The Risks of Using FedEx, UPS, or Public Copy Centers for Notary Signing Agents
Already a notary? Our self-paced online courses help you expand your services and grow your income. Browse courses →
Loan documents contain Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, employer information, and complete financial histories. If you print them at a public copy center, you are handing all of that to whoever happens to be standing nearby. Here is why that is a bad idea and what to do instead.
What Is in a Loan Package
A typical loan package is 150 to 300 pages. It includes:
- The Uniform Residential Loan Application (Form 1003), which contains the borrower’s full name, current and previous addresses, employer information, income, and bank account numbers
- The Closing Disclosure, which shows the loan amount, interest rate, monthly payment, and closing costs
- The borrower’s authorization forms, which include Social Security numbers for credit checks
- Personal information like dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and previous addresses
This is enough information to steal someone’s identity multiple times over. Treat it accordingly.
The Specific Risks of Public Copy Centers
Printer Memory
Commercial copiers at FedEx Office and UPS Store locations have hard drives that store images of everything they print, and those drives are not reliably wiped between customers. Copier hard drives have been a documented source of data leaks for well over a decade; journalists have pulled tax returns, pay stubs, and medical records off leased machines, and the FTC has warned businesses to treat copier drives as a data-security risk. If you print a 200-page loan package on a commercial copier, those pages can sit on the hard drive until someone deletes them or the machine is serviced.
People Standing Around
FedEx Office and UPS Store locations are public spaces. While your documents are printing, anyone can walk by and see them. If you step away to grab your documents from the output tray and someone is already there, they have access to everything. This is not theoretical. Signing agents have reported bystanders picking up their documents by accident (or on purpose) at copy centers.
Staff Handling
If you send a print job from a USB drive and ask the staff to print it, they see every page. The staff at these locations are not bound by the same confidentiality requirements as a notary. They are hourly employees handling hundreds of print jobs per day.
Leftover Copies
If the printer jams or prints duplicate pages, the extra copies end up in the trash or recycling bin at the store. Unshredded. With Social Security numbers on them.
Your Legal Obligations
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) requires financial institutions to safeguard consumer financial information, and lenders and title companies push that duty down the chain through confidentiality clauses in the independent contractor agreements their signing agents sign. As a practical matter, that makes the safeguarding standard yours to meet. If you print a loan package at FedEx and a bystander photographs a page with a Social Security number on it, you could face liability for failing to protect that information, contractual at minimum.
Most signing services and title companies include those confidentiality clauses explicitly. Printing documents at a public location likely violates them.
What to Do Instead
Buy a dual-tray laser printer for your home office. The Brother HL-L5210DWT costs around $200 to $300 and prints both letter and legal size paper from two separate trays. One loan signing pays $75 to $200. The printer pays for itself after two or three signings. There is no valid reason to print loan documents anywhere but your own home.
If you are on the road and get a last-minute signing assignment:
- Ask the signing service to email the documents to a hotel business center and use their printer only if you can print in a private room.
- Some agents carry a portable printer in their car. This is an option if you get same-day assignments regularly.
- Decline the signing if you cannot print securely. No single signing is worth the liability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to print sensitive documents at UPS or FedEx Office?
No. Commercial copiers store images on internal hard drives that are not reliably wiped between customers, the printing happens in a public space, and misprints end up in the store’s trash. Loan packages carry Social Security numbers and full financial histories, which is why signing services’ confidentiality clauses make secure printing your responsibility.
Can I print loan documents at FedEx Office?
You physically can, but you should not. Lenders and title companies push their information-safeguarding duties down to signing agents through confidentiality clauses, and printing at a public copy center does not meet that standard.
What if I have no other option?
If you absolutely must print somewhere other than home, stay at the printer the entire time. Do not let the documents out of your sight. Collect every page immediately. Take the extra copies and shred them yourself at home. This is damage control, not a recommended practice.
What printer do other signing agents use?
The Brother HL-L5210DWT and HL-L6210DWT are the most common choices. Both are dual-tray monochrome laser printers that handle mixed letter/legal packages. See our full printer recommendations here.
Updated October 2026.
