The Outfitter's List

Your commission state fees apply

Commissioned already? Done. Louisiana attorneys: you're exam-exempt — application, oath, and bond, and your jurisdiction is statewide. Reply to your application email and we'll send the current step-by-step.

Bond or E&O — Louisiana requires one ~$50–$150

State law requires a $10,000 surety bond (or qualifying E&O in its place). Cheap and quick through any notary bond vendor or your insurance agent. Keep the certificate — it's a credentials-file document.

E&O insurance — the real policy ~$40–$150/yr

Beyond the state minimum: $25,000 to start, $100,000 before loan-signing work (title companies check). NNA and CNA Surety write these in minutes online.

Self-inking stamp ~$25–$45

Louisiana quirk most new notaries miss: state law requires your signature, printed name, and notary ID (or bar roll number) — a seal isn't legally required. Get the stamp anyway: lenders, recorders, and out-of-state recipients expect a crisp visible seal, and it carries your required info in one press. Order it with: name as commissioned, "Notary Public — State of Louisiana," your notary ID / bar roll number, and your parish or "Statewide."

Skip: the deluxe stamp-plus-embosser bundles until someone actually asks for an embossed seal (rare; ~$35 later if ever).

Journal ~$15–$30

Not mandated for traditional acts in Louisiana — kept anyway, always, per krewe standards. One line per act: date, time, document, signer, ID details, fee. It's your memory in any later dispute, and the habit that separates professionals.

Loose certificate stock ~$15

A pad each of acknowledgment and jurat certificates for the document that arrives without notarial wording. Beats handwriting the language at a kitchen table.

Blue AND black ballpoints ~$10

A fistful of each. Blue shows an original instantly; some recipients insist on black. Signers keep pens — buy the box, not the pair.

ID Checking Guide (current year) ~$30

The little book that shows what every U.S. state's license actually looks like. You'll use it the first week — and it's the professional answer to "is this ID okay?"

A bag that closes you own one

Any zippered padfolio or messenger bag. Documents never ride loose, and the journal never stays in a hot car.

Dual-tray laser printer ~$250–$400

The non-negotiable for loan signings: legal AND letter trays, so a 150-page package prints right the first time. The Brother workhorse laser models are the industry default for a reason — cheap toner, fast, reliable.

Scanning: start with your phone $0 → ~$300 later

Adobe Scan or Genius Scan on a phone produces acceptable scan-backs to start. Add a sheet-fed scanner when loan volume makes feeding 150 pages by hand old — it will.

NNA certification + background screen ~$65–$200

The credential title companies require. If you carry it already, we accept it as-is — you'll never redo a screen for the krewe.

Mileage-tracking app free–$10/mo

You're an independent contractor — every mile to a signing is a deduction. Start tracking on job one, not at tax time.

Phone mount & charger for the car ~$25

Dispatch happens by phone; navigation happens by phone. Neither should happen in your lap.

What to skip entirely $0, forever

Thumbprint pads (a California habit, not a Louisiana one), "notary public" car magnets and vests, course bundles you didn't ask for, and any package deal where you can't name what each piece is for. The catalogs are built to sell anxiety; this list is built to sell signings.

The short version 3 vendors cover it all

Stamp & journal: any Louisiana stamp shop or notarystamps.com — local shops often turn a stamp around same-week and get the imprint wording right the first time. Bond, E&O, certification, ID guide: the NNA store carries all four (and your screen rides along with certification). Everything else — pens, printer, mount, bag — is commodity: Amazon or the office-supply store, whoever's cheapest that day.

Print the one-page checklist and shop the whole list in an evening: the Outfitter's Checklist (PDF).