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
record keeping purposes.

The main difference involves the NSA's primary
function.

NSA's primarily provide loan closings services. The
notary acting in the NSA capacity, is required to
have specialized training, meet federal compliance,
and have more than adequate experience in the
financial, mortgage  & real estate industries.
A 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.

An Notary Signing Agent is a notary public
who is trained and properly insured to
close on loans.  Financial institutions or its
service providers hire sub-servicers (NSA's),
to perform or close on various types of
settlement or loan closings.  Samples of
service providers include title and signing
service companies, as well as attorney-title
firms. Real estate transactions involve
closings for residential, commercial, or
construction loans.

Settlement services include structured
annuities, debt consolidation, or loan
modifications.
Can an NSA legally close on residential, commerical or construction 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 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 NSA's that meet all of the
above AND that have been "certified".  
Certification is not a requirement to
become an NSA, and was only offered as
part of 'membership packages' with certain
notary public associations.

The above is why our pricing for the two
types of services, are very different.  An IL
Notary may refuse to notarize any
documents, and may or may not charge
the state fee for a notarial act of a $1.00.
This fee doesn't include an administrative,
recording, or travel fees.
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.

Most if not all lenders are mandating title companies, and title companies
in turn are requiring signing service companies, to ensure that anyone and
everyone, that has access to mortgage documents, to have a clean criminal
background report.

This requirement covers everyone who receives access to borrowers' private
financial information, including Notaries who act as Signing Agents
handling loan document closings.
View My Notary Rotary Profile
Verify My Notary Background Check

HOME    ABOUT CNS    ESPANOL    SERVICES    PRICES   AREAS COVERED  CONTACT US   WEBSITE USAGE   PRIVACY POLICY

© 2007-2010. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
What's the difference between a Notary Public and a
Notary SigningAgent?
Chicago Notary Services
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.
Direct (773) 594-2874