Signing Up!

I am a brand new Signing Agent and I am being overwhelmed with the paperwork needed to sign up with an agency. Some agencies require copies of everything (i.e., social security card, driver’s license, E & O policy, W-9, conract, and voided notary seal). I am leary of faxing all of these forms before they even send me out for a signing. Is this normal procedure? Can I fax them a contract first and wait till they hire me before I send the sensitive documentation? Or am I just paranoid? I was told to sign up at least 10 new agencies per week, this really puts my personal information “out there!”

Most of the items are necessary to be put into each company’s database, and yes, there are hundreds of them. Having said that, I would not provide a copy of driver’s license unless the ID number was blacked out. I would not provide a voided seal, as a copy of your commission is sufficient to show you are indeed a notary. STRONGLY recommend NOT providing your SSN to anyone. Get an EIN number for your business and use that for all company registrations and for filing taxes on your Schedule C business form. Takes only a couple minutes on the IRS website to get one.

Most companies just have you register with their websites and they’ll call if they need you, which is when you will be “hired”.

If you think any company is pushing too much for something you don’t want to provide, just don’t sign up with them. As mentioned, there are hundreds of companies out there.

Thanks for the good advice!

are these companies in all areas? I am in California and am looking for good companies to get in with for loan signing docs.

Rob,

You need to be aware it doesn’t happen overnight. There are hundreds of signing companies around the country, and you’ll need to sign up with most of them to have a fighting chance to secure any business. You already face an uphill battle being in the superstaurated LA area, where thanks to the notary mill at NNA, there is seemingly an NSA on every street corner. Try going to the NotaryRotary.com or 123Notary.com websites and putting your zip code into the “Find A Notary” tab; you’ll get an idea of how much competition you have.

Read the notary boards and sirtes such as NotaryBeware.com to get a feel for companies to stay away from.