GUIDE
Loan Signing Agent vs. Notary Public: What Is the Difference?
Every loan signing agent is a notary public, but not every notary public is a loan signing agent. Here is what separates the two, when you need each, and how the rules work in Massachusetts.
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THE SHORT ANSWER
Same commission, different specialty
A loan signing agent is a notary with added training in loan and real estate packages.
- Notary: verifies identity and notarizes signatures
- Signing agent: also manages full loan packages
- Neither may give legal or loan advice
- Massachusetts closings are conducted by attorneys
What a notary public does
A notary public is an official commissioned by the state to deter fraud. In Massachusetts, notaries are commissioned by the Commonwealth and perform four notarial acts: acknowledgments, jurats (sworn statements), signature witnessings and copy certifications. For each act, the notary verifies the signer's identity, confirms the signer is acting willingly, and completes a notarial certificate with their signature and seal.
A general notary appointment might involve a single affidavit, a power of attorney, a health care proxy or a few pages for an apostille. The documents are usually short, and the notary's work is focused on the notarial act itself.
Trained, screened and insured for lender and title work
- Certified loan signing agent, trained through Loan Signing System
- National Notary Association member and NNA-trained
- Background screened, as title companies and lenders require
- Insured, with a certificate of insurance available on request
- Certified Notary Trust Delivery Agent
- Commissioned Massachusetts Notary Public, over 20 years in business
What a loan signing agent does
A loan signing agent, often called a notary signing agent, is a commissioned notary who has completed additional training in mortgage and real estate document packages. Lenders, title companies, escrow officers and signing services hire signing agents to meet borrowers and sellers, guide them through the signing and return the package correctly.
A loan package can exceed 150 pages, with signatures, initials and dates throughout and a dozen or more notarizations. The signing agent must present each document in order, identify what each one is at a general level, make sure every required signature and initial is completed, notarize the right documents with the right certificates, observe deadlines such as the rescission period on a refinance, and return the package exactly as instructed, often the same day.
Many signing agents hold certifications from training organizations such as the National Notary Association or Loan Signing System, carry errors and omissions insurance, and complete background screenings required by title companies and signing platforms.
Side by side
| Notary public | Loan signing agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | State notary commission | State notary commission (same) |
| Added training | Not required | Loan document and signing training, often certified |
| Typical documents | Affidavits, POAs, health care proxies, school and travel documents | Refinance, HELOC, purchase, seller and business loan packages |
| Typical length | One to a few documents | Dozens of documents, often 60 to 150+ pages |
| Who hires them | Individuals, families, businesses | Lenders, title and escrow companies, signing services, attorneys |
| Printing and return | Rarely needed | Printing, scanbacks and shipping by deadline are routine |
| Legal or loan advice | Not permitted | Not permitted |
| Conducting a Massachusetts closing | Not permitted unless a Massachusetts attorney | Not permitted unless a Massachusetts attorney |
The Massachusetts difference
In much of the country, a title or escrow company closes the transaction, and a signing agent may handle the entire signing at the borrower's kitchen table. Massachusetts is different. It is an attorney-closing state: a Massachusetts attorney certifies title and conducts residential closings.
Massachusetts General Laws chapter 222, section 17 provides that a notary who is not a Massachusetts attorney may not conduct a real estate closing or act as a closing agent, with limited exceptions for notaries employed by the attorney conducting the closing or by the lender closing its own loan. The Supreme Judicial Court's 2011 decision in Real Estate Bar Association v. National Real Estate Information Services confirmed that a Massachusetts attorney must take a substantive role in residential closings.
In practice, this means that in Massachusetts a loan signing agent notarizes signatures only as arranged by the closing attorney or lender, while for property in other states, a signing agent here can complete the full signing according to the out-of-state title company's instructions.
Need a loan signing agent or a notary?
Tell us what you are signing, and we will match the right service to it.
Which one do you need?
- Choose a loan signing agent for a refinance, HELOC, purchase, seller package or business loan, or whenever a lender or title company sent you a package to sign. Loan signings
- Choose a loan signing agent if you are selling or buying property in another state while living in Greater Boston. Real estate signings
- A general notary is fine for a single deed your attorney prepared. Deed notarization
- A general notary is fine for powers of attorney, affidavits, health care proxies and similar documents. Mobile notary
- Choose an attorney to conduct a Massachusetts closing, draft a deed or answer legal questions.
Frequently asked questions
Is a loan signing agent a lawyer?
No. A loan signing agent is a notary with specialized training. They cannot give legal advice or explain the terms of your loan.
Do I need a loan signing agent for a refinance?
Your lender or title company decides. When a package is sent for signing outside the closing office, a trained signing agent is the right choice because of the package's length and deadlines.
Can any notary sign a loan package?
Legally, the notarizations themselves can be performed by any commissioned notary, but lenders and title companies typically require trained, insured and background-screened signing agents.
Can a signing agent close my Massachusetts home purchase?
No. Massachusetts residential closings are conducted by Massachusetts attorneys. A signing agent can notarize signatures only as the closing attorney or lender arranges.
Does a loan signing cost more than a general notarization?
Usually, because it involves more time, more notarizations, printing and return shipping. We quote each signing based on its package type, page count and number of notarizations.
Are your signing agents certified?
Our team is trained through the National Notary Association and Loan Signing System, and every signing follows the lender's or title company's instructions.
Book the right signing
Loan signing agents and mobile notaries across Greater Boston.