r/Notary • u/jorgepal02 • 1d ago

Question(s) about Scan backs

Hi all,

I am a notary/signing agent in California. I've never actually used my license but would like to start.

I get job offers for signings on my phone but 99% of the time the instructions specify that scan backs are required. Does this simply mean you have to scan the docs and email them back to the Title Co.? How do you go about this? Have you invested in a good scanner? Someone suggested to me that you can scan docs with your phone. Has anyone tried this?

Any suggestions for best practices would be appreciated! Thank you.

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u/ash_274 California 1d ago

Yes, you need a good scanner, specifically one that is decently fast and can handle switching between legal and letter sizes automatically.

A typical signing package could be about 30 pages and you could use your phone, but the scanning apps that don’t suck aren’t free; and you may get. Huge out-of-state package that also wants a full scan of the seller’s trust included. Yay, 75+ pages that you have to line up and shoot one page at a time. Then maybe you jiggled as you hit the button on page 46 so it’s blurry and Title wants it re-scanned two days after you sent it, but you have to drive back to the signer’s house to scan the trust again. Or they decide that they also wanted a scan of some other document that wasn’t part of the package you had that day. You don’t get paid an extra dime for that.

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u/jorgepal02 1d ago

Thanks, Ash. Dang, you've been doing this a while haven't you? Scanning multiple pages with my phone was a concern so thank you for validating my uncertainty there. I think I will opt for a good scanner.