Ethics and Best Practices Flashcards

During a loan signing, the borrower asks for your opinion on their interest rate. What is the most ethical and appropriate response for a Notary Signing Agent?

Answer: State that you are not permitted to offer opinions or financial advice and should direct their question to their loan officer.

A Notary Signing Agent's role is to act as an impartial witness to the signing of documents and to notarize signatures. Providing an opinion on loan terms, such as an interest rate, constitutes giving financial advice, which is considered the unauthorized practice of law for a non-attorney. The correct and ethical procedure is to decline to answer and refer the borrower to the appropriate professional, such as their loan officer or lender.

A Notary Signing Agent is contacted directly by a borrower who wants to make a last-minute change to the signing location. Which of the following is the best practice for the NSA?

Answer: Immediately contact the contracting company (title company or signing service) to inform them of the request and get their approval before proceeding.

The contracting company hired the NSA and is responsible for the closing. Any changes to the assignment, including the location, must be communicated to and approved by them. This ensures all parties are aware of the change, maintains the integrity of the closing process, and ensures the NSA is operating within the agreed-upon instructions.

Which of the following actions is a fundamental ethical duty of a Notary Signing Agent designed to protect the integrity of the transaction?

Answer: Verifying the willingness and awareness of the signer before notarizing their signature.

A core principle of notarization is to ensure that the signer is acting willingly, is aware of what they are signing, and is not under duress or incompetent. While an NSA can briefly describe a document's general purpose, they cannot ensure a full legal understanding (as that would be UPL). The NSA's primary duty is to be an impartial witness to the act of signing by a willing and aware individual.

A Notary Signing Agent discovers after a signing is complete that they forgot to have the borrower initial one page of the loan package. What is the correct course of action?

Answer: Immediately contact the contracting company, explain the error, and arrange to have the correction made properly.

Honesty and transparency are critical ethical practices. The NSA must immediately inform the hiring company of the error. The contracting company will then provide instructions on how to properly correct the mistake, which almost always involves meeting with the borrower again. Falsifying an initial or ignoring the error compromises the integrity of the loan package and the NSA's professionalism.

According to the Notary Signing Agent Code of Conduct, how should a signing agent handle a signer's personal information found within the loan documents?

Answer: Respect the signer's privacy and not divulge or use personal information for any purpose other than the signing.

Guiding Principle 9 of the Notary Public Code of Professional Responsibility states that the Notary shall respect the privacy of each signer and not divulge or use personal or proprietary information disclosed during the notarial act for any unofficial purpose. This is a critical ethical obligation to protect non-public personal information (NPPI).

During a signing, a borrower expresses that they feel pressured by their spouse to sign the loan documents but are having second thoughts. What is the NSA's most appropriate ethical response?

Answer: Stop the signing immediately and inform the contracting company that the signer may be acting under duress.

A notary's primary duty is to ensure the signer is acting willingly. If there is any indication of coercion or duress, the signing must be stopped. Proceeding would violate the core ethical responsibility of the notary. The NSA should not offer advice or try to mediate the situation but should report the facts to the contracting company.