First Day on the Job? Yeah.

Getting started as an Arizona Notary.

Last year, I applied to become a Notary in Arizona and am now licensed to provide such services through 2024.

With the pandemic cutting down a fair amount of my freelance writing business, I figured that offering notary services would be a useful income stream, especially given the rapid pace of the local housing market here in Arizona. I'd be an alternative to banks that still offer notary services (and not all of them still do) and even better, I'm available weekends and evenings. And I charge less than the $10/page fee at the local mailbox place.

Arizona doesn't offer training for notaries. There's a fairly helpful document on the Secretary of State's website and a number of online sites that offer classes. But really, it isn't rocket science; it's just a matter of remembering a lot of rules. And like anything that's a process, the more you do it, the better you will get.

My First Notarization Wasn't a Smashing Success

So that first notarization, while legal, wasn't exactly a smashing success but no harm done.

I probably should have declined the call, but it came right when I want to be available - after bank hours. The customer could meet me at the shopping center around the corner and I was eager to get a customer at all.?

However - I was sound asleep when the call came late in the afternoon. I’ve since ended my afternoon nap in favor of just going to bed earlier.

I fumbled around a lot with the materials (I was nervous and sleepy) and it didn't help that the customer was in a huge rush to get to the gym or whatever. He seemed to be a little displeased that the transaction was completed on the hood of my car, which at least I had the foresight to rub down. I explained that I wasn't taking chances with the pandemic - I'd already been tested twice.

I don’t feel bad about the experience, since I did get the job done. To be honest, I often don’t do well on first-time efforts in unfamiliar territory. Practice, man, practice.

Lessons Learned From (Almost) Messing Up

I did come away from this thankfully brief experience with a couple of lessons:

• Use electronic payments. Until this month, neither my bank nor credit union accepted app-based payment processors. At the time, I should have looked into PayPal, which partners with Venmo. I ended up waiving the fee, which is allowed.
• Don’t answer business calls I’m not prepared to accept. I let voicemail pick up when I’m driving, so why didn’t I do it this time?

On the plus side, I didn’t let the guy - who was kind of rude about my not having a way to accept electronic payments -?ruffle me, and I did have all my materials ready. I remembered to check the expiration date on his ID - a soon-to-be-expired driver’s license. Ironically, he needed paperwork notarized to get a new license.?

If that license had already expired, Arizona regulations would have prohibited me from accepting it. That would have made things even worse.

Do you need a notary outside regular business hours? I work in the Park Scottsdale (Scottsdale, AZ) area and will travel a reasonable distance. For more information and to read about Arizona notary requirements, visit my Facebook page or call 520-612-0256. I also keep a separate email for this business at [email protected].