I got a call from a SS today saying that Title called stating they had not received the deed. They realized that they had marked scanback only and had not sent a label. Newbie here decided she wasn’t gonna shred the deed just yet. Whew… it’s going in the mail today! How long to you hold scanback only docs? I just developed a policy… not shredding until the assignment is closed (payment received and it’s off my radar).

A situation we see everyday involves witness requirements on mortgage documents.. The title company requested witness signatures on a Mortgage, but the witnesses were not obtained, and when asked about it, the response was: 👉 "Florida does not require witnesses on mortgages, only deeds." While that may be true as a general rule, here's the important lesson: Not every client has the same requirements. If the title company, lender, or document instructions request witnesses, then those witnesses need to be obtained. As signing agents, our job is not to decide which requirements are necessary. Our job is to follow the instructions provided for that specific file.

We had a signing that needed to ship the same day. The notary went to FedEx... and the location was already closed. 😬 Instead of calling it a day and waiting until tomorrow, she immediately looked for another option, contacted us, found a different FedEx location, and made sure the package went out that same day. She didn’t ask for extra compensation, she just focused on getting it done. That kind of ownership and communication matters. And when we have another signing in her area, she’ll definitely be our first option. Those are the kinds of notaries we remember. 👏

Quick tip for fellow notaries: don’t just keep backup toner for your printer, keep a backup drum too. I learned this the hard way while printing 400+ pages for a signing. New toner, paper loaded, everything ready… then my Brother printer stopped because the DR-830 drum had reached the end of its life. A $100-ish part can hold up a $100+ signing. Hopefully this saves someone else from a late-night surprise. Hope you all have a great day! ❤️

We occasionally see notaries upload only the signed pages instead of scanning the entire package. The problem? ❌ Missing pages can go unnoticed. ❌ It's difficult to verify that the package is complete. ❌ It's hard to know which document a signature belongs to. Full scanbacks allow title to review the entire file before shipping. They can also help keep funding on track if the originals haven't arrived yet and provide a backup in case documents are delayed or lost in transit. A few extra minutes scanning can prevent delays, corrections, and a lot of unnecessary stress later. Have you ever been tempted to scan only the signature pages?