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Category: Mobile Notaries News and Advice

Tips and Tricks for Staying Safe on a Mobile Signing

What are two factors that we all share in our job as a mobile notary?

Travel and meeting New People

While these two things are par for the course for all notaries, our goal in this post is to provide a few tips and tricks to help you stay safe on the road and encountering new people in their home.

There is always a risk in going to a new location, but in following these few steps we are hoping to provide you with the tools and knowledge needed to keep you safe during your signings.

  1. If you are able, always let someone know where your assignment is taking place and the general time it will take you to return
  2. Make sure your phone is charged so you have the ability to contact someone in an emergency
  3. We know this line of work can mean back-to-back signings with minimal opportunities to go home, so bring a mobile phone charger with you just in case
  4. Share minimal details of your schedule with anyone you do not fully trust or know
  5. All though a great concern for safety, we know it is frowned upon to keep your phone in Ring mode vs Silent or Vibration mode. We suggest one of the latter, only so you can make a quick emergency call if needed.
  6. Make sure your car has routine maintenance to reduce possible breaks downs
  7. Invest in a reliable GPS system or app for your smartphone so you are limiting the risk of getting lost
  8. Make sure you are calling the signer to confirm- introduce yourself by full name, include a description of your car. This ensures the signer knows who and what to expect upon your arrival to location and decrease any potentially hostile encounters since you’re a stranger coming to their home
  9. There is always the potential for a client to get upset. Handling the situation calmly and offering them the option to reach out to their title contact, or us, can go a long way in diffusing the tension and regaining control of the signing. Keep the contact on the phone till the signer is calm and a resolution or decision has been reached.
  10. Your safety is priority number one, never keep yourself in a potentially dangerous or uncomfortable situation for a signing

Setting the Stage

While these few points do not cover all the potential situations you may encounter on the job, they lay a foundation for risk prevention and increase your awareness of possible situations to prepare for.

Sunshine has always put the safety and well being of our notaries first and we encourage all notaries to contact us with any potential safety issues or concerns so we can be another added safety measure.

Why are Notaries so Important in Today’s Legal System?

While we have all undoubtedly heard about notary work at one point or another, what really makes a
notary so vital for a legal transaction to take place?

The role and responsibilities of a notary have evolved over the years since their origin, which can
be traced back to ancient Egypt. Back then, the main tasks performed by a notary were transcribing and recording public and legal proceedings. And while these duties have changed over time, the role a
notary serves are no less significant in today’s day and age.

The primary service offered by a notary is acting as an unbiased third-party witness to legal
transactions. By validating a signer’s identity and the documents being signed, they are offering a layer
of protection that would not be available otherwise.

Let’s be honest, fraud is a very real concern in our current society and the role played by our
notaries is a significant deterrent. They are also valuable in preventing contract disputes and possible
litigation, as all signers would have to be present and acknowledge the documents being signed in front of a notary.

Remember, having a document notarized makes it legally binding and holds all signing parties accountable for any terms or transactions listed in the document, so long as they were verified and credentialed by a notary.

So, while hiring a notary may seem like an unnecessary step in an already long process for a
signer, they are obtaining a layer of safety and credibility that will ensure a smooth transaction for all
parties involved.

Notarizing Someone’s Blood

We’ve seen some strange individual signings, but our tales of the bizarre has a new story. One of which a notary had to notarize someone’s blood for authenticity.

Wait, Did You Say Notarizing Someone’s Blood

This is already the talk of the skate board industry. Skating legend Tony Hawk had blood removed so it can be added to paint. The paint would be used on a limited line of skateboards.

We’re not talking about mortgage or title. The integrity of blood is on the line.

Those skateboards would then be sold at a high price to collectors of skateboards, as well as fans of bloody things.

We imagine the conversation went like this:

  1. Collect blood
  2. Mix blood into paint
  3. Paint neat designs with said blood.
  4. ???????
  5. PROFIT!

And at the end of the day, they needed a notary to certify the blood was authentic, and not some blood from someone pretending to be Tony Hawk.

But the real question is:

Did the notary ask for Tony’s signature in blood for their kid’s wall? We kid, we kid.

It is All for a Good Cause

If we can get serious for a moment.

This limited edition of one hundred skateboards helps a couple of charities, not the new vampire skateboarding team.

Ordered by bottled water company Liquid Death, proceeds will go to 5 Gyres, as well as Tony’s personal charity, The Skateboard Project.

100 of the fully notarized and bloody skateboards will be sold for $500 apiece.

And that is the story of person who was notarizing someone’s blood.

Sunshine Signing

Get Any Document Notarized Right Now! Let’s Start!

Go with the Industry Leaders for over 15 years. Mobile Notaries, Online, Remote, Sunshine Gets the Job Done Right…

GET IN TOUCH NOW

Or Call us at (727) 817-0000

Notary Fees are Decreased in Mississippi

In a defeat to static notaries, Mississippi has passed a bill to lower notary fees in Mississippi.

The changes essentially make the maximum amount that can be charged for a signing to five dollars. That is five dollars a signature for documents notarized.

This may be a blow to storefront notaries, as the benefit of offering notarizations may have decreased as a different loss leader may offer more value.

A Move Towards Electronic and Mobile Signings

The interesting part of the bill eliminates the fee cap for both mobile and electronic signings.

Additional fees may be charged with services that go beyond the normal notarial act. This includes things like travel and digital fees like web streaming or video and doc storage. The only caveat is those fees must be agreed upon in advance.

The lowering of static fees, in conjunction with higher fees allowed for electronic and mobile signings, seems to pave the way for more remote signings in the state.

Here is the full text of the updated notary law.

This is a reminder we are not lawyers. We are not giving legal advice.

Attribution: We would like to thank By Rocky Vaughn, Sue Anna Joe, Dominique Pugh, Clay Moss, Kara Giles, and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History for the illustration of the Mississippi State Flag.

Sunshine Signing

Get Any Document Notarized Right Now! Let’s Start!

Go with the Industry Leaders for over 15 years. Mobile Notaries, Online, Remote, Sunshine Gets the Job Done Right…

GET IN TOUCH NOW

Or Call us at (727) 817-0000

Remote Notarizations in New York Expired

We’ve talked quite a bit about temporary rules, and the temp rules for remote notarizations expired in New York.

Lost in the shuffle of the return to our national holiday, the rules allowing remote notarizations in the state of New York expired. All notaries in the state were alerted before the expiration started, but new rules are yet to be issued.

How We Got Here

Governor Cuomo signed an executive order in March of 2020 implementing emergency rules for remote notarization, as well as a slew of other things. All of these were stated to end in July 2021.

The order included things like remote notarization, travel restrictions, a state of emergency, among others. All of those have been rolled back, but only a few, like using online notaries are stuck in limbo. A couple of other orders have already been extended, including paid leave rules.

What is up Next for Remote Notarizations in New York

A bill has already been presented to the state Senate, where it has already passed committee. It is expected to be passed through the legislature and signed by the governor, but the exact timeline on that is unknown.

What is known is it will pass. What, if any, changes to the original order remain to be seen, as the bill could still go through some negotiations.

As we move forward it is important to stay on top of things. Expiring rules, new rules, updated rules are all coming, and they will be hard to keep track of.