Create a Network Notary Account

Overview

This is a complete walkthrough of how to set up a new notary profile in the Proof platform for notaries who want to source their own transactions (NST) or answer calls as an On-Demand Notary (ODN). If you are a notary and part of a business or real estate organization's team, create an in-house notary account with these instructions instead.

Once this process is started, you will not be able to skip steps, but you can save what you have completed and exit if you need to stop. When you return, the system picks up where you left off except during the identity verification stage.

Click a link below to jump to that section:

1. Sign Up
2. Personal Info
3. Commission Details
4. Insurance Details
5. Signature & Seal
6. Payment Info
7. Proof Digital Certificate, step 1: Identity Verification
8. Proof Digital Certificate, step 2: Generate certificate
9. Training
10. Notary Onboarding Review

🎯Primary Audience: Notaries

What You Need

Your profile is fully reviewed by our Notary Onboarding team before being provisioned to work on the Proof platform, starting with an eligibility check in accordance with notarial state laws. All notaries must undergo extensive platform training and pass a notarial knowledge and platform assessment before becoming active on the Proof platform.

You must upload the documents listed below to complete your notary profile. 

The Notary Onboarding team will review these documents:

• A copy of their paper commission
• A copy of their E&O policy:
  • Must be insured for at least $25,000 to use the Proof platform
  • See Errors & Omissions Insurance (E&O)
• A digital certificate from Proof (obtained when you register and create your notary account)

Sign Up

If you are part of a business or real estate organization, you may have an email invitation from Proof. If so, you can begin the sign-up process through that link instead of visiting the website as instructed below. 

1. Sign up for a new notary account on the Proof platform: Create a new notary account
2. Provide your contact information, then click Sign up.
   • Make sure your name and email address are exactly as they appear on your commission and identification.
3. Check your email for a link from noreply@proof.com.
4. Click the button in your email to verify your email address.
5. Click Continue to dashboard to continue the registration process.
6. Check the box and click Agree & continue if you agree to the terms.
7. Select an option for multi-factor authentication to protect your account and click Continue.
   • This is an extra security measure that's required for notary accounts.
8. Type the code and click Continue.
9. Click Complete.
10. Visit the first link to review what you need.
11. Click Let's get started.
12. Click Begin.

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Personal Information

Provide the information requested on the Personal Information tab, then click Next (bottom-right corner of the screen).

The following fields are required:

• First and last name
• Email
• Phone number: We use this to validate your National Notary Association ID.
• Address: The address you provided to the Secretary of State
• Time Zone: Your time zone
• Whether or not you are an attorney

Optional: Years of online notarization experience, areas of specialty, additional languages you speak fluently are all optional.

Common errors

• The name entered for the notary profile does not match the name on the commission exactly.

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Commission Details

Provide the information requested on the Commission Details tab, then click Next:

1. Enter your Commission Number.
2. Enter the date your commission expires.
3. Upload a copy of your paper commission.
4. Click Next.

If you do not have a commission number, we will verify NNA dates against your telephone number listed on the signingagent.com website.

Common errors:

• Uploading anything other than the traditional commission certificate.
• Not signing and/or notarizing the traditional commission when required.
• The incorrect commission expiration date.

NNA Info

1. Enter your NNA ID Number.
   • Spaces are not allowed.

Your NSA Training Expiration Date and Background Check Expiration Date automatically update. Proof checks your NNA information by matching your NNA ID number to your NNA ID number listed on signingagent.com.

Common errors

• Commission ID and telephone number listed on the NNA website must match what you provided to Proof.
• Updated NNA background check and training dates sometimes take up to two days to refresh on the NNA's site.

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Insurance Details

Provide the details of your Errors & Omissions insurance policy information, then click Next:

• E&O insurance provider
• Insurance amount: You must be insured for at least $25,000 to use the Proof platform
• Policy expiration date
• Upload a copy of your E&O Policy

Common errors

• Entering the name of the insurance producer rather than the insurance provider or insurer on the notary profile.
• Uploading an insurance policy with less than the $25,000 minimum coverage amount.
• Failing to upload a copy of the insurance policy.
• Uploading a Professional Liability insurance policy without adding Proof as the certificate holder. Adding Proof as the certificate holder is required if you are taking calls in the on-demand notary queue to ensure Proof is notified if there are any interruptions to the coverage period:
  • Proof, Inc., 867 Boylston Street, 5th Floor #1656, Boston, MA 02116

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Signature & Seal

• Create your signature per your state laws and guidelines:
  
  • Your signature will be applied to documents when you use your signature on the Proof platform.
• Your initials should match your commission.
• The information you entered into your profile generates your seal.

Create signature Click the Create signature button. Click Upload an image and select the file, or drag the desired file into the box. Edit the file as needed (crop and rotate tools) to ensure your signature is clear. Select Apply and Continue. Use the slider to change the contrast of the signature. Review the terms and check the box next to the statement of agreement if you agree. Click Create and Apply.
Create initials Click the Create Initials button. Click Upload an image and select the file, or drag the desired file into the box. Edit the file as needed (crop and rotate tools) to ensure your signature is clear. Select Apply and Continue. Use the slider to change the contrast of the signature. Review the terms and check the box next to the statement of agreement if you agree. Click Create and Apply.
Create seal Select Create Seal. Click Confirm and Apply. Click Next.

Download seal if desired

You can download a copy of your seal to submit to your commissioning office.

• Right-click the image of your seal.
• Select Save as.
• Save the seal image as a .PNG file.

Common errors

• You created a signature that does not comply with specific state laws or guidelines.
• You created a text-based signature. All signatures are required to be handwritten.
• You did not remove all of the blue background from signatures & initials.
• You uploaded a personal seal rather than creating the required Proof-generated seal.

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Payment Info

1. Click the Add payment button towards the top of this screen.
2. Provide the credit card or bank account information as desired.
3. Click Save payment.
4. Select the account type from the dropdown menu.
5. Click Connect to Stripe.
6. Follow the prompts to set up your Stripe account.
7. Select the desired payout frequency and click Save changes.
8. Click Next when you return to this page from Stripe.

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Proof Digital Certificate, step 1: Identity Verification

Make sure you have all the materials you need for identity verification as outlined in the Proof Digital Certificate Quick Start Guide.

1. Click Begin identification.
2. Click Sign now or scan the QR code with your phone to continue identity verification on your phone.
3. Complete multi-factor authentication.
4. On the next pages:
   • Verify your information is correct and appears exactly as it does on your state commission.
   • Provide your birth date. Click Continue.
   • Provide your address. Click Continue.
5. Select the country of your government-issued ID from the dropdown menu.
6. Select the primary and secondary ID types and click Continue.
7. Click Accept and continue at the bottom of the page to capture your ID with your phone, or Use this device in the middle of the page to use your current device's camera.
8. Follow the prompts to capture your ID. 
   • If you clicked Accept and continue in step 7, scan the QR code that appears or click Send SMS or receive a text with a link to continue.
9. Follow the prompts to capture your secondary documentation.
10. Follow the prompts to capture your selfie image.
11. Click Continue.

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Proof Digital Certificate, step 2: Generate Certificate

Your digital certificate is applied to every notarization you complete on the Proof platform. 

1. Type a 4-digit personal identification number (PIN).
   • Only numbers are allowed.
   • Sequential or repeated numbers cannot be used for security reasons (1234 or 1111).
2. Confirm your PIN.
3. Click Generate certificate.
   • Click the Export Exemplar button if desired.
4. Click the Next button.

Common errors

• Obtaining a digital certificate with an incorrect name. The notary’s first and last name on the digital certificate must match what is listed on their commission: 
• In states where a notary may use an initial on their commission, if the initial of the first name on the digital certificate am the last name on the digital certificate both match the first name initial and full last name on the commission, that is also acceptable.

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Training

The next part of your journey is training and assessments. Your account can only be marked compliant by our team when all of your training and assessments are completed.

1. Click Begin training to register for a Proof Academy account.

Read the articles below for more information:

• Complete Guide to Proof Academy Assessments
• Register for Notary Training with Proof Academy

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Notary Onboarding Review

Your profile is submitted automatically to the Notary Onboarding team for review. You will receive an email from the Notary Onboarding team when your account has a status update.

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