Recently I’ve been thinking about the ‘certifications’ we NSAs acquire to validate our knowledge. The question I have is who credentials the trainers? It seems the only qualification is having years in the business. Most of the training offered is based on Best Practices, aka the opinions of others, the NNA, etc… I’m not able to find any type of training/certification for those who do the training.
This leads to the next questions. Would you feel more comfortable flying with a pilot who has 20 years and 3000 hours in the cockpit or one with 5 years and 10,000 hours in the cockpit?
Who’s better qualified to train NSAs? The notary with 20 years and 5000 notarial acts, or the notary with 5 years and 15,000 notary acts?
One might say the one with the most notarial acts but we have to determine how many were perfect acts and how many were redos.
The 20 yrs one may executed all 5000 notarial acts perfectly.
So if you say both without an error than the answer is obvious. The one with the most notarial acts because practice practice, experience, experience, the more you do the better you get.
Nobody. There are no formal credentials for being a trainer, selling a training program, making a video (or posting on a forum, for that matter). As to quality…all in the eye of the beholder.
The few states that have mandatory education for new notaries or mandatory continuing education for renewing notaries usually require that the education be approved. Each state has it’s own approach. They might not evaluate the instructors at all; they might just review the written or audio-visual materials that will be used in the class.
I don’t think either years or number of notarizations are the best criteria. There are really three different areas.
The first area is teaching correct procedures that will keep the notary out of trouble. The ideal instructor would have done a substantial number of notarizations over a period of years, and also been in a position to see what happens when the tasks are done incorrectly. This could include experience as a real estate lawyer or title company employee.
A second area is being able to teach procedures that the notary will be able to keep in mind constantly while working, to avoid oversights, missed signatures, etc. Probably a large number of notarizations done would be useful, as would formal instruction on teaching techniques.
A third area is teaching the notary to run a business effectively. A degree in business administration might be helpful in this area.
I suspect that many of the people teaching these courses don’t have these qualifications. Many of the people working in Secretary of State offices and making up the exams for new notaries don’t have these qualifications either.
@RiverpointeTax The level of complexity increases exponentially when transitioning from performing Notary Public services to providing services as a certified notary signing agent [CNSA]. Thus, the horizon for inclusion of comprehensive training expands.
When I was in my maiden voyage segment of this journey, I was at the crossroads you elude to within your query. This is precisely why I took the ’sampling’ path! LOL See the following direct url link for additional details: Best Signing Companies - #649 by cNsa5
Hope this proves insightful, Riverpointe Tax, if you’re developing a CNSA training program . . .
Good analysis, Ashton. Think I’d put #3 (running a business effectively) first because if you don’t research the viability–demand/costs/profit/competition/trends, the other 2 won’t matter.
Good analysis. In Texas there are only two requirements needed to become a Notary; 1) No criminal convictions, 2) Can you fog a mirror. Texas has no formal training or continuing education requirements. This has led Notaries to figure out Notary what the law says on their own, often leading to misinterpretation and specifically ignorance of the quirks in Texas Real Estate Transactions.
My opinion is most of the NSA training programs aren’t State Specific enough. I’ve also found that many trainers are more concerned with pitching their programs as an easy road to big income or how many ‘Build your Business’ publications and supplemental courses they have to offer.
That is a very good question. Not necessary because some people are very good at being a SELF-STARTER. These are the people who will dive in and learn all they can about the business and make it a success immediately from day one. Mentorship is more for people who have zero experience in either working for themselves, or no experience within the related jobs such as in finance, real estate or lending, etc, and may need a little push and a little hand holding. I hope the industry don’t make mentorship a requirement to be an NSA. IMO: In order to do this job well, first you must have confidence in yourself, must look confidence, know your stuff, be professional, etc. Otherwise, you will scare the client.
Do a lot of searching and learning from FREE info and videos on how to conduct closings available on online or Youtube, etc. When people want to be good at something they will find the way! I did. All I needed to know was what’s involved and I hit the pavement immediately but I came from a financial world and it helped. And I made 6 figures immediately on my first year as an NSA, I say this again only to inspire, not brag but to let others know and to go after what they want, don’t give up. And if this is what they want to be successful at, they will find the way. No training or mentoring needed, just need to get BGC and NSA recert annually with NNA:) Good Luck!
Percent accurate! Operative term being: “necessary”
Accurate.
Unfortunately, I disagree with this tenet. Why? We don’t know what we don’t know . . . We could fall into a proverbial hole all the while being completely unaware that it was there.
As a business owner, one truly owes it to themselves (and the onus is upon the business owner) to develop a strong foundation of knowledge to operate from and within. So, if one has experience owning & operating a businessprior to becoming a certified notary signing agent [CNSA], there would be less of a need for training or mentoring.
=>Please note that I DO NOT advocate that training and/or mentoring become REQUIRED.
You are so right. Some people can’t even determine the quality in anything anyway. They just go where the wind blows.
Percent accurate! 
Operative term being: “necessary”