Every year, more notaries become mobile, making notarizations at their client’s convenience. While this has improved the businesses of many mobile notaries and has created an easier way for people to obtain notarizations, it has also posed quite a few safety concerns, some of which include: meeting in isolated locations or bad neighborhoods and angry/hostile signers.
Safety is always the priority
While making money and growing your business is important, it is even more important that you do so safely. To help with this, we have compiled a list of tips to help keep you safe on-the-go.
Notary Public Safety Tips
Location
A large part of being a mobile notary involves traveling to your client or meeting them at a location of their choice. There should be limits to this, however.
If a client requests you to meet them in an area too isolated for your comfort, suggest meeting somewhere more public nearby. You can suggest meeting at the closest coffee shop, restaurant, library, or any public arena where you feel safe. The same option can be given to those client’s requesting you to meet them in neighborhoods you are not comfortable being in. Your safest option is meeting in a neutral, well-lit location. Yes, keeping the client happy is important, but it is not more important than your safety.
Regardless of the decided location, let at least two people know where you will be and how long you expect to be there. Send addresses, names, and details of the client you are meeting. Many mobile notaries practice “Check-Ins” with trusted friends or relatives. This involves phone calls or texts upon arrival and upon departure from signings. In some cases, for particularly long signings, notaries have scheduled calls during an assignment to confirm that everything is okay.
Time
While many notaries have been successful by extending normal business hours into the early evening, we do not recommend taking assignments late at night, unless the location meets your safety standards. As a rule of thumb, if a location makes you uneasy during the day, do not even consider the location at night. Trust your instincts.
It is also important to keep your schedule private. Do not inform signers of your daily schedule, including if they are the last appointment for the day or if you plan on heading straight home after the signing.
Clients
One issue that arises, regardless of whether you are a mobile notary or not, is irate or hostile clients. Signers are not always above using intimidation to get you to perform a notarization you otherwise wouldn’t. It is imperative that you remove yourself from any situation immediately upon a signer exhibiting signs of aggression.
Other Helpful Tips
Your phone, whether being used as a GPS or as a means of contacting your trusted friend or relative for “Check-Ins,” is your link to the outside world. Therefore, it is essential that a charged mobile phone be accessible to you at all times. Any emergency situation can be made worse without access to a phone to call for help. One way to ensure your phone is charged and ready for use, is to utilize a car charger. As you drive from signing to signing, your phone is continually recharged and your safety is continually prioritized.
