Launched in response to sweeping regulatory initiatives by the federal government, the Signing Professionals Workgroup (SPW) has shifted its focus to only developing “recommended” Standards for Notary Signing Agents.
As part of that shift, the SPW decided that decisions about training and testing requirements and service providers should be left to the companies that contract with NSAs. Consequently, the Workgroup will not create a standardized exam or certify education providers.
However, the Standards still include the recommendation that NSAs undergo regular testing. The SPW believes Signing Agents should stay informed about professional practices and industry changes by seeking out training, and testing their knowledge on a regular basis.
Regular training and testing also is a good way for title and settlement services companies to verify that NSAs understand their responsibilities and comply with government requirements.
This decision reflects how the SPW has functioned since publishing its first set of voluntary Standards in October 2013. It also opens the door to a wider number of training providers available to NSAs, creating greater competition.
The revision also is in line with the SPW’s ongoing commitment to updating the Standards as market conditions and regulations change. After the TRID roll-out last year, the SPW worked diligently to incorporate numerous industry changes and helpful suggestions from Notary Signing Agents in the Standards.
Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct remains at the heart of the SPW Standards and is organized into 10 Guiding Principles that cover everything from protecting signers’ privacy and reporting illegal or suspicious activity to acting in a professional manner and not providing unauthorized advice or services. A list of changes made to the Code of Conduct is available on the SPW’s website.
Signing Presentation Guidelines
The original Signing Script has evolved into the new Signing Presentation Guidelines, which are intended to help create consistency at the signing table and to ensure a positive customer experience.
NSAs may use these Guidelines during the closing and easily refer to descriptions of particular closing documents in the loan package if the borrower asks questions.
Annual Background Screening
The Workgroup retained its recommendation for annual background screenings because Notary Signing Agents have access to borrower’s private residences and non-public personal and financial information.
To provide a necessary level of protection for their customers, SPW members agreed that acceptable screenings must include federal, state and local record searches and be assigned a pass or fail result based on the updated scoring specifications available for download on the SPW’s website.
E&O Insurance
No changes were made to the fourth Standard of maintaining a $25,000 Notary errors and omissions insurance policy. This kind of policy only covers notarial errors and should not be confused for a Notary surety bond or a general small business liability insurance policy.
Kat Garcia is the Senior Content Strategy Manager at the National Notary Association.
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Additional Resources:
Background Screening Quick Facts