A notary signing agent (NSA) is a notary public with specialized training and experience handling loan document signings, refinances, and other real estate transactions. NSAs ensure that borrowers and signers correctly acknowledge, initial, and sign mortgage documents, provide proper identification verification, and follow lender and title company procedures.

Their responsibilities often include:

• Preparing and organizing loan packages for signing.

• Verifying signer identity and capacity.

• Explaining where to sign or initial (but not providing legal advice).

• Administering oaths and acknowledgments.

• Ensuring all pages are signed, dated, and notarized where required.

• Returning completed documents to lenders, title companies, or signing services promptly and securely.

Remote Online Notary (RON) is the process of performing notarial acts electronically using audio-video technology. RON allows notaries to witness and notarize signatures for signers in different physical locations, subject to state laws and platform security requirements. Key features and benefits include:

• Convenience: Signers can complete notarizations from home, work, or mobile locations without in-person meetings.

• Security: Identity verification uses credential analysis, knowledge-based authentication, or government ID verification coupled with secure audio-video recordings.

• Audit trail: RON platforms create a tamper-evident electronic record of the session, including timestamps, video/audio recordings, and certificate details.

• Legal validity: When performed according to state RON statutes and platform standards, electronic notarial acts carry the same legal weight as traditional notarizations.

How NSAs and RON work together

• Many notary signing agents now offer both in-person mobile signings and remote online notarizations. For real estate transactions, an NSA can conduct the entire signing remotely using a RON platform, verify borrower identity electronically, notarize electronic signatures, and deliver e-documents to lenders and title companies.

• Using RON can speed up closings, reduce travel time and costs, and improve scheduling flexibility for borrowers and signing agents