Should You Notarize Documents at the UPS or Through a Mobile Notary?

From mortgages and prenups to statements and sworn affidavits, there are a wide variety of documents that will fail to hold any legal weight if a notary doesn’t verify your signature.

Although using a UPS notary may seem like your best (or easiest) option, there are plenty of reasons to choose a mobile notary instead.

If you’re trying to find a notary online, two defining factors are probably high on your list: their location and their validity. Knowing where to find a notary is only half the battle. Reaching them and finding the time to do so is the other half.

The UPS notary service – at first glance – is easy to understand and use. All you need to do is find a UPS store that offers the service, take your documents there, provide supporting ID, and complete the process.

But below the surface, there’s also a degree of inconvenience that could be frustrating to people who frequently need notary services.

In contrast, using a mobile notary is just as valid but you don’t need to reschedule work or travel too far to have your documents notarized. Let’s explore the difference.

What is a Mobile Notary, and How are They Different?

You can use notary services across UPS store locations, but you would need to go there in person. You would also need to make sure that the UPS store you plan to visit offers notary services.

Essentially, that means spending time searching for the right location and heading to the location, waiting in line, or making an appointment. If you’re a busy real estate office, brokerage, or small business owner, spending this kind of time out of the office can feel impossible to do.

Mobile notary services eliminate the need for you to do all this heavy lifting and scheduling.
Mobile notary publics travel to your location, and they can do so even during “off” or non-business hours.

Mobile notaries are more convenient, save time, and are more efficient than opting for notarizations at a UPS store.

What is a UPS Notary?

Your local UPS store or UPS notary might be able to offer you services for the notarization of any document. The store works through an appointment-only system and offers notarizations across its 3,900 locations worldwide.

However, this number is misleading because finding a store near you offering notarizations might not be as straightforward. It’s also not uncommon to see that your local UPS notary service is out of appointments for the day.

Before you visit a UPS store or UPS notary for your notarization appointment, you should have the necessary documents. These include the documents you want to notarize and a valid, government-issued photo ID. Without these documents, you won’t be able to complete a notarization with the UPS notary service.

Depending on your state of residence within the U.S, you might have to consider other notarization laws.

For example, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina require witnesses to be with you when you visit notaries. In other states, a notary public cannot perform notary services and act as a witness. Make sure to review these rules before going to a store or UPS notary.

Once you get to your notarization appointment and fill out the necessary forms, the UPS store can ship your document to its final destination.

Mobile Notaries v.s. UPS Notary Services: Which is Better?

Depending on what you do, working with notaries may be a regular occurrence for you. You might have a contract that you need to sign, an I-9 form to fill, or mortgage and real estate deals to process. You may even have company documents that require a notarial act for validation.

Instead of going through the hassle of setting up an appointment at a UPS store for notarizations, you can leverage mobile notary services.

Here are a few reasons why mobile notaries are a superior business choice.

#1: Wide Availability

With a UPS store, you might have one or two available UPS store locations nearby — and even that might be a stretch, depending on whether you’re urban- or rural-based.

In contrast, mobile notary services can have thousands of agents and certified notaries across the country — and since they come to you, it doesn’t matter where you’re located.

For example, Mobile Notary Services have more than 50,000 signing agents across the country, and they are trained, certified, and equipped to handle any situation efficiently and with skill.

#2: Convenience Without Leaving Your Home

Imagine having to leave your home in the middle of winter or take time off work to get documents notarized. That’s what you can expect if you’re opting to head to a UPS store.

You won’t need to leave your home with mobile notaries because the notary public comes to you. They help you sign the necessary documents, fill out any forms, complete the notarial act with attached certifications, and mark the transaction in their journals.

There’s never any risk of forgetting your documents or spending your valuable time setting up appointments and driving to a business location.

#3: Flexibility to Work Around Your Own Schedule

You can get a mobile notary whenever you need it most, wherever you’re located. This means you have the option to work around your schedule, unlike UPS stores, where you’re limited by their store hours and appointment availability.

If you need an urgent notary, you will be stuck waiting in line for a walk-in or drive long routes to find another location with free appointments. That wastes valuable time for you and causes unnecessary stress, especially when you have a vital document to sign.

When you get a mobile notary, the notary comes to you anytime you need. Whether during or outside business hours, on weekends, or holidays, they have you covered.

#4: Fewer Associated Costs

Paying a notary public’s fees are just part of the costs you have to account for. If you’re opting for a UPS store, you’ll need to spend gas driving there or take public transportation. Working with mobile notaries that come to you completely eliminates these extraneous costs.

#5: Available for Any Need

A mobile notary is not only for notarizing documents, although they can do that for a wide variety of them. You can notarize wills, real estate documents, medical documents, and more. But if you also need a person to act as a witness for you, mobile notaries will send someone to you. You can’t say the same for any UPS store.

#6: Quick & Easy Access to Your Documents

When you’re in a rush to get to your appointment, you might make mistakes and forget an important document at home. When you realize that, it might be too late, and you’ll have to reschedule.

With any mobile notary, you’re in your own home, so you can quickly access the information you need to get documents notarized. They will print your copies and can even send them to a UPS store for delivery when they leave.

#7: A $1,000,000 Insurance Policy for Documents Notarized

Mistakes are human, but that doesn’t mean you have to bear the consequences of someone’s errors. At UPS stores, there’s little liability for covering the costs of any mistakes they might make when notarizing documents.

With mobile notary services, you have much more coverage. For example, at Superior Notary Services, we have a $1,000,000 insurance policy for these cases.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mobile Notary Services

Why Should You Notarize Documents?

Some documents may not have legal validity without a notary verifying the signature or the contents. For example, sending a will or trust to a lawyer might require notarizations to be validated. That’s why notarizations are a widely requested service, and governments have appointed trained individuals called “notary public” to perform these services.

The job of a notary public is to verify the legitimacy of documents and affirm that they are not falsified with a notary seal. Any person or business owner can work with a notary public to verify, affirm, and attest to essential documents.

What Types of Documents Need to Be Notarized?

There are many different documents for which you will need to find a notary. Here are a few examples of when you might need notary services:

• Wills
• Deeds
• Trusts
• Contracts
• Affidavits
• I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, and more

How Much Does it Cost for a UPS Store Notary?

It’s challenging to find free notary services that will affirm a legal document. The cost to get a document notarized at a UPS store varies from state to state. Generally, you can expect to pay an average of $30 per document if you walk in and don’t have an appointment. If you have an appointment, it may cost you between $10 to $15 to notarize legal documents.

Which Service is Better: UPS or Mobile Notary Services?

If you’re looking to find a notary, you’re better off choosing a mobile notary. We’ve outlined that Mobile notaries are superior to UPS because of the convenience and flexibility of having a notary public come to your location, on your schedule.

Another significant upside to mobile notaries is their wide availability across the country. In contrast, only a few UPS locations provide these services.

Conclusion

Many people automatically think of a UPS store for notarization because they need a fast, cost-effective, and convenient solution. However, not all UPS locations offer notarizations, and you’ll need to spend time traveling and waiting in line.

If time, convenience, and accuracy are important to you, choose any of the mobile notaries available at Superior Notary Services. We have a nationwide network of certified agents who will show up at your home or your office to notarize essential documents. Get your documents notarized quickly and efficiently with Superior Notary Services today.

To learn more about how a mobile notary could benefit you, contact us today.