What's In Your Notary Bag?

When you take an assignment as a mobile notary, you should try to be prepared for just about anything within reason.  How prepared are you?  What items/supplies are in your notary bag?  Here are some essentials I recommend you bring along to every signing (listed in no particular order):

Lots of pens, both blue ink and black ink.  Get cheap pens that work well (my favorites are the stick pens from Papermate and Bic).  Pens have a habit of disappearing, so keep plenty on-hand.

Paper clips, both large and small.

Binder clips of various sizes.

A good, reliable little stapler (with plenty of staples).

Large, strong rubber bands.

Scratch paper.

A receipt book.

Acknowledgment and Jurat pads.

A supply of your business cards.

3M Post-It notes (you can never have too many).

Page markers (those colorful, self-adhesive little tags that let you mark pages and easily find them later).

A yellow highlighter pen.  (Other colors too, if you like.  But definitely include yellow.)

Scissors.

A staple remover (unless you enjoy destroying your fingernails).

A magnifying glass.

A clipboard (sometimes it's the best - and only - good writing surface available).

Names and phone numbers for all parties involved in - or associated with - the signing.

Your notary journal.  (I like to carry at least one extra backup journal as well.  When one journal fills up, I can go right to the next one.)

Your notary seal.  (As with the journal, I also carry at least one extra seal.  They can break or otherwise malfunction.  If you use a self-inking seal, be sure to keep a small container of refill ink in your bag.  If you use a seal with a separate ink pad, be sure to carry an extra pad of ink.)

A thumbprinter.

Your own photo ID.  (Of course, if you're driving, you should have your driver license with you anyway.)

I don't use an "official" notary bag.  I prefer a regular, spacious, soft-sided bag with lots of zippered pockets, including several large pockets.  Use whatever works best for you.