I’m getting off track again….
Speaking of trainer credentials, I just remember I used to teach knitting class at Joan! Try to vision a 20 year old showing ladies in their 50s how to knit! 
Nobody credentialed me!
The SPW’s last scheduled meeting was in 2014, 9 nine years ago. The last document edition was from 2016. From the historical research much as changed in the industry. I now consider the SPW and the outcomes relegated to the legacy category. It looks like the NNA took the lead on the SPW.
Setting up a Notary business is also an entrepreneurial endevour. There are many entrepreneurial endevours that are government regulation. What the notary does is regulated. If the signing agent is poorly trained, or relies on poor training the notary can be held liable. What’s not known is the trainer can be sued for negligence or deceptive business practices.
Not having a qualified NSA Trainers falls into the same grove as a Medical School Professor without a medical degree teaching medical students. It’s my opinion that without credentialed trainers we’re doing a disservice to the profession and the public.
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Thanks to everyone for your input and comments. I’ve drawn a few conclusions from this discussion that we need to address. More on this later.
Percent Accurate @RiverpointeTax A quick review of multiple posts I’ve created over the years reveals I’ve previously expressed precisely that concern.
Interesting indeed. 
That’s exactly what happened - and they sold the Kool Aid to everyone, and too many partook
Truth. However, this is also the danger of posting questions here or on any other forum - one has to be very careful who is answering the question or giving advice. I have seen far too many inexperienced notaries answer questions that were so off-base it wasn’t funny.
And I agree with your last statement 100%!!
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I think it would be helpful when responding to general queries of a technical nature, if respondents would endeavor to include the following:
- the state they work in
- a quotation or excerpt from the guidance resource they are referencing in their response
- a brief disclaimer as to their own authority on the subject matter
This forum is a good place to swap ideas, get information and [gulp] complain a little. It works on so many levels. And, there are authoritative responses posted all the time from a cadre of talented and knowledgeable notaries. But, it’s best not to get too far out over one’s skis as they say.
When it comes to training, the usual pattern is that the trainer has a higher credential than the credential the student is seeking, or at least someone overseeing the training program does. So student EMTs are trained by paramedics, and student paramedics are trained by medical doctors. Undergraduate students in a university are taught by people who are at least lecturers (or similar title) who have at least a master’s degree.
This approach has to change at the highest level of an occupation, because no one with higher training exists. So medical students are taught by medical doctors (who also have the title professor). Law students receive are taught by lawyers (who have the title law professor), and so on.
So who would be the highest level practitioners in the notary field in the US? Because notaries do several things, there are different professions that would be the highest level.
For running a business, someone with a PhD in business administration, or demonstrated success in business.
For the legal aspects of performing notarial acts, a lawyer.
For the technical aspects of electronic notarization, a PhD in a field such as electrical and computer engineering, or mathematics. Cybersecurity would also be applicable, although I haven’t heard of a university that grants diplomas with “Cypersecurity” printed on them (but maybe I missed it).
Since notaries are at a relatively low level in the legal and cyber fields, one wouldn’t expect PhDs to be teaching notaries directly. But some credential in the above fields, say, a bachelor degree in mathematics, would qualify a person to teach certain aspects of being an notary.
Law is a bit of a problem, because there really aren’t any official steps between no qualification and being a lawyer, except in a few states that formally recognize paralegals. A person with a bachelor’s degree in music appreciation can be admitted to law school.
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Oh, c’mon. What we do as Signing “Agents” isn’t rocket science (have always disliked that title…as Independent Contractors we are nobody’s actual agent–how about Notary Signing Professional). Mentors are not easy to find as most experienced NSAs aren’t readily available 24/7. Perhaps a requirement of 2 years as a Notary doing only GNW before you can become a NSA (Notary Signing Professional) would help all involved.
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Maybe we’re overthinking this a little bit. A notary’s job is to authenticate identities and present documents for signature/date/initials. GNW, of course, has other aspects. I agree with Arichter, this is not rocket surgery. There should be an accredited entity that issues a certificate to trained applicants that demonstrates their proven proficiency in the discipline. The rest is up to the state to ensure that the notary person meets established requirements.
All this talk about legal/cyber this & that/business admin and so on is all well and good, but it really doesn’t materially affect the notary enterprise very much, at least to my way of thinking. What is important is a basic understanding of running a business and that can be learned from taking night classes at the local JC or signing up with SCORE, for example.
One should get trained by NOTARY2PRO, NNA, Mark Willis or whoever one thinks can provide the most comprehensive training curricula. Read, read, read your state’s notary manual/guide to understand what is required (do’s and don’ts, essentially) and take continuing education courses to stay on top of industry developments and standards.
And, of course, read the stuff on this forum. I’ve picked up some good tips and tricks and great reminders from LindaFL, Arichter, VIPNotary and cNsa5, the four Queens in this deck o’ cards 
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Your suggestion seems to be no trainers, just experience with GNW before becoming an NSA. That’s what the signing agencies and title companies were doing before NNA came along with their certifications. That’s how I got started.
But the thread is about what the credentials of the trainers should be. I’m suggesting that although individual trainers need not have the qualifications I mentioned, someone in their organization should. Take the NNA; they have lawyers on staff (although they may not use then well). The various RON platforms more likely than not have people with engineering or computer science degrees, or at least industry cybersecurity certifications.
If a computer trainer is all by him/herself, and has only the closings he/she has done as training, and a technical question about RON comes along, who will he/she ask?
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It’s a scam to make money from beginners and the unaware.
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15 years ago the Notary signing agent gig was rumored to be a 6 figure income part/time activity, luckily it was for me. All at a special time when the banks were handing out home loans to anybody with 500+ credit. Buyers were getting two loans, a mortgage and another loan to finance the down payment! Notaries were everywhere and there were very few signing agencies. Then the bottom fell out of the real estate market and with it went the need for notaries. Sadly 100s of thousands of notaries just didn’t renew their commissions.
Okay, enough of the history lesson
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Well it’s one year since I posted this. Deja vu everyone.
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I missed those glory days. When I started my journey a little over a year ago my goal was simple. Replace the income I would have made when I walked away from corporate America. Yes it would have been nice to make 6 figures but I was a realist… not only did I do that I did so with less stress and on my own terms. I LOVE and enjoy being a Notary /LSA. I just wish I had done so sooner.
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Ah, very good question about Loan Signing Agent trainer credentials. The scenario that you presented can be a tricky choice, but I go with the 5 year experienced LSA. But I must stipulate that the 5 year experienced LSA must be proficient in their knowledge with the full range of various loan packets and application of the notarial state statutes. As for the current environment, “Caveat emptor”(let the buyer beware).
My 2004 San Diego County Yellow page ad. This full-color ad cost me $4,000 a year. Marketing my notary services in the most efficient way possible. At that time there were very few signing services.
In 2006 the California SOS started requiring eight hours of training and a passing grade on a notary exam to become a notary. I taught those courses and afterward, usually that same night, loan signing classes. This went on for a couple of years before the 2008 mortgage crash. These were all live group classes with me explaining how to market, present docs, package, return them and invoice the title companies. I had no teaching credentials other than my hands-on experience from working as both a signing agent and a mobile notary.
Ah, the good old days–when TC actually called you and a 4K ad in a densely populated/low notary saturated area would pay for itself 20 times over.
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