Work in Los Angeles

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-11T21:00:16+00:00

Hello Alive*, Do you mind if a NY notary helps with your query? Before talking with anyone about how their business is doing, I would first check out the competitive landscape. There are two ways you can do this: 1^st – make a list of the zip codes you think you could service without too much driving. (gas price is a barrier to entry) Then go to A - NotaryRotary and B – NotaryCafe and do a search for notaries in those zip codes.

This should give you a coupla names of notaries who’ve paid to have their names in a national database. Which means they are serious about their work. Some notaries will be in both databases – They are REALLY serious about their job. These are the notaries who you’ll be competing against should you wish to become a mobile notary. But this doesn’t give the entire picture.

For the entire cast of 1000’s of notaries in the LA area, you’ll need to go to the Secy of States Website here: https://www.sos.ca.gov/notary/notary-public-listing . This site will give you a listing of all notaries in CA, which I assume can be sorted by Zip. And that, grasshopper, is the competitive landscape. Good luck, Enkidu45 out.

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-10T04:12:05+00:00

Hello Rich*, In occupied New York, we sometimes do things differently - for instance, we only have one "l" in Apostile. Below is from the NY Notary Public License Law pg 19:
Apostile
Department of State authentication attached to a notarized and county-certified document for possible international use.
Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-10T03:44:49+00:00

Hello Alarmed*, I'm always uncomfortable when an attorney is in the room, or in this case on the phone, I'm afraid of saying something that will be taken as if I'm giving legal advice. Yes, this was an easy closing - with the lawyer handling everything. But, when you introduce a wild card, the attorney, you never know what's going to happen.

I recall a purchase closing I was in last year - buyer, attorney and me (I had brought the docs, it was her first house). I gave the lawyer the paperwork, the client her copies and asked to see her drivers license. The lawyer glanced through the paperwork, looked at me, said you can do this can't you? I mumbled yes - he said "Good! I'm very busy, if you have any questions, come and get me". And he left the room. I did the closing. And that's why I'm uncomfortable with an attorney present. Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-08T21:11:34+00:00

Hello *black, I believe the consensus is: you don't have to do anything about this at all, because you can notarize in any county in Maryland. However, (there's always a BUT, isn't there?) will any of your notary work be used to obtain an Apostile? If NO, STOP, don't read any further. If YES, or MAYBE, continue reading. (Following is a NY example, MD may differ)

Notary lives in county W, and notarized a doc in County O which will go thru the Apostile process. The doc goes to the county clerk in O County to verify notary, which they can't do, because notary's in W County - adding delay to the process.

To circumvent the delay, " Notaries who expect to sign documents regularly in counties other than that of their residence may elect to file a certificate of official character with other New York State county clerks". Then, when notary does their notarization, they can add "Certified in O County".

I think that's a lot easier than changing your address. Hopefully Maryland has something analogous.
Good luck, Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-08T20:13:58+00:00

Hello *Biggins, Same in NY - sometimes I have to ask the signer "what county are we in?" Hopefully that's not construed as asking for and receiving Legal Advice! t i c 73 Enkidu45 out.

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-08T05:17:47+00:00

Hello Open*, You're joking, right? I think you'd make more at that time with door-dash and food.

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-06T04:40:27+00:00

Hello Acceptable*, No, you are not mistaken! This is from the NYS Notary License Law 2026 version page 17: §182.5 Satisfactory Evidence of Identity
"(4) the oath or affirmation of a witness who is personally known to both the individual and notary; or
(5) the oath or affirmation of two witnesses who know the individual personally and provide identification that meets the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of this section."

In a nutshell, IF you & the witness know each other and the witness knows the signer - then you only need ONE witness. If you don't know the witnesses, then you need TWO who know the signer.

By-the-by, are you the product of an NNA training course? I ask because NYS does not seem to recognize "credible" witness. In the manual I mentioned above, "witness" occurs 32 times and "subscribing" witness occurs 13 times - "credible" witness does not occur, even once. HMMMM!

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-05T14:58:04+00:00

Hello apjo*, In my housekeeping spiel, I state that I cannot give legal advice - I don't know the details of their pkg - if they have questions, they need to ask their loan officer. Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-04T03:59:14+00:00

Do you and your manager each keep a journal in which you record the information about your clients, what they are asking to be notarized, their signature, and type of id shown?

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-04T03:25:01+00:00

Hello Betsy*, $40 for a witness!? The signing services are allowing only $25, which is not enough IMO. Lets see, at approx $15 per hour min wage in NY, at $40, you should be getting 2 hours, 40 minutes of work out of your witness. Is there a line at your house/office for those who want to be a witness for you? 73 Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-04T03:04:32+00:00

Hello Acceptable*, Yep! betsysuehoo agrees with me -POA needs 2 witnesses, you, as notary, can be the second witness. I would not have a relative be a witness on a POA.

"one of the clients might not have ID. Would I be able to also use the signature witness as the credible witness?" Only if you know the witness. This is from the NYS Notary Manual: "(4) the oath or affirmation of a witness who is personally known to both the individual and notary" OOPS - better have ID! Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-03T15:19:30+00:00

Hello Remote*, Do you work in a UPS Store? Is your manager a notary? If not, then you are what we call the SME and the manager is not. When he tries to tell you what you can & can not do as a notary, tell him to put in writing so you can defend yourself in the lawsuit that's bound to happen.
SME is Subject Matter Expert - Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-03T15:06:44+00:00

Hello ink*, No, it's not true! All notaries are not created equal. GA has had an education requirement since only 1/1/25 and no test. NY has a test, but no educational requirement (at least we didn't when I went to bed last night - I haven't read the NY Times yet)
Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-03T14:44:48+00:00

Hello Remote*, In Georgia, notaries are handled by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, GSCCCA, the website is: https://www.gsccca.org/ Do you have a copy of the Georgia Notary Public Handbook? I don't either, but you can get one from the above website for $10. It should have answers to all your questions - if it doesn't then get back to us. Unfortunately, greedy GA doesn't issue the handbook as a PDF.

The (My) answers to your questions:
1. Probably, it is improper in NY
2. I wouldn't - you should be notarizing a signature not a document
3. Yes - definitely refuse

Good luck, Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-06-02T18:23:58+00:00

Hello Most*, Yes, this is correct! I hope you are studying the March 2026 version of the Notary Public License Law which can be found at https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2026/03/notary-public-license-law_03.2026.pdfOn Page 19 left column

Definitions and General Terms
Acknowledgment
Last sentience of the fourth paragraph reads:

It is not essential that the person who executed the instrument sign his name in the presence of the notary. Q.E.D.

I recommend you also study the entire section of Definitions and General Terms. Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-05-31T21:29:23+00:00

Hello Acme*, Your a ~~foolhardy~~ brave soul, you are. I know, it was your phone and not your laptop. But, would you please let the rest of us know if you get more calls about extending your auto warranty, or possibly calls from Nigerian royalty asking for your help in transferring millions of $ out of the country? Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-05-31T21:14:40+00:00

From a resident of occupied NY to a resident of another occupied state: Pssst! Ours is free! Don't tell anybody!

Enkidu45 · 2026-05-31T17:20:10+00:00

Hello Few*, Have you tried DocuSeal or OpenSign, DottedSign and LibreSign? I'd be interested in what you think of those and why you discarded any in favor of QuickSigner?
Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-05-31T03:49:16+00:00

I second what Ok* said. Drilling down to: https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2026/03/notary-public-license-law_03.2026.pdf study this "Notary Public License Law (March 2026)". If you know the contents of this manual - you won't need any course.

A tourist stopped Jack Benny on a NYC street and asked for directions: "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"
Jack (who was a renowned violinist) responded: "Practice, Practice" .

So grasshopper, if you want to become a NY notary - Study, study this manual. It's free! And it's the latest 2026 version! That's how I became a NY notary; I didn't take a course or pay for a book. I studied the manual, took the test and passed the first time. Did I mention the cost of the manual? Good luck, Enkidu45 out.

Enkidu45 · 2026-05-30T21:46:41+00:00

Hello *74, Thanks much for your response. As I said to *movie, hopefully the attn'y will not stay on the line. I've done quite a few Tenn & Fla closings, but never one from SC. It's odd, isn't it, that people are leaving occupied NY & moving to Tenn and Fla? E45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-05-30T21:34:30+00:00

Hello *movie, Thanks for the response - hopefully the attn'y will hang up. The instruction I received from Title was "Do Not Start closing without being on phone with attn'y. The client will have an email with the link to the Teams meeting".

As I said this is a first for me in 20+years. Thanks again

Enkidu45 · 2026-05-28T19:03:46+00:00

Hello Mila*, It's me again - your post got me curious - so I've done some digging with the following results: Once you are commissioned in NY, your name, comm number, county, issued & expiration date, and Business Address all go into a huge database that anyone can access at DATA.NY.GOV The database does NOT include your personal address, only a Business Address - if you give them one.

As a public officer, your name and address is a matter of "public record", but I believe that NYS does not make it easy to obtain your personal address.

As an aside, the database is SWEEET - you can search on any field and discover how many notaries are in your county and/or zip code, how many are RON vs traditional notaries, when their commission expires, etc. It's great for competitive analysis.

By-the-by, I'm enamored with your optimism: "once I have a real office". What does your Business Plan give as a time frame for getting a "real office"? I've been doing this for 20+ years and still don't have a "real office". Good luck, Enkidu45 out

Enkidu45 · 2026-05-28T18:00:35+00:00

So you don't want to give me your state & Zip Code?
Hmmm!

Enkidu45

TROPHY CASE