Notary Advice in this Covid-19 Climate

It should be without question that all notaries are aware of social distancing practices when planning appointments. Reducing the closeness between you and the client is very important. Having separate items to work with would be a big plus such as extra pens for the client to sign with and keep once the job is completed. Gloves and masks are a must, negotiations for this are not acceptable. 

Notaries should make their client aware  before the taking on the job that protective precautions are to be taken before the meeting begins. If you are scheduled at an office appointment , be sure you and the client have masks and disposal gloves with extras  to offer the client if they need them. Once the client shows proper identification be sure the client has signed all documents first before the documents are handed to you for notarization. Although you may have gloves on, you still would like to handle all documents with care in the sense of not doing too much passing back and forth. 

There are many states that have suspended or closed certain functions such as notary authorization in which there is still a need for documents like verifications and affidavits that need to be signed and acknowledged in order for cases to be processed.  Notary laws generally contain the requirement for the notary and the principal signer to be in “close physical proximity” during a notarization. With a little thought and preplanning, notaries can employ social distancing practices to reduce the amount of physical contact and time they need to spend with the signer.

Here are some good practice habit that I feel would safley the process:

•  1.) Wear gloves and a mask and provide them for the principal signers.
• Eliminate physical contact. Out of respect for you and the clients health,  do not shake hands.
• 2.) As I stated earlier, try not to share pens. Buy extra pens to offer the clients to keep. 
• 3.) The minimum of six feet from your client would be a safe distance of a signing table or an outside meeting ground.   
• 4.) Try not to touch the client identification. See if they can place it on a surface where you can examine it that way. I see it as being safer this way. 
• 5.) Try to arrange the signer to sign all signatures that may require any acknowledgments prior to meeting up with the notary. (Acknowledged signatures do not need to be signed in front of the notary; they simply must be acknowledged.)
• 6.) And lastly identify each page requiring a signature to be notarized prior to the notarial act so you can have the signer acknowledge each signature simultaneously. Doing so will allow the notary to notarize in bulk: “Do you acknowledge that you willingly signed pages 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12?”

These are just a few things that I would suggest and do myself for safety precautionary measures. As a Mobile notary you can also provide “drive-through” notary services where as clients do not have to leave their vehicles and may simply pass documents through a window. While notaries may also make “house calls,” they should be very cognizant of the inhabitants within to make sure they are not causing undue exposure to people vulnerable to the virus so be very over protective. Thank you and I hope this information brings some insight to our notary family. 

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