Notaries who are certified have passed a test that demonstrates that they understand the major characteristics of important documents such as the Note, the Deed of Trust, the Right to Cancel, the Settlement Statement, and the Truth in Lending Disclosure.  They know the basic procedures of signing and what to do when there are problems of various kinds during a signing.  The purpose of the test is to help the highly experienced and competent notaries stand out above the rest.  To take the elite test, you must have signed at least 750 loans and have passed the 123notary.com regular certification test.