As a Notary Public and Loan Signing Agent, I am incredibly familiar with the NNA, or the National Notary Association. I got my commission training, my Notary Signing Agent certification, and a background check through them. They are a major part of my Notary business, and today I want to tell you more about them. If you haven’t heard of the NNA, then there is so much I want to share. If you have, you may be surprised to learn what they offer outside of the training and certification. 

Let's go back to the beginning. All the way back to 1957. Originally called the California Notary Association, founder Raymond C. Rothman saw a gap in the Notary community for education, resources, and tools to serve their communities better. In 1964 the California Notary Association became the National Notary Association (NNA). They began offering seminars, a notary telephone help hotline, and the famous ( well, in Notary circles) NNA Annual Conference. 

The NNA has participated in and been a part of major notary legislation implementation. In 1973 in collaboration with Yale Law School, they created the Uniform Notary Act, which, when revised in 1984, became the Model Notary Act. It was revised again in 2002 and 2010. Over 40 US states have adopted the MNA. In addition to the MNA, the National Notary Association created the Notary Public Code of Professional Responsibility. Rothman's ideas and hopes for his Notary Association have reached across the country and made the NNA the standard for Notary excellence. 

Today, the NNA is the leading association for the training and development of notaries across the US.

So, what does the NNA Offer? Let's start with the journey to becoming a notary in any US State.

The NNA is literally the “One Stop Shop” when it comes to getting your notary commission. In one place, they offer training- live or recorded. They offer you discounted and warrantied notary supplies and your notary exam. 

I have met many notaries who became notaries through a night course. There's nothing wrong with that, but in addition to the fee for the course and test, they had to seek out their LiveScan for fingerprinting. They had to shop for all their supplies after researching what they needed. The benefit of the NNA is it's literally all there for you. You can also get your required Bond insurance and your required E&O insurance. 

What else? Notary Signing Agent certification and background check! This was added to the NNA in 2002, an industry standard. I haven’t met a title officer unaware of the NNA’s NSA certification program. 

There is more! Besides your basic notary supplies, the NNA offers a vast resource of other supplies you may need for your business. They include notary stamps, journals, notary certificates, notary books, business supplies, and more. There isn’t anything you need as a notary, aside from printers and scanners, that you can’t get from the NNA. 

The NNA also offers other training besides notary commission and notary signing agent. Their Notary Essentials Course is foundational and will help you understand and be a better notary, as your 6-hour course doesn’t teach you how to stamp a page. Their Notary Quick Start training course is a 20-minute course to brush up on the five steps of proper notarization. Perfect for new Notaries and those who notarize now and then who want to handle every acknowledgment and jurat confidently.

The Knowledge Center on the NNA Website has amazing information: articles, blog posts, law updates, and much more. But we aren’t quite done. I want to share two more important benefits of the NNA with you.

The NNA Annual Conference. As of writing this blog post, I have yet to attend and I am going to borrow the NNA’s information about this year's conference. Please note this year's conference tickets are sold out. 

For 45 years, the NNA Annual Conference has been an invaluable source of inspiration, learning, and transformation for thousands of Notaries nationwide. With over 30 industry experts scheduled to join us at NNA 2023, this first-class industry gathering will provide Notaries with the unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with key leaders, attend business-building workshops, and cultivate lasting relationships that will support them throughout their career and beyond.- NNA

I have never heard anything but wonderful reports about each annual conference. I will be attending next year, so if you are interested- stay tuned because the NNA will announce where next year's conference will take place at this year's conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Finally, I want to share the benefits of having an NNA Membership. Being a member of the NNA gives you access to so much and puts you on their well-respected and well-referenced signing agent platform. Some of the membership benefits include:

• Support from the Experts

• Professional Privileges

• Money Saving Perks

• Business Cost Control Option

• And so very much more.

Having the National Notary Association firmly on the side of Notaries across the country is one of the greatest advantages we as Notaries have. Ignoring this amazing association won’t be the end of your business. Still, if you want all the perks, support, and amazing resources the NNA offers, I recommend checking it out today! You never know. We just might meet at the 2024 NNA conference. 

Thank you for taking the time to hang out with me, I would love to hear from you. Now that you can leave comments on my blog posts, I would be thrilled if you would take the time to do so today.

Until Next Time- Get connected, Get supported, and Join the National Notary Association today!

ATTENTION: The Notary Business Essentials Course is Now Live. You can check that out here

The Notary Resource Page is also NOW Available. Click here for more info.