Two-minute investigation · Current as of July 23, 2026
The screening credential can control private access to work. It does not make the work lawful.
NNA says it obtains a consumer report for certification and makes screening results available to financial and title-industry participants. A notary can remain legally commissioned while losing private marketplace eligibility because the credential expired.
NNA identifies the object correctly: it is a consumer report.
NNA says the report is obtained to decide whether an applicant meets NNA certification criteria. NNA privacy policy ↗
The result does not stay inside that decision.
The same policy says screening results are made available to financial-industry and title-company participants through SigningAgent.com. It also names current data-exchange subscribers.
The system separates certification from screening status.
NNA’s live technical model separately exposes certification, screening pass status, pass date, profile opt-in, active status, partner downloads, and rank. NNA Profiles API ↗
Outside platforms use NNA credentials for access to their work.
Proof currently requires its on-demand notaries to have an NNA ID, NNA screening, and NNA training or certification. It says it checks with NNA for an unexpired screening. Proof’s July 9, 2026 update says NNA membership itself is not currently required. Proof requirements ↗
The credential is not state notary authority.
A state commission authorizes the notary. NNA certification, screening status, platform verification, and directory visibility are private market credentials.
The legal responsibility still returns to the notary.
The private credential does not prove that the identity method, signature, seal, journal, recording, certificate, or transaction complied with state law.
Maximum control over access to work. No legal safe harbor for performing the work.
Credential laundering occurs when repetition and corporate adoption make a private status look like legal authority. Market power is real. Public authority is not.
This investigation does not claim raw background reports traveled through the NNA API.
The current public evidence establishes consumer-report purpose, screening-result distribution, named exchange subscribers, credential synchronization, and a live technical system. Subscriber-specific payloads, contracts, traffic logs, and individual work decisions remain nonpublic.