How to become a loan signing agent in Georgia
Georgia commissions notaries through the clerk of superior court in your county, with no bond and a required training course. For loan signings, Georgia differs from almost every other state: its Supreme Court reserves real estate closings to licensed Georgia attorneys, and it has refused to allow "witness-only" closings by notaries and signing agents.
Sources checked September 29, 2026
Georgia at a glance
- Commission term
- Four years. You may notarize anywhere in Georgia.GSCCCA — General Notary Information
- Training
- Required since January 1, 2025, for new and renewing notaries, from a GSCCCA-approved course. GSCCCA lists its own web-based course as free.GSCCCA — General Notary Information
- Bond
- None required.GSCCCA — General Notary Information
- Application fee
- $40 to $55, depending on the county.GSCCCA — General Notary Information
- Fee per notarial act
- Up to $2. If you charge, you must say so and give the amount before performing the act.GSCCCA — Georgia Notary Law
- Journal
- Required for each act performed at the request of a "self-filer" — a party to a deed, mortgage or lien who is not a Georgia attorney or the agent of a bank, mortgage lender or servicer.Georgia General Assembly — HB 1292 (2024), amending O.C.G.A. § 45-17-8
- Real estate closings
- Must be handled by a licensed Georgia attorney.Supreme Court of Georgia — In re UPL Advisory Opinion 2003-2, 277 Ga. 472 (2003)
Getting commissioned
- 1
Check that you qualify
You must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen or legal resident, able to read and write English, and have a working phone number. You apply in the county where you live — or, if you live in a bordering state, in the Georgia county where you work or do business.
- 2
Complete the training course
Before your first appointment, and within the 30 days before each renewal. You hand the certificate of completion to the clerk with your application.
Georgia General Assembly — HB 1292 (2024), amending O.C.G.A. § 45-17-8
- 3
Fill in the application
Most counties use GSCCCA's online form: complete it, print it and sign it. Some counties require two endorsers; counties outside the online process must be contacted directly.
- 4
File with the clerk of superior court
Pay the county's fee and take the oath of office. The clerk issues your certificate of appointment. Georgia does not issue commission numbers.
- 5
Buy your seal
An embosser or an ink stamp showing your name, "Notary Public", your county of appointment and the state.
Loan signings in Georgia
Closings belong to a Georgia attorney
The Supreme Court of Georgia treats closing a real estate transaction — and preparing a deed of conveyance or facilitating its execution for someone else — as the practice of law, which only a licensed Georgia attorney may do.
Supreme Court of Georgia — In re UPL Advisory Opinion 2003-2, 277 Ga. 472 (2003)
No witness-only closings
The Court described "witness-only closings" as notaries, signing agents and others presiding over the signing while claiming to act only as a witness, and refused to allow them. In a later opinion it held that even a lawyer may not act as a witness only: the closing attorney is responsible for the whole transaction, including the signing.
Supreme Court of Georgia — In re Formal Advisory Opinion 13-1, 295 Ga. 749 (2014)
Before you accept a Georgia signing
The two opinions do not spell out what a non-attorney notary may do under a closing attorney's supervision. Confirm with the closing attorney what your role is before you accept, and when in doubt, ask a Georgia attorney — not the company that sent the order.
From commission to your first closing
The commission is what the state asks for. Title and escrow companies usually ask for more before they send a loan package: errors and omissions insurance, a background screening, and the equipment to print a full package and return scanned pages the same day. On Dr. Signing, a company can require a dual-tray printer or a scanner on an order, and only profiles that list them receive it — so list what you have.
Once you are commissioned
List your profile for free. Companies find you in the Georgia directory, and the closings they post inside your travel radius come to you by email.
This page summarizes the law; it is not legal advice. The statute and the commissioning office decide, and they change — follow the source links before you rely on a number.