What is the agent's obligation regarding the borrower's personal information?

A signing agent sees, in one appointment, essentially everything about a borrower's financial life: social security number, income, employer, account numbers, balances and the terms of a loan secured on their home. The obligation that comes with that access is confidentiality at every stage, which is broader than it first sounds — it covers how documents are handled at the table so that pages are not left visible, how they are secured in a vehicle rather than left on a seat, how they are packaged and shipped, and what is discussed afterward with anyone, including family members and other clients. The distractors each propose a purpose that seems reasonable and fails. Retaining a copy against a dispute creates a lasting exposure the journal already makes unnecessary. Sharing with the title company on request bypasses the contracting company and the borrower's expectations. And destroying a journal entry is never permissible, since the journal must be retained and, at the end of a commission, delivered as the law directs.

The agent has access to the borrower's complete financial information and must keep it confidential and secure at every stage — at the table, in transit, in shipping and afterward.

Signing agents handle borrowers' complete financial information and owe a confidentiality obligation covering handling at the appointment, security in transit, shipping and subsequent discussion. Journals must be retained and delivered as the law directs.

Every Stage, Not Just Afterward. At the table, in the car, in the box, and in what you say later.

The journal is the exception to disposal, not to confidentiality. It is retained and delivered, never destroyed.

• •Keeping a copy against a possible dispute
• •Sharing information directly with a party who requests it
• •Treating confidentiality as applying only after the appointment