Notary signing agent courses and loan signing training, compared
For a commissioned notary choosing a notary signing agent course: four providers read against what the companies that hire signing agents ask for, which is an exam and a background screening more than a course. What each includes, what it leaves to you, and where remote online notarization fits; course fees and star ratings are left out on purpose. The rest of the business side of a commission is gathered under running a remote notary business.
Course pages last checked
Best if the services you want ask for screening
The one package here with an exam on the industry workgroup's Code of Conduct and a background screening built to its standard, and a directory listing once both are done.
Best if you want a mentor before your first signing
Graduates get a one-on-one mentor call before a signing and a mentoring phone line for three months after the course.
Best for a short first course
More than four hours on a signing agent's duties, with an exam for its own designation once you hold a commission.
Fig. 1What a signing agent certification asks of you
The signing agent credentials compared here are private ones, issued by course providers, so “certified” means whatever the company hiring you accepts. The closest thing to a shared bar is the Signing Professionals Workgroup, an industry workgroup of the National Notary Association whose members include mortgage lenders, title companies and signing services. Its standards ask things of you, not of a course, and two of them come back every year.
| Standard | What it asks of you | How often, and who |
|---|---|---|
| Examination | Pass a 30 question exam with a score of 80%, on sound signing practice and the SPW Code of Conduct. | Every year. A lender, a contracting company or an education provider may give it; a course is not required. |
| Background screening | Pass a screening scored against a list of offenses and searched against named federal and international lists. | Every year, because a signing agent enters homes and handles borrowers' financial records. |
| Errors and omissions insurance | Show proof of a notary E&O policy of $25,000. | Held while you take signings; it is not your notary bond. |
| Code of Conduct and signing script | Follow the workgroup's conduct standard and its standardized signing presentation. | On every signing; the SPW exam covers the Code of Conduct. |
Read that way, a course is preparation and the credential is the exam plus the screening. Only one of the four courses below puts both in the same package and says it follows these standards. The E&O row is the one no course sells you; the insurers are compared in notary E&O insurance for remote notaries.
Loan signing agent training, side by side
The columns are what a hiring company or your own plan will ask of the course, not what the course advertises. Read a check as “the provider says so on its own page”, a dash as silence on every page we read, and “check with the vendor” as a page that hints without settling it.
| Course provider | An exam you pass to earn the credentialExam | Background screening in the packageScreening | Says it follows the SPW standardsSPW standards | Live help from a mentor or coachMentor | A directory listing or hiring listHiring list | Remote online notarization training offeredRON training | Renewal or expiry terms publishedRenewal terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Notary Association | Meets | Meets | Meets | Not stated | Meets | check with the vendor | Meets |
| Loan Signing System | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Meets | Meets | check with the vendor | Not stated |
| Notary2Pro | check with the vendor | Not stated | Not stated | Meets | Meets | check with the vendor | Meets |
| American Society of Notaries | Meets | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | check with the vendor | Not stated |
Each course, read
Two of the four are associations of notaries and two are independent course businesses; the two businesses lean on coaching and hiring lists, the associations on an exam.
National Notary Association
NSA Certification (Basic and Complete packages)
A notary association's signing agent package: an online training course, a certification exam and a background screening.
A new signing agent whose title companies or signing services ask for a screened, certified agent.
- Length and format
- Online course in five lessons (the agent's role, landing the assignment, preparing the loan package, conducting the signing, wrapping up); 9-month access.
- Commission first?
- The package pages we read do not say.
- An exam you pass to earn the credential
- Meets
- Certification needs at least a passed exam and a passed screening; the exam covers the SPW Code of Conduct and signing script.
- Background screening in the package
- Meets
- Included; the NNA says it meets the SPW standard, is valid for 1 year, and is separate from any state's notary background check.
- Says it follows the SPW standards
- Meets
- The course, exam and screening are each described against the Signing Professionals Workgroup standards.
- Live help from a mentor or coach
- Not stated
- The package pages name no live mentoring or coaching.
- A directory listing or hiring list
- Meets
- A top-tier SigningAgent.com listing with the “NNA Trained, Certified & Background Screened” badge once course, exam and screening are done.
- Remote online notarization training offered
- check with the vendor
- The package pages say nothing on remote closings; the NNA's main site blocked our reader, so ask.
- Renewal or expiry terms published
- Meets
- The screening runs a year; a separate continuing-education package (course, exam, screening) renews the certification.
Read from Basic NSA Certification, Complete NSA Certification and NSA continuing education on .
Loan Signing System
Notary signing agent training course and LSS Certification
A self-paced video course on loan signings and on finding signing work, with its own certification on completion.
A notary who wants the business side taught, with group coaching while the first signings come in.
- Length and format
- Self-paced online video: more than 8 hours of core training plus bonus lessons, mock signings and sample loan documents; lifetime access.
- Commission first?
- Not needed to start: step 1 of its plan walks you through getting a commission.
- An exam you pass to earn the credential
- Not stated
- The pages we read describe the certification as earned on completing the course and name no exam.
- Background screening in the package
- Not stated
- Not included: its help center says the background check is a separate NNA purchase and recommends it.
- Says it follows the SPW standards
- Not stated
- The pages we read do not mention the Signing Professionals Workgroup.
- Live help from a mentor or coach
- Meets
- Its Six Figure course package includes 4 months of live mentorship with biweekly group coaching calls.
- A directory listing or hiring list
- Meets
- The course gives you a list of hiring companies, plus scripts and templates for reaching them.
- Remote online notarization training offered
- check with the vendor
- Remote online notarization appears as one of twelve income lessons, not as a RON course; ask what it covers.
- Renewal or expiry terms published
- Not stated
- No renewal or expiry is stated for the LSS Certification.
Read from Courses and certification and Help center: background check on .
Notary2Pro
Elite Loan Signing Agent Course
A video course built around error-free loan signings, with its own certification and a graduate resource site.
A notary who wants a mentor on the phone before the first real signing.
- Length and format
- Three courses with about 12.5 hours of video; 3 months to finish the course, its library and its testing materials.
- Commission first?
- Its course page includes a lesson on getting your commission in your state; it does not say one is needed to enroll.
- An exam you pass to earn the credential
- check with the vendor
- Testing materials sit inside the 3-month access; no exam format or pass mark is published.
- Background screening in the package
- Not stated
- The pages we read do not mention a background screening.
- Says it follows the SPW standards
- Not stated
- The pages we read do not mention the Signing Professionals Workgroup.
- Live help from a mentor or coach
- Meets
- A one-on-one call with a mentor before a signing and a mentoring phone line, for the first three months after graduation.
- A directory listing or hiring list
- Meets
- A list of preferred hiring agencies open only to its graduates.
- Remote online notarization training offered
- check with the vendor
- Its course page lists a Remote Online Notarization (RON) Training course as coming soon; ask when it opens.
- Renewal or expiry terms published
- Meets
- It says its certification never expires.
Read from Home page and Course page and terms on .
American Society of Notaries
ASN Notary Signing Agent Training Course
An introductory course on a signing agent's duties, with an exam option for the “ASN Certified” designation.
A notary who wants a short first course before deciding how far to take loan work.
- Length and format
- More than four hours: notarial practice, sole-proprietor considerations and working tips for a signing agent.
- Commission first?
- Anyone may take the course; the exam needs an active commission.
- An exam you pass to earn the credential
- Meets
- The course includes an exam option for the “ASN Certified” Notary Signing Agent designation.
- Background screening in the package
- Not stated
- The course page does not mention a background screening.
- Says it follows the SPW standards
- Not stated
- The course page does not mention the Signing Professionals Workgroup.
- Live help from a mentor or coach
- Not stated
- The course page names no mentoring.
- A directory listing or hiring list
- Not stated
- The course page names no directory or hiring list.
- Remote online notarization training offered
- check with the vendor
- Its training menu lists a separate Florida RON course; nothing for other states.
- Renewal or expiry terms published
- Not stated
- No renewal or expiry is stated for the designation.
Read from Course information on .
The course, your commission and your state
Every course here sits on top of a notary commission; none of them is one. The American Society of Notaries says plainly that its signing agent course is not a substitute for any training your state requires to commission you, and Loan Signing System says its training is not state notary training. If your state requires a course and exam before it commissions you, or before it authorizes remote acts, that course comes first and comes from a provider your state approves. Which states ask for what is laid out in remote online notary training by state, and the order of steps in how to become a remote online notary.
Signing agent classes and remote closings
A signing agent course teaches the loan package and the table manners of a closing. A remote closing adds two things no signing agent class can grant: your state's authority to notarize remotely, and a seat on the platform the lender or title company chose. Of the four providers, Notary2Pro lists a RON course as coming soon, Loan Signing System teaches remote notarization as one of its income lessons, the American Society of Notaries lists a Florida RON course, and the NNA package pages we could read say nothing about remote closings.
So treat remote loan work as a second step. What a remote closing asks of you, from identity proofing to the recording, is in RON for loan signings; the platforms that take independent signing agents are in RON platforms for notary signing agents; and the networks that send signings, with what each asks before it does, are in RON platforms that send you signings.
Before you enroll
How we compared
Questions notaries ask
Do I need a notary signing agent course to do loan signings?
Not by the industry standard itself: the Signing Professionals Workgroup's exam standard says a training course is not required. What the companies that hire signing agents ask for varies, and the NNA says many major title companies and signing services require its background screening, so ask the ones you want to work for before you choose a course.
Is a signing agent certification the same as a notary commission?
No. The commission comes from your state and lets you notarize; a signing agent certification is a private credential from a course provider or association. Every course on this page assumes you hold, or will hold, a commission, and the American Society of Notaries needs an active commission before you sit its exam.
Which loan signing course includes the background check?
Of the four read here, only the National Notary Association package includes a background screening, which it says meets the Signing Professionals Workgroup standard and is valid for a year. Loan Signing System says the background check is a separate NNA purchase; the Notary2Pro and American Society of Notaries pages we read do not mention one.
Does a signing agent certification expire?
It depends on whose. The workgroup's standard puts the exam and the screening on a yearly cycle, and the NNA renews its certification with a continuing-education package. Notary2Pro says its certification never expires. Loan Signing System and the American Society of Notaries state no term on the pages we read.
Will a signing agent course teach me remote online notarization?
Not by itself. Remote closings need your state's remote authorization and the platform the lender chose. Notary2Pro lists a RON course as coming soon, and Loan Signing System covers remote notarization as one income lesson; your state's own remote course, if it has one, still comes first. The states' courses are in remote online notary training by state.
Related
- Notary invoice templateInvoice your own notarial fees; a line above your state's cap is flagged.
- RON readiness checklistYour state's steps before a first remote act, ticked off one by one.
- Notary session fee ledgerLog your sessions and fees; the ledger totals them and flags any line over the state's cap.
- Online commission and certificate term checkCheck that your digital certificate does not expire before your commission does.
- Notary bond vs E&O insuranceWhat the state-required bond protects, what E&O protects, and whether a remote commission changes either.