The Loan Signing Package, Document by Document

Published 2026-08-10 · Updated 2026-08-10 · Loan Signing

The documents that get notarized

In a typical Florida refinance or purchase package, the notarized documents are a small subset:

• Mortgage (or Deed of Trust in other states — Florida uses a mortgage). The security instrument that gets recorded. Acknowledgment. This is the document that must be perfect, because it goes on the public record.
• Deed — on a purchase, the seller's conveyance. Acknowledgment, plus two subscribing witnesses under Fla. Stat. §689.01.
• Signature/Name Affidavit — the borrower swears to name variations. Usually a jurat.
• Occupancy Affidavit — sworn statement of intent to occupy. Jurat.
• Compliance / Correction Agreement — the borrower agrees to correct clerical errors. Frequently notarized.
• Errors and Omissions / Limited Power of Attorney — where present, almost always acknowledged.

Everything else — the Note, the Closing Disclosure, the disclosures, the escrow documents — is signed but usually not notarized. The Note is arguably the most important document in the package and typically carries no notarial certificate at all.

The rest of the package, in plain terms

• Promissory Note — the borrower's promise to repay. Terms, rate, payment. Not usually notarized. Never let a borrower sign this one incorrectly; it is the debt itself.
• Closing Disclosure (CD) — the five-page federal form with the loan terms and the final numbers. Borrowers ask about this one more than everything else combined.
• Right of Rescission — on an owner-occupied refinance, a three-business-day window to cancel. Two copies per borrower, and the dates must be exactly right.
• Truth in Lending / Loan Estimate — cost disclosures.
• Escrow / Impound documents — how taxes and insurance are collected.
• Flood, PMI, servicing disclosures — informational; sign and move.
• Borrower's Certification and Authorization — permission to verify employment and credit.
• First Payment Letter — when and where the first payment goes.

Where signing agents actually go wrong

• Missing witnesses on the deed. Florida requires two subscribing witnesses on a conveyance. The notary may be one only if the notary actually observed the signing, and a second is still required. Arrange this before you leave the house.
• Rescission dates. The three-day count excludes Sundays and federal holidays, and the transaction date, the expiration date, and the borrower's copies all have to agree.
• Blank notarial certificates. Fill it before you stamp, every time — §117.05(4) sets out everything it must contain.
• Answering “what does this mean.” Point to it, read it aloud, refer the question. Explaining it is legal advice a non-attorney notary may not give.
• Missed initials. Page through the whole package before you leave. It costs two minutes and prevents almost every re-signing.

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