I became a notary public because I wanted something to work around my family. I wanted to be able to pick and choose when I worked, without the fear of never getting another call back. And I wanted guaranteed money–I didn't want to worry about commissions, home party sales, or inventory.

When I learned mobile notaries could earn a good living signing loan documents, I hit the Internet to find out everything I could on the subject. I joined message boards and asked lots of questions and I went through pages and pages of search engines to find companies that would hire me once I received my license.

Once I felt I had enough information to get started, I ordered my notary handbook from the state and studied for the test. In the state of California, you have to take a formal test before you are allowed to become a notary public, but each state is different. For instance, in Missouri, I was told that all you had to do was take home a test, open your notary book, find the answers, fill out the form and turn the test in. There are other states where all you have to do is fill out a request form and you are in.

Choosing To Be A Signing Agent
To become just a mobile notary public won't guarantee you any real money. In fact, some states mandate that you are only allowed to charge 10 cents for each notary act performed, while states like California allow you to charge $10 per notary act. That is why it is important to become a signing agent, and not just a mobile notary public.

As a mobile notary public, you are allowed to charge for the convenience of driving to your clients’ homes or offices provided you tell them the fee up front, but even that fee has a few restrictions. But as a signing agent, you charge companies a flat fee of $50 to drive to their clients, witness their signing of loan documents and complete any notary acts needed.

Your Role
Your role as a signing agent is to witness borrowers sign their mortgages and then notarize certain forms. Basically what happens is this: You receive a page from a signing company, in which you return the page, within five minutes. The company tells you the date and time of the signing and you will say accept or decline the job.

If you say yes, the signing company will send you a faxed confirmation sheet with the name and address of the client. You then call the client to set up an appointment or confirm an existing appointment. Once you confirm the appointment, you call the signing company back with confirmation.

A few days later, a loan package arrives at your door. That is the package you will take with you when you meet your client. Your client signs appropriate forms and you overnight the package back to the company, via their code. It's that simple!

The Challenges
Working as a notary public can be stressful as you first build your clientele and wait for those calls to come in. But after a while, things will begin to feel more comfortable and the calls will be more regular.

The most important thing in this business is doing your job right the first time. When you are good at what you do, jobs will flock to you. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen. You also must enjoy traveling and meeting new people.

The Benefits

The great thing about being a signing agent, versus a mobile notary, is that you know exactly what you are getting paid when you take the job and you know that you will receive a check for that job the following month.

And it can work around your children or current job. Most of the signings are done at night, because most people want to sign when they are at home, but then you will have those who want to take a day off from work and will meet with you during the day or on a weekend.

Getting Started
When I began, there weren’t any classes, or books, on how to get started as a signing agent so I prepared a <a href=”http://thedabblingmumpress.com” target=”_blank”>notary e-book</a> to help others get started. (If you are interested in a career as a signing agent, visit my website at http://thedabblingmumpress.com.)