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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.
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