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| © 2007-2010. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CHICAGO PARALEGAL SERVICES, INC. |
| What's the difference between a Notary Public and a Notary Signing Agent (NSA)? A Notary Public and a NSA are the same entity, and both professions use the same tools of the trade, such as a notary stamp, signature and journal for notarizing certain documents needing this type of service. The MAJOR difference between a notary public and an NSA, is the NSA's primary function. NSA's primarily provide loan closings for various financial institutions. The notary acting in the NSA capacity, is required to have taken specialized training (in some states), must meet a federal compliance (GLBA), and have adequate experience in the financial, mortgage & real estate industries. |
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An Illinois Notary Public is NOT a Notario(a) Publico(a), unless they are a licensed attorney. Independent contractors/agents, are not attorneys licensed to practice law and may not give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice. No somos abogados y no podemos dar consejo legal o collectar deniro para informacion legal. Chicago Notary Services can not represent you before the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and/or the Immigration Board of Appeals. |
| A basic notary public can notarize any document needing a notary stamp and signature. A basic notary does not need any specific training (in some states) or special insurance to become a notary public. In fact, to become a notary public for the state of Illinois (assuming you meet all of the state's requirements), all one has to do is fill out the state required form, get bonded, pay the state fee of $10 dollars, get your application notarized, then get your certificate recorded with your county for an additional small fee. Its really a simple process. Most bank employees or legal secretaries become notary publics for their employers in order to notarize certain in-house documents for their clients & customers. An NSA is an advanced and specifically trained notary public, primarily hired by financial institutions or its service providers who in turn hire sub-servicers (NSA's), to perform or close on various types of loan closings. These service providers that are hired by financial institutions, include title and signing service (middle-man for NSA's) companies, and attorneys for those states with na "attorney-only" state requirement for loan closings. Real estate or loan transactions involve loan closings for residential, commercial, or construction loans. |
| Can an NSA legally close on borrowers loans in Illinois? Yes. Under prior law, Illinois Notary Signing Agents were limited to performing loan closings for lenders who handled the entire transaction without the assistance of a title company conducting the settlement, or were required to become “independent escrowees” and maintain prohibitively expensive insurance, bonds and securities in order to perform closings for title companies. With the enactment of Senate Bill 2718, ALL Illinois NSA's are now considered lawful escrow agents who can perform closings when hired as independent contractors by a title insurance company or title insurance agent. There are thus now no restrictions on the operation of NSA's in Illinois. In addition, Senate Bill 2718 specifically excludes employees and independent contractors from the definition of “independent escrowee” under the Title Insurance Act, effectively eliminating any requirement that an NSA must become an independent escrowee in the future. |
| NSA's are required by federal & state law (in some states) to have or meet certain training in the financial, mortgage, and real estate industries, be criminally background screened, and carry a special insurance policy called Errors & Omissions (E&O). Companies that hire NSA's, only hire those that meet the above requirements and some ONLY hire those NSA's that have been "certified". Certification is not a requirement to become an NSA, and was only recently offered as part of premier membership packages for certain notary public associations. The above is why our pricing for the two types of services, are very different. An Illinois notary may refuse to notarize any documents, and may or may not charge the state fee for a notarial act of a $1.00. The state fee does not include any administrative, recording, or travel fees which CNS adds in addition to the state fee. |
| Why do NSA's need to participate in a criminal background screening? To protect the privacy of borrowers, Congress developed certain rules for the handling of private financial information. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act (GLBA) and the resulting Inter-agency guidelines, require that all persons involved in the lending process, undergo a criminal background screening. Lenders are requiring title services companies and signing service companies, to ensure that everyone with access to mortgage documents has been screened. This requirement covers everyone who receives access to borrowers' private financial information, including Notaries who act as Signing Agents handling loan document signings. |
