Find Your Notary Business Niche

Many people think that being a notary public is signing your name on a few documents, stamping and sending people on their way; but being a notary is so much more than that. You are not only a notary public but under that notary umbrella are quite a few work opportunities raining on you. So, when you know exactly what services you want to offer you make it easier for you to run a business and your future clientele will know exactly what to expect when it comes to your notary services that you offer - they will appreciate the clarity.

We must ask ourselves? Why did we get commissioned to become notary publics in the first place? What else can I do with my commission? As for me, I want physical and financial autonomy on top of learning new skillsets to keep me sharp in business.

When I became a notary public back in 2021 all I knew is I wanted to complete loan signings. But as I received my training and hit the ground running, I started to do more research for other opportunities I could stick my hands in, and I came across some good stuff.

Let’s talk about some other services you can offer clients that will compliment your notary business:

General Notary Work – the core everyday duties and responsibilities associated with being a Notary Public that are unrelated to real estate transactions. This looks like verifying identity, witnessing signatures, administering oaths and affirmations and completing notarial certificates in day-to-day transactions such as vehicle transfers, consent forms, affidavits and more. You as a notary public are an impartial witness while deterring fraud as well.  

Real Estate Loan Signings – notary publics get specialized training to guide borrowers through loan documents and ensuring correctness that all notarizations and signatures throughout the documents are legally compliant.

Estate Planning – the process of arranging for the management and distribution of one’s assets in the event of one’s death or incapacitation. These documents often require notarization for the documents to be legally binding. A legacy plan and a set of documents will be in place and notarized for the estate planner and their beneficiaries.

Wedding Officiant - those engaged to be married can reach out to a wedding officiant to bind them in marriage and guide the ceremony. After the ceremony it is the wedding officiants job to submit paperwork to the government agency to make the marriage legal. As a wedding officiant these are the duties to be completed such as: pre-ceremonial planning, the ceremony itself, personalization and support and of course the legalities and paperwork.  

Apostille Facilitator - an apostille certifies the authenticity of a notary’s signature or an official record so it can be used in another country that is part of the Hague Apostille Convention. Arizona apostilles are issued by the Arizona Secretary of State and are required for many legal, immigration, personal, and business matters abroad. The full explanation and process of an apostille facilitator is under my “services” tab if you want more information.

Field Inspections – make some extra cash by going to visit onsite locations for evaluations such as residential, commercial, land and even vehicles. As a field inspector/photographer you can have assignments sent to you in your area, accept the assignment and show up to the location ready to take pictures and answer evaluation questions and submit the assignment from your phone for payment. You are the eyes and ears for field inspections. I love doing inspections for gas money, snacks, beauty essentials or just to save!

Document Preparer – is a qualified person who can prepare legal documents, but who is not an attorney, meaning, as a document preparer you are not allowed to give out legal advice. Individual clients or companies can come to the document preparer to help them with documents such as citizenship, living wills, powers of attorney and more without having to pay expensive attorney fees. Please check with your state for laws, licensing and regulations to become a document preparer.

Printing & Courier – add another service to your notary business by having a mobile office. The notary can remotely receive documents to print, notarize on the spot and deliver documents to respected destination (title, escrow, lender, ups, post office, FedEx).  As a mobile notary public, you can charge for travel, notarizations and number of pages printed.

So, with all this information shared here and with a little bit of added research on your end there are so many services you can add to help your business grow and to keep you working and money in the bank. There may be more services that are not listed in this article that you may have considered doing as well. Information is always at your fingertips. Good luck with your notary business and remember to always keep going.

Happy stamping!