Hello,
Do many of you get asked by the signer about the fee in their statement for the Mobile Notary Service? I am being asked more often. Followed by, how many signings do you do in one day? How do you, if asked the same, respond?
Thank you 
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I never get asked. The fee on a Closing Disclosure reflects what the hiring party is charging for the service. There are administrative costs for hiring notaries. That fee should not be discussed. No fee on a closing disclosure should be discussed. They can ask their lender or the title company. If it’s ever reported a notary is discussing fees with a signer, they can get blackballed. I’ve been average 2 a day and a few days a month I have 3 a day. I’ve stopped working weekends because it was just too much.
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@jamieannpacione , I think some of those questions are a sign that people might be interested in working as we do. People are looking for side or part-time work. And, it’s really funny, but we’re actually required to disclose our fee quotes upfront before doing any work for customers. That’s a good question to ask the hiring company about, on how to proceed when we get questions like that from customers. I don’t have a reason to discuss my salary with a customer, but you can see on my journal what fees I’ve earned. So unless you’re using a privacy screen protector, if a customer signs our journal, they might get a glimpse of our fees. That’s how I got started in this business by asking a LSA questions, such as “You get paid handling lenders loan packages?”.
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Wonderful, I do the same…..thank you for responding!
I get asked this question multiple times a month, usually the person mentions they are considering becoming a Notary too. I explain that the fee is for a service and is shared with the scheduling company. I once had a man who insisted I drive the loan documents nearly two hours away to Escrow because of my $200 fee? Before this time I never closely looked at an Alta Statement considering it part of the signer’s privacy. It was an illuminating moment. Some of the worst paying companies are getting $200 for the $40 fee they are sharing with you. My best example was a Christmas Eve signing with 6 signers for the glorious fee of $150, it would have been $100 but I asked for extra as it was a holiday. The scheduling company received $900.
As to frequency I mention that it is cyclical, sometimes we are busy and sometimes not. I typically am happy with two assignments a day but have seen days with five. I no longer cover the range I once did because road construction projects have increased driving time as much as 50% extra which I cannot abide, unless compensated.
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Sounds like here in Michigan we have 2 seasons…..Winter and Road Construction🤣
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The Notary fee used to be listed in the Title charges on the SS. Recently I had packages with separate forms stating the gross fee being paid the Notary. If someone looks at me funny or asks me if that is my fee? I just tell them that I was subcontracted and the contracting service gets the fee in which we then negotiate my fee from the gross. But in general they are interested in getting a notary commission and working in the field.
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I have never seen a separate document - is that lender specific or state specific?
That’s a new one to me.
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Love it - we have 2 seasons…..Winter and Road Construction
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I just tell them the fees are set by the title or signing company and I don’t have any control over it unless I let them know that the amount of pages to print is more than I expected and I can negotiate the fee but that’s generally through the signing company and not directly through the title company. Whatever is posted on the statement is not always accurate and I let the customer know that I do not get what is posted on that statement..
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I never have a conversation about it. I personally don’t find it appropriate to even respond to the question. The very last thing we should ever want to happen is a signer calling a title company indicating a notary even responded to an inquiry about notary fees “the notary told me blah blah blah” and then they complain about what they were charged. JMO.
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I just play “dumb” to the question about the fee listed. I say “I don’t know. But I do know that there are other things like scheduling and quality control checks that are included along with my pay.” That usually leads to a conversation about how their documents go thru a QC process. They like that.
If they still push to know how much I get paid, I tell them that my bookkeeper takes care of that. (Even if you are your own bookkeeper, you aren’t lying.)
For the question about how many signings I do a day, I tell them that I am an independent contractor, and every day is different.
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Thank You for sharing. 
Tell him that fee is provided by title, and I have no control over it.
If they ask how many signings you do just tell him between one and five a day.
I try to keep the answers vague.
Seems to come up more, lately, what it is I get paid. I’m starting to respond, “Eleven hundred dollars”. Then I smile and move on with the signing. Works every time.
Wow, who are you people? The signers have been reviewing their Closing Disclosure for 3 days before you arrive. Plenty of time to prepare for a $250 closing experience that should always include coffee, donuts, a small expensive gift of flowers, and free pens. Must not disappoint! I run a mobile notary business, and one of the best places to build a client base is with people who have met you and like your service. So no matter what I’m paid, my signers feel good about what they paid and keep my card handy forever.
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It is something to behold isn’t it.
@ewing_joe Absolutely! Works 
percent of the time! 
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I occasionally take a weekend signing. I make them pay though more than my normal fee. I figure if they want it on a weenend they can pay the weekend fee lol.