California Notary Public Classes
& Loan Signing Certification
(800-873-9865)

 

How do I become a Notary Public?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What should I bring to the Notary seminar?



 

Qualifications:

  • Be at least 18 years old
    • There is no age limitation other than 18.
  • Take a 6-hour course on California Notary Law. All notary applicants must take an additional 3 hour notary law update course every 4 years thereafter in order to be re-commissioned.
    • There are 3 ways to complete this requirement:
      1. Take a one-day seminar with a company approved by the Secretary of State. The state exam is given at each of our seminar locations after the seminar. The Notary seminar begins around 9:00am and the state exam begins around 4:30pm.
      2. If you prefer, you may choose to take an approved Home-Study course.
      3. You may choose to take an On-line Notary Course.
  • Pass a test of 30 questions which are multiple choice.
    • All notary applicants must pass a notary exam which consists of 30 questions relating to notary law. You will have up to 50 minutes to take the exam and must recieve a passing score of 70% or greater.
    • All students attending our seminar are automatically registered for the notary exam. Home Study students and On-Line students must pre-register with us prior to attending our location in order to take the exam.
  • Pass a criminal background check
    • All notary applicants will be required to submit fingerprints via live-scan to both the FBI and the DOJ prior to application approval. The FBI and DOJ will complete a criminal background check for misdemeanors and felonies.


Your confirmation will remind you of the necessary items, but this is a listing of what to expect at the seminar.

What to bring to the seminar?

IDENTIFICATION

Each candidate MUST present an acceptable ID (current of issued within the last 5 years).  Acceptable forms of ID are as  follows:

  • A Driver’s License or State DMV I.D. Card 
  • A Canadian or Mexican  Driver’s License
  • A U.S. Passport or Passport Issued by a Foreign Government
  • A U.S. Military I.D. Card.

EXAM FEES

The Secretary of State charges $20 application fee and $20 testing fee and will not accept cash or credit cards. So you will need to bring a check or money order ($40) with you payable to the Secretary of State if you want to take the State Notary Exam!

PLEASE BRING TWO NUMBER 2 PENCILS WITH YOU FOR YOUR EXAM.

PASSPORT PHOTO (we can provide this for you)

All notary applicants must submit a passport style (2"x2") photo along with his or her notary application at the examination site. If you choose, we will have a camera and printer capable of printing the proper style photo at the seminar site. Passport photos taken at our seminar site cost just $10. You do not have to take the photo at our location. We only provide this as a matter of convenience. If you choose not to take your passport photo at our location, please be sure to bring a passport photo with you or your application will not be processed by the Secretary of State.

ALIEN REGISTRATION CARD (Non-U.S. Citizens only)

U.S. Citizenship is not required by California to become a notary but if you are not a U.S. Citizen, be sure to bring your Alien Registration Card.

Summary of required costs:

$125 Seminar( Payable to NWLS)

$40  Exam ****(Payable to Secretary of State)****

Total required costs: $165

 

OPTIONAL COSTS

All other costs are optional. If you will be seeking re-imbursement from an employer, we can provide you with a receipt form for your costs.

$74.95 Notary Supplies

Our Gold Notary Package for $74.95 includes the supplies every notary needs and more…

  • Notary Journal
  • Inkless Thumbprint Pad
  • Jurat Stamp
  • Jurat Forms
  • Acknowledgment forms
  • A Notary Forms CD with many notary forms for printing on demand
  • Personal Notary Website
  • Personal Notary Email address
  • 4-year free hosting
  • 4-year listing on www.TheNotaryList.com
  • 4-year telephone support registration (live support for notaries and loan signers)
  • Professional Notary Identification Badge

$10 Passport style photo

Taken at the seminar site (or bring your own 2”x2” passport style photo).

$25 Notary Seal

You may also pre-purchase your notary seal (one or two) for $25/seal (Payable to NWLS)

Live scan fingerprinting

All applicants whether recomissioning or seeking first-time commissions must complete a background check before a commission will be granted by the Secretary of State. This law is now effective for all applicants receiving commissions after January 1,2008. The background check requires live scan fingerprinting which must include submission to both the Department of Justice as well as the FBI.

Whether or not an applicant has ever had live scans previously for any reason, new live scans must now be submitted in accordance with California Notary Law. This can be done anytime after the class at your own convenience by making an appointment with an approved fingerprinting company; however, we have scheduled an independent fingerprinting company to be available at our Southern California seminar locations. If you would like to complete your fingerprints on the day of the seminar, you may save a great deal of time in processing your commission. The fingerprinting company will charge a total of $80 which includes the rolling fees, required fees for processing your fingerprinting application and submission fees charged by the DOJ and FBI. (This service is not yet available in Northern or Central California class locations).

 

Summary of expected costs:

$125 Seminar (Payable to NWLS)

$40  Exam ****(Payable to Secretary of State)****

Additional optional costs: These costs are not required seminar costs but are available at your option.

$10 Passport photos (Payable to NWLS)

$74.95 Notary Supplies (Payable to NWLS)

$25 Notary Seal (Payable to NWLS) additional notary seal available for $25.

$80 Live-Scan Services ****(Payable to Homeland Fingerprinting)****(Not available in North or Central California Classes)

All amounts made payable to NWLS can be included in a single check or credit card payment.

 
 

 
....................................Frequently Asked Questions
How much do classes cost and what do I recieve?
Our Standard Notary Class is $125 & includes:
  1. All of the necessary seminar texts.
  2. A seminar study guide if you wish to prepare in advance of the seminar.
  3. 4-free on-line sample exams.
  4. A "Check Your Notary Knowledge" exam.
  5. The signed Certificate of Completion.
  6. immediate access to our notary message board.
  7. A $100 discount on our loan signing class.
  8. Free access to the APN&CSA logo for your resume or business card.
  9. Our guarantee to pass the state exam.

Our Gold upgrade is only $74.95 additional & includes everything listed in our standard notary class and adds your notary supplies & additional services including:

  • An official Notary Journal
  • A fingerprinting device
  • An unlimited supply of Notary forms CD with many of the notary forms you will need or want during your career including the new 2008 required wording for Acknowledgment & Jurat forms.
  • A 2008 compliant Notary Jurat stamp.
  • Bound pad of 2008 Acknowledgment forms for convenience.
  • Registration of our Notary & Loan Signer telephone hot-line for 4 years! Most notary hotlines do not provide support for loan signing but we do! When you need help in the field or are unsure of how to handle a set of loan documents, our notaries and professional loan signers will assist you right over the phone!
  • Your personal Notary website... Every Notary or Loan Signer needs a website and yours is already waiting for you at no extra charge! Choose a template and fill in the form and your website is automatically created! This website costs other notaries & loan signers $149.95 plus $4.95 per month but our students receive this absolutely free.
  • Your personal listing on TheNotaryList.com for 4 full years!
  • Your personal notary identification badge.

    Our Gold Package offers an incredible value at an additional $74.95 but this price is only available to our seminar students. Total for the Notary Class, benefits and Gold Class Supplies & Services is only $199.95!

    "Go back to see available class schedule and locations"

    Summary of expected costs:
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    How do I become a Certified Loan Signer?
    Loan signers are notaries who specialize in notarizing loan documents. Most mobile notaries become loan signers because of the lucrative potential within that part of the notary business. Loan signers are called upon to travel to homes or offices and obtain the signatures for lending documents.

    Becoming Certified is essential if a notary wishes to be successful in marketing his or her services as a loan signer. Our Loan Signing Class includes the Certification exam and Certificate. The Loan Signing Exam is given on-line at your convenience in your own home or office. Our class fee includes two separate attempts at passing the Certification exam.


    How does our "Pass The Exam" guarantee work?

    You will pass the exam the first time and we guarantee it! If you do not pass, you may return to any seminar of your choice absolutely free. That's it...no hassles, no other requirements. While other notary seminar companies claim to offer students a similar guarantee, most will require proof of pre-studies and will charge the student a "site" fee for re-taking the exam at the end of the class. We believe in proving that our instructors are the best and our program is superb. You trusted us to help you pass the exam and we will not let you down. You will pass, guaranteed! We really mean it! (This guarantee valid for all registrations taken after December 4, 2005)

     
    How do I start my own notary business?
    The best way to begin your notary business is to contact as many potential clients as possible! We offer many suggestions on how to do this in our Loan Signing Course, but in a nutshell, let people and companies who need Notary Services that you are available. There are a lot of companies that use notary services. Use the list of 45 companies that you are given during our Notary class as a start. If you take the Loan Signing class, we provide you with 100 additional company contacts. Then, begin networking with every notary you can find. Once business comes your way, be sure to help others who are new to the industry.



    What should I bring with me on the day of the class?

    You will need to bring an approved valid ID such as a Drivers license (any state) and a check or money order for $40 made payable to the Secretary of State in order to take your exam. The State Exam is given around 4:00pm on the same day of the seminar. You should also bring a #2 pencil for the exam in the event the State Examination Proctors do not have enough with them. We will have pens, paper and all the study materials you will need. If you have an alien registration number, be sure to bring that number with you as you will need it for your notary application.

     


    Will the Notary Class also prepare me to be a Certified Loan Signer?
    This seminar prepares you for the State Notary Exam and there are no questions on the state exam directly concerned specifically with loan signing. If you are interested in becoming a Loan Signer, you may want to attend our How to Become a Wildly Successful Signing Agent Notary Certification Course (9am-5pm). This course was prepared for both those who have no previous knowledge in loan signings or the seasoned notary professional. You will be introduced to many of the common documents notarized during a loan signing, learn protocol and be introduced to strategies for marketing yourself effectively. You will learn how to collect from slow paying companies and avoid non-paying companies. You will even find out how to negotiate fees of $50 - $150 per loan signing. During the loan signing class, we will introduce a typical set of loan documents (65 pages), discuss all relevant documents and places for signatures and notary requirements. Finally, you will have a chance to complete the loan document signing before you leave. Certification exams will be given on line. ALL NOTARYCLASSES.COM students will receive an option of $100 discount for the loan-signing seminar (regularly $250) on the day of their notary class. See your instructor for details.


    Do I need to register with the Secretary of State or fill out an application before attending the seminar?
    No .All seminar attendees will complete their application to become a notary during the seminar. You will be automatically registered to take the state exam on that same day. There is no need to contact the Secretary of State or CPS prior to your seminar. All of this is completed automatically with your registration.


     
    What if your class is held at a location or on a date that is inconvenient for me?
    We have developed the Home Study Course for just this situation. It is the next best thing to taking the seminar. You will be using the very same Study Guide and Sample Test used during the seminar. You are guided at each step and the Sample Test includes answers that detail not only why a particular answer is right, but also why the other answers are wrong. An electronic copy (PDF) is available on our home page or a hard copy can be mailed to you for an extra shipping and handling fee.


    .....................................................................More Frequently Asked Questions
    ...............................................................I want to see Notary Class dates & locations
    ..........................................................I want to see Loan Signing Class dates & locations