Resources > Glossary > Bond

Glossary of Notary Public, Mortgage, Signing Agent, and Loan Signing Terms.

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Common Terms 1   Common Terms 2

Bond

Phonetics: bond    \'bänd\

Function: noun

Many states require notaries to carry a surety bond to protect the public from any misconduct or mistakes. Should the Notary be liable for monetary sums, the bonding company would be liable to pay whatever was owed, and would then go after the Notary to collect the damages. In addition to bonds, Notaries also often have errors and omissions insurance to protect them from liability from honest mistakes due to carelessness, or overlooking information that needed to be filled in a document. The amount of errors and omissions insurance typically can range from $15,000 to $1,000,000. However, the irony is that we have never heard of any notary actually needing to file a claim on their E&O insurance. E&O insurance seems like it is more for a show of professionalism than anything else.

Definition 1:
A written obligation where a Notary Public would be required to pay the company that issued the bond a sum of money should the bond company be held liable for illegal activity on the part of the notary.

Definition 2:
A written and sealed obligation, especially one requiring payment of an amount of money on or before a given day.

Definition 3:
A quantity of money paid as bail or surety.

Definition 4:
Bonding requirements differ from state to state. It is the state notary divisions that decide how many dollars a notary bond should be for in their particular state. Dollar amounts vary from state to state. A California notary bond needs to be for $15,000 for example.