Did the stork bring you a new gift?

Did the stork bring you a new gift?

Congratulations! You just had a baby and now your wonderful new life has just begun.

From spending hours watching Dora The Explorer, your child’s first day of Pre-Shcool  to the day they graduate from that Ivy League College , your life is going to change, starting right now!

Before getting too far along though, one of your first responsibilities in the care and feeding of your newborn is to apply for a California Birth Certificate.

As a new parent you’ll soon learn how hectic life can be with a little one running around your home, so now is a great time to apply before you forget! Besides, once you start applying for schools, the California Birth Certificate is one of the first documents every school will ask for.

Getting the California Birth Certificate is a fairly simple process. If the caregivers at the hospital where you had your baby didn’t give you the forms you can easily find them at the California Department of Public Health web site. You’ll need to download Form VS-111. Form VS-111 is very simple requiring only some basic facts about the birth mother, biological father and where and when the child was born.

Before submitting your Form VS-111, as the applicant  you’ll need to have  your signature notarized by a California Notary Public. The time to fill out the form should only be about 5-10 minutes and you can easily have the form notarized by a mobile or traveling notary such as Bay Area Mobile Notary or any walk-in notary location. The State of California Department of Public Health has already included the necessary notary public verbiage on the document so completing the form is very straightforward.

We Come To You!

Bay Area Mobile Notary service is always available to meet you at your location within Silicon Valley to notarize your VS-111 Form or any other official document requiring notarization.

Remember before meeting any notary public that you should have your valid photo identification document with you – typically this would include either a non-expired State Issued Drivers License, non-expired California ID card or a valid U.S. Passport. If you have questions about other forms of ID please drop us a line or give us a call.

We’re here to help!

It’s Time to SPRING Forward!

It’s Time to SPRING Forward!

Tonight is the night to set your clocks FORWARD one hour as we move into the warmer weather and longer days of spring! Did you know that once we enter day light savings time we are now 3 hours ahead of Hawaii?

Even though you’re losing an hour today, Bay Area Mobile Notary is always available to meet you – day or night at your home or office to help with any document notarizations you might need.

The Signature Notary Process

Remember, that we travel to you for a minimal charge of $20 + notarization fees ($10/signature).

Questions about what is required to notarize your document? Give me a call, I can answer many basic questions over the phone saving you time and money.

When you’re ready to meet, I’ll schedule a 15 minute appointment with you – most document notarizations take less than 5 minutes!

If you need more time or have additional questions once I arrive, that’s ok too! My goal is exceed your expectations!

Call me today at: 444.444.4444

Are All Notaries Created The Same?

Not All Notary Public’s Created The Same

Are All Notaries Created The Same?

While all California notary public’s are the same with respect to taking the required notary classes, passing a State of California mandated exam, as well as passing the Federal (FBI) and California Department of Justice background checks – the level of service provided is definitely not equal.

Many Notary Public’s

There are many notary public’s that work full-time and specialize in a specific field such as real estate documents, estate planning documents, banking / financial documents, medical documents or business documents and some notary’s who only work part-time, without an area of expertise.  For many notaries, staying up on the notary laws and best notary practices is a difficult task.

Bay Area Mobile Notary

At Bay Area Mobile Notary, I stay up to date on the latest changes and legal requirements with regard to document and signature notarization within the state of California. If you ever have a question about document notarization – please give me a call, I’m here to help. While I am unable to give legal advice, I never charge for phone consultations for determining the best course of action to help you get your document notarized in the quickest an most efficient way possible.

You can call me day or night at 444-444-4444 or send me an email at: info@bayareamobilenotary.com

Bay Area Mobile Notary, Notary Public Provides Mobile Notary Service Throughout Silcon Valley

Bay Area Mobile Notary Service

I provide on-site notary services throughout Silicon Valley and the South Bay Area.

There’s never a need to come to me – I’ll do the traveling and come to you when you need me.

My schedule is very flexible and can usually accommodate evening, weekend and holiday appointments.

For more information about my services please call or email me any time for more information.

Direct Cell – 444.444.4444

Please leave a message I typically return calls within 15 minutes!

Email – info@bayareamobilenotary.com

Senior Citizens Special Notary Requests

Senior Citizens Special Notary Requests

It’s a difficult call – both to take and receive. I pick up the phone and the person on the other end is often in a panic. There’s a document that *MUST* be notarized, signed by their elderly parent or relative who is in poor health.

These situations are difficult, because the signer often may not fully understand what is going on – perhaps they are days or weeks away from dying. Yet, as often happens in life, there are legal, financial or real estate documents that must be signed by the elderly individual to give the adult child or caretaker the ability to handle the affairs of the aging person.

No Coersion

When I get these sorts of requests, as a Notary Public, I must be careful that the person signing the document is doing so of their

So You Want To Be A Notary Public? – Obtaining your Commission (Part 2)

So You Want To Be A Notary Public? – Obtaining your Commission

In Part 1 of “So You Want To Be A Notary Public”, I discussed the required classes, that you must attend  either online or in person,  as well as the California state mandated test. After taking the 6 hour class and taking the test your next step is to…… wait….

The Wait….

The State of California doesn’t often get in too big of a hurry when processing the Notary Public tests. As such you may get your test results in 1 week or you might have to wait up to 1 month. In most cases you will receive your test results within about 10 business days and even faster if you provide the testing facility with your email address.

Unfortunately, while you’re waiting for your test results there isn’t much else you can do to help the Notary commission process move along. So wait you must.

The Big Day!

You’ll know that your test results are on their way when you start receiving Notary Public supply offers from various vendors in the mail. You will normally receive these materials the day *BEFORE* you receive your actual test results.

Selling Notary Public supplies is big business and there are no lack of vendors to choose from when buying your supplies – but we’ll talk about that a bit later (in part 3)…

The day has arrived and there it is, sitting in your mailbox – the non-descript white envelope from the California Secretary of State with your Notary Public test results.

Congratulations! You’ve passed the Notary Public Exam and now it’s time to get your background check completed.

Along with the test results will be instructions on where to obtain the Live Scan Form for your background check. You’ll need to print out the Live Scan Form and locate a finger print “rolling location” near you. Many local police or sheriff stations offer Live Scan services and many offer or require an appointment.

I suggest obtaining an appointment as many of the Live Scan locations have limited hours and tend to get very busy with walk-in traffic.

What does the background check cost?

To complete your Notary Public background check, you will need both a State of California and a Federal (FBI) background check. You’ll pay a separate fee for each of these checks. In addition, each Live Scan location may charge a service fee for providing the fingerprinting service.

As of early 2011 when I last has my background check completed the fees were as follows:

• State of California Fee:  $32.00
• Federal / FBI Fee:  $19.00
• Fingerprint Service Fee:  $20.00
• Total Fee: $71.00

After completing your finger printing, you’ll again get to wait while the background checks are completed. This too will take about 10 business days on average, before your results will be forwarded to the California Secretary of State.

Once the Secretary of State has received and reviewed you fingerprint / background check results they will forward your Notary Public Commission to you in the mail.

In the next installment of  “So You Want To Be A Notary Public”, I’ll show you how to complete the application process and give you some tips on how to get your business off to a quick start.

Stay tuned…

Happy New Year 2012!

Happy New Year 2012!

I’m really looking forward to 2012 and working hard to make it my best year yet! I hope that this New Year finds you healthy and happy!

Notary Service Available

Even during the holiday season I am still available to help you with your mobile document notarization needs. I can meet you just about anywhere in the South Bay / Silicon Valley area. It’s a hectic time of year and my schedule tends to get booked pretty quickly, so give me a call and I’ll do my best to fit you in.

Bay Area Mobile Notary’s 9th Year of Service

It’s hard to believe that Bay Area Mobile Notary service was started way back in 2003 – that’s over nine years of continuous service helping people through out Silicon Valley and the Peninsula.

It’s been a great time of meeting many folks and learning about many different businesses and the legal documents that go with them. I’m always looking for a new challenge so if you have a document that needs notarization, please give me a call!

Giving Stock Certificates as a Gift?

Giving Stock Certificates as a Gift?

As the end of the year approaches, many people begin the mad dash to complete all those last minute tasks that they meant to get to all year long!

One of those last minute tasks often includes the need to transfer stock certificates or holdings to a loved one or a non-profit organization or even a charity such as 2nd Harvest Food Bank or the Red Cross.

Each brokerage firm has it’s own forms and it’s own requirements that need to be satisfied to complete the stock holding transfer. Some brokerage firms have a specific form to fill out, others may just ask the transferee to write a letter of intent stating which shares to transfer and where to send them.

In order to verify that the request is authentic and coming from the owner of the shares the broker of record will often require that the sender have their signature verified by either a Medallion Signature Guarantee or by a Notary Public. Each form and each firm is different, so be sure to read the transfer document carefully.

Only a bank or other financial institution can assist you with a Medallion Signature Guarantee as I discussed in my previous post. However, Bay Area Mobile Notary often helps clients complete the needed notarization on their stock transfer forms.

This is actually one of the most common requests that we receive! The forms only require some basic information from the party making the transfer and a notarized signature. Total time to complete these forms is often less than 10 minutes.

Bay Area Mobile Notary Can Help

If you need help completing your stock transfer before the year end, give Bay Area Mobile Notary a call and we can meet you anywhere in Silicon Valley to complete your documents in no time at all. Then you can sit back and enjoy the holiday season knowing that one more item has been taken off your last minute to-do list!

We love helping our clients, but over the next few years we’ll be building and growing the next phase of our business. As a service provider our income is limited to the number of hours we can bill our clients for….in the long term that’s not a sustainable income source. We’ve already started to invest in multiple passive streams of income including both real estate and equity investments in stocks as well as bonds (debt). For now we’ll be here for you….but we’re  looking long term as well!

Getting a Passport for your Child? – You may need to see a Notary

Getting a Passport for your Child? – You may need to see a Notary

The neighborhood I live in has a Yahoo discussion group setup so that we can all keep in touch with each other on local happenings as well as share references for high quality trades people and local businesses. I’ve gotten to know quite a few of my neighbors because of this group and I’m always available to serve their mobile notary needs.

Today I received a call from one of my past clients asking if I could swing by to notarize a couple of documents for him so that his wife could get passports for their children. He and his wife recently got divorced and she is no longer living in the home. However, because of upcoming overseas travel plans in Spring 2012, they need to get a U.S. Passport for their two kids.

U.S. Department of State Passport Applications

Overseas kidnapping by divorced parents has risen dramatically over the last 10 years, so in an effort to control the situation where one parent is unaware of the other parent’s desire to take the child or children overseas, new passport regulations have been introduced. The Department of State & U.S. Passport offices now require that when applying for a minor child‘s passport, both parents must be present at the time of application, as well as the child or children.

Since this is often not possible, the Passport Agency has provided a work around via form DS-3053. When this form is signed by the absent parent and notarized, it provides proof of consent to the U.S. Department of State that both parents agree to the processing of the minor child’s passport application.

The DS-3053 is very straightforward and my client had most of it filled out upon my arrival. After witnessing him sign the document it only took a few minutes to complete the needed notarization.

Convenient Service At Your Home

I often tell my clients, you don’t need a notary public very often, but when you do they are often hard to find or to schedule. He was very glad that he could work from home on a Monday morning *and* get his documents notarized with little hassle or cost.

The passport form DS-3053 is just one of many standard documents that I see in my daily travels as a California Mobile Notary Public. If you have any questions about document notarization or need to schedule an appointment just call us at 444.444.4444 or email: info@bayareamobilenotary.com

FAQ: How do I verify that my Notary Public holds an active commission in California?

FAQ: How do I verify that my Notary Public holds an active commission in California?

Since the act of impersonating a Notary Public is considered an act of fraud and is a felony offense, it’s fairly unlikely that you’ll run into a Notary Public who is operating without a current and valid commission. However, you may still wish to know that the Notary Public you’re working with holds an active commission, which county his or her bond is filed in or maybe you just want to know when their commission expires.