The State of Pennsylvania notary publics are private individuals with an official capacity to sign documents and provide verification of information submitted by city and state officials. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, PennDOT, approves some of these notaries to provide services like drivers' licenses, photo ID cards and vehicle titling for the department. While PennDOT agents can become online messengers, they are required to serve a term of service with a physical location before becoming an online contractor.

Look through the list of Certified Trainers that are approved by PennDOT to train notaries for online services (see Resources).

Call, email or visit the website of the approved notary association or individual and choose a package for first-time notary applicants. Packages usually include an education course, a notary stamp, the application fee, a handbook and a membership to the state notary board. Some packages also include errors and omissions insurance, extra books or seminars.

Select a day, time and location for your one-time, three-hour notary education course.

Choose whether or not to include errors and omissions insurance or other options that your certified trainer might provide.

Pay the fee to the trainer.

Complete the Pennsylvania notary application form.

Pay the fee to the notary association. They will submit the application with the correct government fee for you.

Complete the approved courses for notary services and the PennDOT government contract. Ask your trainer for the most updated course requirements.

Ask your notary training program to liaise with PennDOT's Messenger and Agent Services department to license and bond you as a messenger. This requires you to start a physical office to deal with services for PennDOT.

Apply to be an online messenger after completing at least one year of service with a physical office. Call the Administration and Development Manager at 717-787-0489 to request a transfer to online services.