What You Should Know Before Being a Notary

A notary is someone who can notarize legal documents such as court papers, real estate sales, titles of homes and cars, among others. But for some, this can be a flexible perk in the job market or something to give you some income if you are not currently seeking employment.

Here are some of the specs about being a notary.

Wage increase at work or a higher wage upon employment.

You can ask for a higher rate of pay, hourly or salary, if you are a licensed notary. In some states, a notary test for the license is required to achieve your certification to perform these duties. You will receive a stamp, a book, and a license indicating you are a notary. However, the cost of keeping the license is more money than what most people can afford. For example, one notary school can offer a course for $95 but request that you order the materials as well, which can bring the notary function to a whopping $140-$250 per price tag. You can ask for a wage increase if you need to cover those expenses, such as new stamps or notary books for records that you are complying with the state law. The current average in the State of Florida is $22 per hour, and that is just the starting point until you have become more experienced in the field.

You can officiate weddings if the bride and groom are keeping the costs down.

Weddings can be expensive, but getting the right person to marry you can cost a leg and an arm. Some states allow notaries to act as wedding officiants who can perform traditional ceremonies outside of the church if the bride and groom pick a non-traditional location. Chapter 117 of Florida Law on Notary work states that officiants can charge up to $20 per marriage license, which is double the cost of the regular notary documents, which should equal up to $10.

You can set your own hours and become self-employed.

Notaries can set their own hours and wages if they wish to work on their skills and receive income in that manner. Typically, after a few years of experience, you can easily start charging your own hourly rates with invoices to clients for expenses such as mileage to travel and notarize, or the amount of documents and hours it would take to notarize all items. If we go back to the $22 an hour, you can charge anywhere from $0.25 to $1 per mile based on the state and location in which you work as a notary, along with an hourly rate for the amount of time you will be needed and fees for notarized papers.

Now, let's look at the cons of being a notary.

You cannot charge your rates as a notary if you currently have a job.

This means you cannot charge for the applications while obtaining a current state of employment. If you work for a company at X hourly rate, you cannot ask for more money from the person requesting your notary services for the papers that need to be notarized. It pretty much means you can't ask for tips or extra fees because it's fraud and double-dipping.

You cannot notarize for those with whom you have a relationship.

This means you cannot notarize documents for your family or in-laws. For example, your mom can't have you notarize documents for her bank; that is something she will have to seek out on her own terms. It is considered perjury if you are using your notary license to help your family with important state and federal documents. This type of perjury will involve prison time, a hefty fine, and being blacklisted from the notary directory.

You cannot notarize birth and death certificates or provide legal counsel.

Birth and Death Records are living records to confirm who was born and who has died. These are not allowed to be notarized without committing perjury.

You can't act as someone with legal knowledge. What you can do is suggest they seek out legal advice if they are concerned. However, in certain poorer countries, many lawyers are often known as notarios, which can translate to notary or lawyer. These are often different in America. A lawyer is someone who has studied law, while a notary is a person who has taken state courses to pursue a notary license for legal documents.

Thank you for enjoying the reading. Let me know if this has helped anyone wishing to pursue this chapter in their life, or drop a line in the comments below.