1. Confirm (one call prevents the classic disasters)
☐ Signer reached; date, time, place confirmed
☐ All signers confirmed present (missing spouse = wasted trip)
☐ Location details asked: gate codes, parking
2. Print Check
☐ Printing cutoff communicated when accepting (docs ready about two hours before, typically)
☐ Correct paper sizes, both trays
☐ Page count checked against the instructions
☐ Flipped through for blank pages and misprints
3. Instructions Scan (the instructions override habit, every time)
☐ Witness requirements
☐ Scan-back requirements
☐ ID copies
☐ Payment details
4. At the Table
☐ Arrived on time, introduced as an independent signing agent, not a lender employee
☐ Dining table, not the couch; clockwise flow set up
☐ IDs first, before a single page turns; names match documents or the hiring company is called
☐ ID recorded in journal per state rules
☐ Borrower given the arc of the hour: Closing Disclosure and right to cancel first, while attention is fresh
☐ Describe-don't-advise held to; pace never rushed
☐ Every journal entry and notarization complete before packing up
5. The Triple Check (three times, every time)
☐ At the table: two minutes, every page, signatures, initials, dates
☐ In the car, before leaving the street: run it again
☐ Before shipping: third pass, especially notarized documents and right-to-cancel copies
6. Rescission Date-Check (from "Inside the Loan Package")
☐ Pre-printed dates on the right to cancel verified against reality; packages get printed before appointments move.
The clock: three business days to cancel, running to midnight of the third. Every calendar day counts except Sundays and federal holidays; Saturdays count. Sign Friday before a normal Monday, and the last day to cancel is Tuesday at midnight.
☐ If dates are wrong: the borrower fixes them, single line through the error, correct date written in, borrower initials the change, on both the signing date and the expiration date. Never alter a date yourself.
☐ Every copy in the package signed; two signed copies left with the borrower, one kept for the returned package.
☐ Point at the "I wish to cancel this transaction" line before the borrower gets near it.
7. Scan-Back, Ship, Close
☐ Scan-backs uploaded the same night, before originals ship, if required; cutoff treated as seriously as shipping
☐ Originals shipped same day via the specified carrier and account; tracking receipt kept
☐ Order status updated in the portal
☐ Job logged: company, fee, miles, date, invoice submitted the same day