ByMassachusetts law, only licensed attorneys may handle a real estate closing. Anotary who is not also a licensed attorney may not conduct a Massachusetts real estate closing.
"An Act Regulating Notaries Public to Protect Consumers And The Validity And Effectiveness Of Recorded Instrument" was signed by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker in October 2016. It was done with the purpose of codifying a 2004 standard of conduct for notaries.
In hisexcellent Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog, real estate attorney Richard Vetstein explains what brought about the signing of this Act:
"In the last decade, the practice of so-called 'witness-only closings,' or 'notary closings' by non-lawyer notaries hasspread from other states to Massachusetts. This practice has been vigorously opposed by REBA which filed a successful lawsuit effectively barring the practice in REBA v. National Real Estate Information Services, 459 Mass. 512 (2011)."
Read the Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blogs full post:New Notary Public Act Addresses Unauthorized Practive of Law, Title Issues and Consumer Protection.
If youhavequestions about buying or selling Boston real estate, please call me at
617-584-9790, orsend me an email via the linkbelow. 
Boston Real Estate Headlines:
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Featured Boston Real Estate:
- 21 Father Francis Gilday Street, #505, South End $775,000
- 505 Tremont Street, #612, South End $1,049,000
- 197 Fayerweather Street, #2, Cambridge $728,000
- 28 Mount Vernon Street, #2, Beacon Hill $4,695,000
