Witness-only and attorney-run closings

Witness-only orders

Some deeds and mortgages need one or two witnesses besides the notary, depending on the state where the property lies and the lender's instructions; a deed for property in another state, signed here in New Jersey, can be one of them. A witness watches the signature and then signs, sometimes with a printed name and address. Our witnesses are unrelated adults with photo ID who are not parties to the transaction and take nothing from it.

Attorney-run closings

Many New Jersey residential transactions involve attorneys: when a real estate agent prepares the contract, each side's attorney has three business days to review it, and some closings then take place at an attorney's office with the attorney conducting the settlement. In those closings our notary notarizes and, where asked, witnesses the pages the attorney presents, completes the certificates and journals each act. The attorney explains the documents; the notary doesn't.

What your order should tell us

• How many witnesses, which pages they sign, and whether they must be present for the whole signing or only certain pages.
• Whether the notary may also act as a witness on documents they notarize. Some places and lenders don't allow it; your instructions decide.
• Any ID or printed-name requirement for witnesses.
• The office address, the closing time and who on your side is running it.

At the table

• Witnesses identify themselves, watch each signature they attest, and sign where marked.
• The notary checks signer IDs, completes each acknowledgment or jurat and journals it.
• In an attorney's office, the originals usually stay with the attorney. Scans go to the order only if you ask.

What we won't do

• Conduct the settlement, explain documents in the attorney's place or answer legal questions.
• Witness a document for a relative or anyone with an interest in it.
• Witness a signature the witness did not see.

Remote sessions with witnesses

When a remotely notarized document needs witnesses, they can join the session by video: see video witnesses for online notarization. For in-person witness work outside closings, see witness services.

Pricing basis

• A witness added to a signing: from $40 each, up to 2 per appointment.
• Witness-only orders without an agreed price are quoted before they are booked; accounts can agree a flat witness-only price when they open the account.
• A notary visit to an attorney's office for a few documents starts at $75, plus New Jersey's notarial fees.
• New Jersey loan signings start at $150, with printing and scanbacks included. Starting rates. Your exact price is quoted after we confirm a local notary/runner, before you pay. Accounts with an agreed price pay that price. That applies when the notary handles the full package.

Coverage

In New Jersey we cover all 21 counties directly from Cranford in Union County. Elsewhere in the U.S. we work through a network of independent notaries commissioned in the signer's state: we confirm coverage before accepting, and an order outside New Jersey is confirmed only once a notary there accepts it. If a time or place can't be covered, we say so instead of taking the order.

Questions

More for closing offices

• Refinance signings
• Purchase signings (buyer)
• Seller package signings
• HELOC signings
• Reverse mortgage signings
• Hybrid e-closings
• Vendor compliance answers
• Title companies and lenders: start here
• Signing services and rate card
• The closing package

For your borrowers: When a closing needs witnesses or a second notary.

General information about how our desk works, not legal advice. The lender, underwriter and recording office decide what they accept. Updated November 2026.