The Case of the Notary
When I was a teenager, I told my father I wanted to be a notary public. I saw it as a respectable public service role - high in demand, essential, and quietly woven into everyday life. Everyone needs a notary at some point.
My father, a pragmatic man who had lived through great adversity, looked at me with that quiet ‘it’s not feasible, my love’ expression - the one parents wear when they hear their children’s bright visions, while knowing the scaffolding of society has not yet been built to hold them. And yet, instead of dismissing it, he told me it was a great idea and encouraged me to explore it.
But when I looked into my idea more closely, I was stunned. The training takes a lot time. The responsibility is weighty. And yet in New York, the state sets the fee at $2 per signature - an amount that hasn’t shifted in decades. I couldn’t reconcile the gap: how could something so universally needed, and legally binding, be treated as a footnote job?
Notarization isn’t optional. It safeguards contracts, prevents fraud, anchors trust in legal and financial systems. And yet it’s designed as an add-on - something for full-time or part-time workers to do alongside their “real” job.
What if we treated it differently?
What if notaries were recognized as the backbone of everyday legality and given compensation that reflected that importance? What if it were condensed with other qualifications - translation, advocacy, real estate, immigration support - to create viable career pathways, jobs that could literally be everywhere, embedded where people need them most?
The case of the notary isn’t just about signatures and seals. It’s about how we decide which roles in our society are honored and which are left to languish. Imagine if we designed work with the same care we design contracts: precise, durable, built to hold trust.
Because systems speak in architecture. And when we build them with intention, even the smallest office - whether a desk or a duty - can become a constellation. ✨
sincerely,
amber eltaieb