Every guide links here from its byline. This page lists the sources we rely on, in order, and the lines we don’t cross.
The source ladder
When two sources disagree, the one higher on this list wins:
- The law itself. State statutes and administrative rules, and federal law where it applies (for example, the Fair Credit Reporting Act on background-check disputes).
- The official office that applies it. The Secretary of State, Department of State, Governor’s office or other commissioning authority, including its application guides and FAQs.
- Federal agencies such as the CFPB and FTC, for consumer-protection topics.
- A company’s own published terms, used only for that company’s prices, packages, refund rules and policies. Examples are a course provider’s pricing page or terms of service, an insurer’s product page, or an industry standard such as the Signing Professionals Workgroup’s background-screening standard.
Blogs, forums, videos and social posts don’t count as evidence here. We read them to learn what people are confused about, then answer from the sources above. Where the only figure available comes from a provider (for example, an estimated processing time), we label it as that provider’s estimate.
Where topics come from
We start with problems new signing agents are posting about right now, in public forums such as Notary Cafe and r/Notary and in news about rule changes and fraud. When a thread shows a problem clearly, we may quote one short line and link to it. We don’t name the poster, and we never treat a forum post as proof of a rule or a fact about a company. Facts still come from the sources above.
Photos
Every image is either our own or openly licensed (public domain, Wikimedia Commons, Unsplash or Pexels), and each one is credited. We don’t reuse photos or screenshots from forums, social media or news sites.
State guides wait for state sources
We don’t write a state page by copying another state’s page and changing the name. A state gets a guide only after its own official sources are saved and checked. If we can’t verify a state in time, its guide waits.
Checked dates
Each fact that can change (a fee, a bond amount, an exam rule, a course price) carries a link to its source and the date we checked it. The “facts checked” date in a guide’s byline moves only when we’ve gone back to those sources. Prices and terms are re-checked shortly before a guide goes live.
What you won’t see here
- Claims of experience we don’t have. We aren’t notaries and haven’t done loan signings, so we never write as if we had.
- “We tested it” reviews. When we cover a course or product, we report its published terms, and we say that’s what we’re doing.
- Income promises. We don’t publish earnings figures as a reason to get started. Where a provider makes income claims, we don’t repeat them, and we’ll note what its own fine print says.
- Legal advice. We quote the rule and link it. For how it applies to you, go to your commissioning office or an attorney.
- Invented people. No made-up experts, testimonials or quotes.
How AI fits in
We use AI tools to help find sources, organize notes and draft text. That doesn’t replace checking: every fact in a published guide has to match the official or published source it links to, and anything we can’t match is cut. A guide doesn’t go out until it passes our checklist (people-first, sources linked, no earnings promises or legal advice, disclosure in place, no placeholders).
Fixing mistakes
If you spot an error, email hello@signingagenthandbook.com with the page and, ideally, the official source that shows the right answer. Our corrections policy is on the disclosure page.
General information, not legal advice.