary must complete each notarial act based upon the identity established by satisfactory evidence and in accordance with the requirements of the commissioning state.
Accordingly, while the Compliance Agreement may permit the lender to correct or obtain revised documents after closing, it does not relieve the notary of the independent obligation to verify the signer’s identity and perform each notarization in compliance with state law.
That’s what I thought. That makes sense
To clarify, I wasn’t saying the Compliance Agreement (also called a Correction Agreement) authorizes a notary to skip ID verification or bend the rules on identity. That’s a separate duty, governed by state law, and nothing in a loan package changes it — we agree on that.
My point was narrower. The original poster’s discomfort seemed to be about the lender telling the notary “proceed, we’ll fix it later” — like that instruction itself was a red flag, maybe even a sign of being asked to help push something through improperly. I brought up the Compliance Agreement to explain why the lender was comfortable saying that: it’s a limited POA that only covers correcting typos — misspelled names, wrong addresses, etc. — not loan terms, not vesting, not the amount financed. That’s a pretty strong signal the lender’s request was routine, not shady.
So it would have been okay for the notary to proceed, but only in the sense that “fix it later” wasn’t some scam attempt they were being roped into — not in the sense that it excused them from independently verifying identity through satisfactory evidence and confirming with the signer that Jan/Jane was the same person with a typo. Those are two different questions, and I was only ever answering the second one.
One more thing — the several paragraphs you wrote on notary duty and state law were rebutting a position I never took. I wasn’t arguing the Compliance Agreement affects ID verification at all; I was explaining why the lender’s instruction to proceed wasn’t suspicious. Different question entirely.
Thank you so much for these clarifying statements. It is wonderful when notaries can rely upon each other for support and knowledge. :)
I agree with the rest, You cannot notarize Jan when she is Jane. Lender or title goof up from the beginning and they are just passing the buck to you. Could have been that way prior on old mortgage and lender documents and they go off the old documents instead of correcting them, and last notary looked the other way or had her sign a signature name affidavit attesting she is Jan Doe as well as Jane Doe.
It’s not a complicated fix, just extra work and possibly recording fee on their end. Stick to your guns, you go by what her ID says!
I had a seller signing recently where the wife’s name (the sellers were a married couple) was spelled “Anne” instead of “Anna” across many documents in the package but not all. The Title company emailed over new copies of the POA and Warranty Deed, but asked to just have the signer cross out the incorrect spelling of her first name, initial, and then write the correctly spelled first name. The request was made in writing via email, so I feel like I am protected, but curious to know if anyone feels differently. For context, the couple said they had the same issue with the loan documents for the purchase of their new home and Title (a different company) had them apply the same fix. Lastly, both signers’ names were correctly spelled in the notarial certificates, so it was just the name on the signature line on a number of documents that was incorrectly spelled.
The fileable documents were corrected. The others are internally filed but it sounds like what goes to the county was fixed. I agree keep the instruction and proceed.
@nassar.torres Concur percent Always circle-back to query the hiring entity any anomalies or special instructions AFTER consulting with the Notary Handbook for your State (to review the statutes & regulations).
In addition, Excellent choice to submit your request for clarification/details in writing.
By all means, retain your copy of that email in your files & make a note of the exception/correction made within your Notarial Journal.
This is a truly excellent and timely topic for discussion among industry professionals. If you have been working as a signing agent long enough, you know that encountering misspelled names on loan documents is an unfortunate reality that is simply bound to happen at some point. I typically discover these discrepancies during my initial phone confirmation, while conducting the identification verification process, or when the signer directly points out the error to me during our session.
I find these situations to be particularly problematic when the issue involves a missing or incorrect suffix, such as “Jr.,” “Sr.,” “II,” or “III.” Because these indicators are so important for legal identification, I always make it a priority to contact the lender or title company to formally request a redraft rather than assuming it will be handled on the back end. I strongly agree with the SPECIAL NOTE provided by @cNsa5—these types of situations can easily become a “slippery slope.” If we are not extremely diligent in our approach to these errors, we risk compromising the integrity of our official duties and the entire notarization process.
@cfletcher 
Thank You for showcasing these Guidelines that reflect some of the effective ways to manage a business within this business sector.
These are some of the multiple tenets that are held in high regard by successful PSAs. Always better to learn vicariously . . . (if one can do so).
I have called and canceled signings with the big discrepancies. I have told a signer before it takes too long to have to do twice. Twice I’ve called title and said these documents won’t work. The VI wouldn’t sign with IV on the documents and that was an obvious redraw.
The other one was the son handing me a power of attorney and thinking that would let him sign for his Mom without the documents reflecting that. Told him I couldn’t notarize his signing for her without it being in the documents. If it’s inability to notarize it doesn’t seem like I’m telling Title how to do their job. (Even though…)
Someone posted earlier, why aren’t they finding out from signer’s how to list the name?
I always wonder that, too.
Misspelled names are a problem because the document preparers are using some software to save time. A mistake made once will be found on many pages, but not always all. I have had packets where Escrow documents had misspelled names, but the Lender side was correct. Sometimes there is a mistake in the Title of the Trust but the signature line is correct. This happened recently with the Trust title featuring XXnette (one n) and the signature line XXnnette. Since the Deed and Note are Lender side, if they are correct, Escrow will usually ok making corrections on the Escrow side. She had a copy of her Trust Certification Document where we were able to see that the property was vested properly and the misspelling came in document prep.
Not all notarized documents are recorded. I’ve heard by a lawyer that legally, swapping out the first page of a Deed with corrected spelling is a no-no. The person has signed that document with the misspelling. I do not allow any corrections on the Deed at all, even initialled. It is a grey area but that is what the Correction Agreement is for, or if it is in the packet, the Signature Affidavit but not for me as a notary to change.
Sometimes people go by an AKA like Nan instead of Annette or Mike instead of Michael. You might even find the legal documents with that variation. I’ve seen it even in the name of a person’s trust. It is not legally required that a Trust be named by a person’s full first name or their name at all. Title vested under the trust will have that AKA and when doing a Seller, Heloc or Refi for a property held in a Trust, that name will most likely appear on the signature line. It is not up to us as notaries to make that call however, I will reach out to Scheduling first, or Title, if Scheduling is not available to get direction on what to do.
When the name is misspelled in the document package it will normally be cause for a redraw of documents. If it’s certain documents i.e. Title or Lender documents have the misspelling on the signature line only, the instructions are usually given for the signer to cross through misspelling, initial the cross out then print and sign the correct spelling of the name.