Why I Became a Notary — And Why I Love It

A letter from Mykel

I became a notary because I wanted work that mattered on the day it happened, to the person standing right in front of me. Six years and hundreds of appointments later, I can say without hesitation that is exactly what this job has been. It has sent me to kitchen tables, closing tables, hospital beds, hospice rooms, and parking lots where a family needed five minutes of peace. This post is the longer version of how I started, what I actually do, and why I have no intention of doing anything else.

Getting my commission through the Arizona Secretary of State

Every Arizona notary is commissioned by the Arizona Secretary of State, currently Adrian Fontes. That office is the reason a notary seal means something in this state. It sets the rules, approves the applications, keeps the official record of who is commissioned, and holds notaries accountable when things go wrong.

Getting commissioned is not a formality. It should not be. My process meant:

• Meeting Arizona's eligibility requirements as a resident
• Passing a background review
• Obtaining a $5,000 surety bond filed with the Secretary of State's office
• Carrying my own errors and omissions insurance on top of that bond, because the bond protects the public and the E&O protects me
• Filing my official signature and application with the state
• Getting an official seal and a sequential journal, and learning Arizona notary law and the Secretary of State's Notary Public Reference Manual well enough to apply it under pressure

My commission number is 658529, and it expires 10/26/27. That number ties every notarization I perform back to me personally. There is no company hiding behind my seal. If I notarize something improperly, it is my bond, my insurance, my commission, and my name on the line. That accountability is part of why I respect this work so much.

I also went through National Notary Association training and certification, and I keep it current. The state sets the floor. The NNA training, annual background screening, and continuing education are how I stay well above it.

In notary work, doing it right is defined: verify the signer's identity with satisfactory evidence, confirm they are signing willingly and know what they are doing, complete the correct certificate wording, record the act in my journal, affix the seal, and never notarize a signature that was not made or acknowledged in front of me. Not once. Not for anybody. Not even for family.

Becoming a loan signing agent

After my commission, the next step was becoming a certified loan signing agent (NSA). That is a specialization on top of a notary commission: additional training, a separate certification exam, and an annual background screening, because you are being trusted inside somebody's real estate transaction.

A loan signing package is a different animal from a single notarial act. A refinance or purchase package can run 100 to 200 pages. There is a deed of trust, a note, a closing disclosure, a right of rescission, occupancy affidavits, name affidavits, compliance agreements — and the borrower is signing all of it in one sitting, usually at their own kitchen table, usually after a long day.

My job at that table is to be the calmest person in the room. I review the package before I arrive. I bring the right ID checks, the right certificates, and enough pens. I point out where each signature goes and what each document is, without ever crossing into legal or lending advice. If a borrower asks what a term means for their situation, that question goes to their loan officer or escrow officer, and I will get them on the phone. I catch problems before they become problems: a misspelled name, a missing notary section, a date that does not match, an ID that expired last month. Then I get the package back to the title company scanned and shipped on time, because a delayed package can delay a funding.

The satisfaction is real. A borrower spends weeks in limbo — underwriting, conditions, appraisal, waiting. Then a stranger shows up at 6 p.m. with a stack of paper, and forty-five minutes later, they own the house or they just cut their interest rate. I have watched people cry at that table. I have watched a couple in their twenties sign for their first home and then just sit there holding the pen. I get to be the last step of something they have been working toward for months, and the whole job is to make that step feel simple.

Regular general notary work

Loan signings get the attention, but the everyday general notary work is the backbone of my practice, and honestly it is my favorite part because of how varied it is.

In a normal week I handle acknowledgments and jurats, powers of attorney, wills and trusts, advance healthcare directives, bills of sale and vehicle titles, affidavits, copy certifications, permission-to-travel letters, adoption paperwork, and apostille preparation. Half of this work is answering questions for free before an appointment ever happens. Which ID do I need? Does my spouse have to be there? Does this need a witness or just a notary? Can you notarize a photocopy? I would much rather spend ten minutes on the phone than have somebody drive across Tucson twice or, worse, have a document rejected weeks later by a county recorder or a court clerk.

And a fair amount of it is telling people no — kindly, but firmly. No, I cannot notarize a signature that is already on the page. No, I cannot backdate. No, I cannot notarize for someone who is not present, even if they are on speakerphone. No, I cannot tell you which form to use, because that would be practicing law without a license. Those refusals are the whole reason the seal is worth anything.

Hospice, senior care, and hospitals — the work that means the most

This is where mobile notary work stops being a convenience and starts being genuinely necessary, and it is the part of my practice I care about most.

Nobody calls me from a hospital because they want to. They call because a parent's condition changed overnight and the power of attorney was never signed. Because a spouse in hospice wants their affairs settled while they can still make their own decisions. Because a facility needs a healthcare directive on file before a procedure tomorrow morning. Because a family flew in from out of state and has three days to handle everything.

These appointments require a different level of care. Awareness and willingness are the whole job. I have to be satisfied that the signer understands what they are signing and is doing it of their own free will. Medication, fatigue, pain, and illness are all real factors. So I take my time. I talk with the signer directly — not through a family member. I ask open-ended questions and let them answer in their own words. If they can tell me what the document is and why they want it, we proceed. If they cannot, or if I see someone in the room pressuring them, I stop the notarization. That is not me being difficult; that is the entire protection the seal provides, and it exists precisely for rooms like that one.

Identification takes planning. A hospital patient may not have a driver's license with them, or it may have expired during a long illness. Arizona allows for credible witnesses in that situation, under specific rules. I walk families through the options before I drive out, so we are not discovering the problem at the bedside.

Signing is often physically hard. A shaky signature is still a valid signature. Arizona provides a process for a signature by mark or signing by proxy under the signer's direction with witnesses present. I bring clipboards, good pens, and patience, and I never rush somebody's hand.

The room matters more than the paperwork. I dress plainly, keep my voice down, introduce myself to the nurse, work around care schedules, and leave as soon as it is done. Families are living through one of the hardest weeks of their lives. The last thing they need is a vendor.

I have notarized a power of attorney in an ICU at eleven at night. I have sat in a hospice room while a man in his eighties told me about his wife before he signed his will, because he wanted somebody to know why the document was written the way it was. I have gone to memory care units, assisted living apartments, rehab facilities, and once a parking lot outside an emergency room because that was where the family could get five minutes together.

Those appointments end the same way almost every time. Somebody exhales. Somebody says "thank you for coming out here." And a thing that was hanging over a family is handled, correctly, permanently, on the day it needed to be.

Why I still love this work

This work is precise. It has clear right answers. And it lands at the exact moment somebody needs it to. The commission from the Secretary of State is what makes my seal official. Showing up — on time, prepared, and on the worst day of somebody's week — is what makes it worth having.

I am Mykel Morningstar, owner of Pierced Mobile Notary LLC. I travel throughout Tucson and Southern Arizona for same-day and after-hours appointments, hospital and hospice visits, senior care and memory care facilities, jail and care facility signings, and full loan signings. NNA certified, bonded, and E&O insured. I am also a member in good standing with the Arizona Better Business Bureau. I am registered with them and can be found on their website.

If you are not sure whether your document needs a notary, what identification to bring, or whether witnesses are required, call and ask. I would rather answer the question for free than have you make a second trip.

(520) 752-9045