Question 1

Can I get a document notarized online in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

No. South Carolina has not legalized remote online notarization, so a South Carolina notary cannot notarize your signature over a video call. The signer and the notary have to be in the same room. That is exactly why this service is mobile: instead of you going somewhere, the notary comes to you.

Question 2

Which towns do you serve?

Accepted Answer

Summerville, Ladson and Goose Creek, South Carolina. Each town has its own page with what is particular to it — travel bands, landmarks, and the paperwork that comes up most often there.

Question 3

What does it cost?

Accepted Answer

There are two fees and they are separate. South Carolina caps a notarial act at $5.00, and that part is set by statute and is the same everywhere in the state. The travel fee is the part that varies: it is priced by road distance from our Summerville base, starting at $35 for the closest band, and distance is rounded to the nearest whole mile. You are told both figures before the notary is dispatched.

Question 4

Why is there a 31+ mile band on the rate card?

Accepted Answer

Because it is for work outside the three towns, not inside them. Summerville, Ladson and Goose Creek all sit inside thirty road miles of our Summerville base — the farthest address we have measured in the three towns is under twenty-five miles — so nothing in the service area we advertise reaches that band. The 31+ line is there for the occasional job that falls outside Summerville, Ladson and Goose Creek, and it is quoted per job rather than at a published rate. It is not an offer of a wider service area. If your address is outside those three towns, call and ask: you will get an answer either way, and a figure agreed with you before anyone sets off.

Question 5

What do I need to have ready?

Accepted Answer

Three things. Unexpired photo identification for every person signing. The complete document, with any pages the receiving office asked for. And every signer named on it, present at the appointment — a notary cannot act for someone who is not in the room. If your document also calls for witnesses, please arrange for them to be there; hospital and facility staff cannot always step in.

Question 6

Can you tell me which form I need, or what my document says?

Accepted Answer

No, and it is worth knowing why. We notarize the documents you provide. Drafting a document, filling one in, deciding which form your situation calls for, or telling you what a document means is legal work, and South Carolina reserves it for licensed attorneys. Ask the office that issued the paperwork, or an attorney — then call us for the notarization.

Question 7

Can you certify that a photocopy matches the original?

Accepted Answer

No. Confirming that a photocopy matches an original is not one of the notarial acts a South Carolina notary is authorized to perform. Ask the office that issued the document for an official duplicate. What we can do is notarize a signature on a sworn statement about a document, if the receiving office has told you that is what it wants.

Question 8

Do you really answer the phone at night?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The phone is answered 24 hours a day, including nights, weekends and holidays, and a real person answers it. Hospital admissions, detention facilities and deadlines do not keep office hours, which is the reason the service works this way. After-hours, hospital, care-facility and detention-facility appointments may be quoted above the standard travel band, and you are told the figure before the notary is dispatched.

Question 9

Can a notary come to your house?

Accepted Answer

A notary can come to your house, and that is the whole business here. There is no office to drive to and no counter to wait at. You call, we agree on a time and a travel fee, and the notary shows up where you already are.

Question 10

Can a notary come to the hospital?

Accepted Answer

Yes, a notary can come to the hospital. Nothing about a hospital room stops a notarial act, as long as the signer is there, has identification, knows what is being signed, and is signing willingly. We do these calls at 2 a.m. the same way we do them at 2 p.m.

Question 11

Can a notary marry someone in SC?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In South Carolina a notary public may solemnize a marriage (S.C. Code §20-1-20; South Carolina Secretary of State Notary Public Manual, p. 8). The ceremony has to take place inside South Carolina. No separate officiant registration exists in this state — the notary commission is the authority.

Question 12

How to get an apostille in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

In South Carolina, apostilles are issued by the Secretary of State in Columbia. The document has to reach that office in acceptable form, with the state fee, and then come back to you. You can do that yourself by mail. Most people who call us are short on time, are sending documents overseas for the first time, or have already had a package returned.

Question 13

What does a loan signing agent do?

Accepted Answer

A loan signing agent is a commissioned notary who meets the borrower, confirms identity, witnesses the signatures on a loan document package, and completes the notarial certificates that go with them. What that role is allowed to cover varies by state, and South Carolina draws the line more firmly than most states do.

Question 14

What's the difference between Live Scan and ink cards?

Accepted Answer

Ink cards are the paper ones, and ink cards are what we do. Your fingerprints are rolled in ink onto an FD-258 card, and you mail or hand that physical card to whoever asked for it. Live Scan is the electronic version — prints captured digitally and sent straight to the agency, with no card in your hands at all. The agency that made the request decides which one you need, so check their letter before you book.

Question 15

Who can be an authorized representative for Form I-9?

Accepted Answer

Anyone the employer designates. USCIS lets an employer appoint any person as an authorized representative to examine documents and complete Section 2 of Form I-9 in person on the employer's behalf. There is no license and no certification for the role. The employer stays legally responsible for what the representative records, which is why it matters who you send.

Question 16

How many times does a process server try to serve you?

Accepted Answer

The honest answer is that it depends on the server and on the person being served. Here is what we do: attempts at different times of day and on different days of the week, each one logged with the date, the time and the address. If service cannot be completed, you get the attempt log and a straight explanation of why, rather than silence and an invoice.

Questions people ask

What we do