Notary Public

What is a Notary Public?

The following responsibilities are common for Notary Public:

• Acts as a witness to the signing of important and legal documents
• Verifies the document and signers identities before witnessing and signing the document
• After signing, places their seal of notary onto the document along with signing the document as the witness
• Records all the proper signer information into the notary public records book

A Day In The Life

The main responsibility of a notary public is to witness the signing of important documents.  When a document is signed in front of a notary, they must first check the signers ID.  These individuals are utilized to prevent fraud or theft between public persons.  They must also keep documentation of all the documents that they have notarized as well.  They do this by providing their state issued, embossed seal onto the document along with their signature and date.

Another task of the notary is to administer an oath.  These oaths are typically administered during legal trials as statements of witnesses.  In some cases, an individual may be unable to appear in court, so will then turn in a written statement or affidavit into the notary and swear an oath.  Once an oath is notarized it can legally be turned into and filed in the court case.

Typical Work Schedule

Notaries public can work in many positions where they have to witness and authenticate signatures for documents, and administer oaths. The working schedule of a notary public can vary depending on the work place and type of employment; whether they are self-employed or not. If you choose to be self-employed, you’ll have a flexible schedule, otherwise you will need to follow a typical full-time working schedule with about 40 business hours per week. Some notaries are often required to work odd hours, including evenings and weekends, to accommodate their clients. In addition, some may travel to customers for scheduled signings which may add longer working hours to the schedule.

Projected Job Growth

The demand for this job varies depending on the work place because according to the US Bureau of Labor statistics the employment of court reporters is expected to increase by 9% from 2019 to 2029. This is faster than the average for other occupations. On the other hand, office and administrative support occupations is expected to decrease by 5% between 2019 to 2029 mainly due to the automation of many of the work tasks. These varying rates are due to the fact that the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not track notaries as a separate profession. The profession of the notary public has recently faced significant changes as the internet and mobile phones facilitated the work of many notaries. In addition, more states may soon permit notaries to sign documents remotely which could provide more opportunities for those who completed a notary commission.

Typical Employers

Notary public can work in a variety of work settings including law offices and real estate brokerages. Other employers also include banks and cash-checking services as well as mortgage lenders. Another option is to operate as a mobile notary where you travel to different clients. A few states have recently allowed notaries to work remotely, notarizing documents after witnessing clients’ signatures via webcam. Both mobile and online notaries can work privately out of a home office with much flexibility in time and workplace.