This summer, we published a new quiz, “What kind of Notary are you?” to learn more about our Notary community and find out what kind of services, income, and goals you have in mind for your commissions. We asked several questions, and based on the results, the quiz chose the type of Notary for each participant. Thousands of Notaries responded, and here’s what the quiz told us about you:
What types of Notaries are most common?
- Over one-third of our quiz participants were identified as “Side Gig Notaries” who want to use a Notary commission part-time to earn extra income or volunteer in their spare time to provide community Notary services.
- Another 28 percent fit best as “Employee Notaries” who notarize primarily as part of their workplace duties, and another 25 percent are “Professional Notaries” whose primary source of income is working as mobile Notaries or Notary Signing Agents.
- The remaining 13 percent were identified as “New Notaries” just starting out. They aren’t sure yet how they plan to use their commissions.
Why did participants choose to become Notaries?
The first question in the quiz was, “Why did you become a Notary?” We received an interesting range of answers.
- Nearly half of our quiz participants (46 percent) said they applied for commissions as part of their regular job duties.
- In comparison, 22 percent said they want to start their own Notary business.
- Another 19 percent are interested in working as a Notary part-time or outside regular business hours.
What were the most common Notary goals chosen by participants?
- Most of our quiz participants were closely split between notarizing for customers and co-workers as part of a full-time job (36 percent) or earning income as a mobile Notary or Signing Agent (34%).
- Another 22 percent are focused on part-time work for extra income.
- The remaining 9 percent said they are new and unsure.
Tell us about your Notary goals and take the quiz to find out what category you fit in!
If you’re unsure what type of Notary work and services best suit you, and what kind of support and services the NNA has to help you, feel free to take the quiz and find out! If you’d like to discuss your goals with other Notaries and the NNA, or if you have other questions about being a Notary, please comment in the section below.
David Thun is the Editorial Manager at the National Notary Association.