If you speak more than one language, you may be in high demand as a Notary or Signing Agent.
In fact, signing services such as Diamond Star™ Notaries place a premium on bilingual and multilingual Notaries.
“Bilingual language skills are not a requirement for the Notaries we hire,” said Diamond Star President Philipe Doren, “but I do look first for bilingual Notaries. If they can speak in the native tongue of our non-English speaking clients, they will be called first.” (Update 12-30-24: While Doren is not hiring Notaries at this time, his Notary Cafe listing invites Notaries to email him to discuss helpful tips for Notary Signing Agents. — The Editors)
In addition to English, Diamond Star received the most requests for notarizations in Portuguese, Hindi, Chinese dialects and other Asian languages.
How fluent in other languages should a Notary Signing Agent be?
Doren himself speaks five languages and said that bilingual NSAs should be able to conduct signings with a high level of language proficiency.
“Conversational language skills aren’t enough,” explains Doren. “Business fluency is very important. They need to be able to conduct a closing the exact same way as they would in English.”
In other words, Signing Agents need to know how to provide clear explanations and answer questions without crossing the boundary into offering advice. Doren said NSAs who possess this level of language fluency have an almost automatic advantage over their competition.
Why bilingual Notaries and Signing Agents have a competitive advantage
The demand for competent bilingual NSAs is great enough that Doren said he has worked with Notaries who lack experience with foreign-language assignments or have rusty language skills.
Does being bilingual increase Notary pay or assignment volume?
While bilingual Notaries aren’t paid any differently than their monolingual counterparts, Doren says they are likely to receive more overall business, given the increased need for signings conducted in non-English languages. Bilingual Notaries are often chosen first for appointments involving non-English-speaking signers. This can significantly increase their overall assignment volume.
As the population of multilingual borrowers and signers continues to grow, bilingual Notaries and Signing Agents are becoming essential to the lending and real estate industries. Notaries who can communicate confidently in multiple languages can stand out from their competitors, receive more signing requests, and effectively serve a wider range of clients.
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