Beyond the Stamp: 5 Surprising Truths About Notary Background Checks

Introduction: The Hidden Hurdles of Becoming a Signing Agent

You've done it. You navigated the state requirements, passed the exam, and officially became a commissioned Notary Public. You're ready to launch your business. But for those aspiring to enter the lucrative world of mortgage signings as a Notary Signing Agent (NSA), the state commission is merely the first barrier to entry.

Before you can handle a single loan document, you must clear an entire secondary layer of compliance, dictated by the mortgage industry to manage risk, that exists completely outside of state notary regulations. This post examines five surprising and often misunderstood truths about the background screening process that every aspiring signing agent must consider in their business strategy, based on industry standards and the real-world experiences of notaries.

Your State Commission Isn't the Golden Ticket

There's a critical strategic distinction between the background check required for a state Notary Public commission and the comprehensive screening mandated to work as an NSA. The state-level check, required in only 12 states, confirms your basic eligibility to perform general notarial acts—like verifying a person's identity for a power of attorney. It's a baseline qualification for a public official.

In stark contrast, the NSA screening is an industry-wide requirement driven by lender liability and the immense financial risk associated with borrower data. Its purpose is far more specific: to assess your suitability to be trusted, unsupervised, inside a borrower's home with their most sensitive financial documents, including Social Security numbers and bank details. While the state commission qualifies you to witness signatures, the NSA background screening is what qualifies you to participate in the mortgage closing process.

One Background Check Rules Them All

While multiple companies offer background screening services, the mortgage and title industry overwhelmingly requires one from a single source: the National Notary Association (NNA). This quasi-monopoly creates significant friction for notaries operating as independent businesses. Notaries who invest in a background check from another reputable service, like Sterling, often find their reports rejected. For example, as one user reported, the major firm ServiceLink rejected their application specifically because their check wasn't from the NNA.

This market reality is a source of constant debate, as captured in notary forums:

"I’m ranting this morning because I just received yet another email from a company that I have been with for years, informing me that if I don’t use the NNA for my background check, they can no longer use my services."

This tension highlights a core business dilemma. Signing services classify notaries as independent contractors to avoid employee costs, yet they exert control over vendor selection—a hallmark of an employer-employee relationship. This practice, which often bundles the background check with a mandatory annual NNA certification at an added cost, creates a contentious legal and business gray area. As one forum user noted, it feels like it may be "crossing that line in the business relationship over to an employer/employee relationship."

Prepare for the Annual Renewal Treadmill

Unlike a notary commission, which can last four years or more, the industry-standard NSA background screening must be renewed annually. From a business perspective, this annual requirement is not just an administrative hassle; it's a recurring operational cost that must be factored into an NSA's pricing model and financial projections.

Every year, signing agents must repeat the process and pay the fee, a reality that many find frustrating:

"I agree with what you all are saying. The NNA Background/Certification should last the life of the Commission. It’s a pain having to send this to all the signing companies every year now."

Despite the friction, this annual compliance cost is non-negotiable. Lenders demand it to continuously mitigate their risk and comply with regulatory pressures to safeguard consumer financial information, making it a mandatory cost of doing business for any serious NSA.

A "Passing Grade" Is Based on a Point System

Successfully passing an NSA background screening isn't a simple pass/fail based on the absence of a felony. Instead, the process employs a detailed point system to score various offenses, with criteria set by the Signing Professionals Workgroup (SPW)—an industry body formed by major title and mortgage services companies to establish a unified standard.

According to the NNA, which adheres to the SPW standard, a total score of 24 points or less is required to pass. A score of 25 points or more will disqualify an individual from working as a loan signing agent. Points are assigned based on the severity and relevance of the offense, "ranging from 2 points for a non-moving violation to 25 points for robbery." In addition to the point system, the screening includes automatic disqualifications for certain serious findings, such as an applicant appearing on a National Sex Offender registry or a Terrorist Watch List.

"Innocent Until Proven Guilty" Doesn't Always Apply

Perhaps the most counterintuitive aspect of the NSA screening is that a formal conviction is not always necessary to fail. The standards applied are stricter than those in many other fields, reflecting the high-risk nature of the work.

NNA guidelines state that "pending cases for serious crimes will cause the scoring of a background screening to be held as incomplete until the final outcome of the case," effectively preventing you from working. More surprisingly, charges resolved without a formal conviction can still be counted. The standard specifies that "Deferred adjudication and pretrial diversion charges are scored until all terms/requirements specified by the court are satisfied." This includes a wide range of legal outcomes such as Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, Adjudication Withheld, and Conditional Discharge. This means that until all court-ordered requirements—such as probation, classes, or fines—are fully completed, those charges can disqualify you. This standard underscores the exceptional level of scrutiny applied to anyone entrusted with a borrower's private financial information.

Conclusion: The Real Cost of Trust

The journey to becoming a successful Notary Signing Agent involves navigating a complex, rigorous, and often controversial background screening process that extends far beyond the basic requirements of a state commission. These stringent standards are not arbitrary; they are a direct response to the immense responsibility of handling sensitive consumer financial information in the mortgage industry.

As the industry continues to evolve, should independent notaries have a greater voice in setting these standards, or is this strict oversight the necessary price of maintaining public trust?

The Real Cost of Trust