You weren’t taught that when you became a signing agent and Notary??
No, I’ve never seen the wording before in any training or my handbook.
Since the notary certificate (with private information concealed) hasn’t been posted, I don’t think anyone can relate the situation to what our training was. My training for Vermont was that I can use any wording I want so long as all the elements mentioned in the law are present. If the certificate is in the short form in the law, I don’t need to put as much information as I do if it’s any other form.
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@ashton Florida is similar. As long as the 9 required elements are contained in the cert, extra wording under the signature line, as in this case, would not invalidate the notarization.
You can also put city state and zip code on that residing at line in Washington.
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@carrieh0829 Wondering how this one turned out now that it has been a few days since completion.
As I mentioned previously, " the instructions for documents can vary from State-to-State . . ."
I acknowledge your due diligence & efforts in following this through in a complete & thorough manner!
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Looking forward to the final determination that you discover for your State.
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As I often express (it bears repeating), in general, the following are the steps that will serve you best at this point in time for ALL signings within your State:
- Review & Memorize the Notary Handbook for your State
- Familiarize yourself with the set of sample documents for loan signings available online
- ALWAYS remember for any questions about the documents or how they are to be executed including Trust documents, etc. ===>>> Reach out directly to your hiring entity to pose your query(ies) to them in writing.
===>>> Their response in writing will support you in the future should a discrepancy arise & thus avoid the “he said” 
“she said” quandary.
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Yes, it included the signer’s name above the certificate. And, all of the information that is normally on the certificate, including state and county. That’s why I was so confused. I googled it. looked in my handbook, and asked the signing company. The signing company said write the signer’s name in the blank.
Update: I have not heard back about correcting the ceritifcate at this point.
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You should never ask the hiring entity. You should always look to what your state requires on the notarial statement. When it states “Notary Public for ______”, that would be the state where you are commissioned. The part of the statement referring to the signer is the wording that uses the word “by” as in “subscribed and sworn to before me by…” or “acknowledged before me by…”
One other word of advise. The person who mentored me told me early on that the title companies are supposed to know their field as specialists and lenders are supposed to know their fields as specialists but most of the time, neither of them, unless they are notaries, know the notary laws of your state. That is where you are supposed to be the specialist. And above all, never trust what a signing service tells you what to do as a notary. The problem is that if there is a problem that causes a real estate transaction to not go through because someone made a mistake and now it can’t be recorded, the lawyers will look for the easiest one to put the blame on, and that is the notary. Being a NSA since 1987, I have had to refuse to do what the signing service, title company or lender are requiring me to do, even under the threat of being sued, what I know the notary law in Virginia tells me I am not allowed to do. Hope this helps.
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Write in your State, even if it’s printed elsewhere.
Notary Public for State of New York
Thank you all for your help! I’m so grateful for this group! Someone recently told me they wanted to become a notary too because it’s easy money. I giggled and explained all the studying, start up costs and steps to prepare for a signing! This is not always an easy job! Agsin thank you!
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I would never suggest to anyone they should be a notary. Not after the mess I just dealt with.
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@carrieh0829 You’re 
percent Accurate! 
I suppose if they chose to solely engage in General Notary Work [GNW], then it might be a proverbial ‘cake walk.’ 
Keep up the Great work! 
The most important aspect of this activity is the cost of marketing. Why is that left out of the discussion? For example, before the internet, I paid the Yellow Pages 4k a year for general notary work but got full fee for loan signings. Today, SEO and web-related general notary advertising cost me less than the old Yellow Pages, but I pay 50 to 75% of my notary commission to a middleman marketing service for loan signing work. When signers ask me about becoming a loan signer, I tell them they don’t even need to know how to spell Notary Public to be one, but once they are one, they’re expected to Pay all the expenses andgive up At least half oftheir commissions to a middleman to get any Loan signerwork. Am I wrong to share that?
Topic closed. REMINDER - PLEASE REFRAIN FROM PUBLIC ARGUMENTS ABOUT PERSONAL ISSUES.