Due to the advances in telecommunication technology and access to high-speed internet, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, the modern workplace has shifted to an increasingly mobile environment where both employees and their employers either work from home, a local coffee shop, or the traditional office place.
This flexible work arrangement trend spans across multiple industries from healthcare, banking, technology and more. The business of a notary public is no exception. Traditionally a notary public would have to meet with their signers in-person to witness the signing of important documents. But now, thanks to advancements in technology and the safety and health concerns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, notaries have transitioned their business to a remote work model with the advent of remote online notarizations.
What is remote online notarization?
Remote online notarization, or RON for short, is the process of having a notary public, an official of integrity appointed by a state government, notarize a document remotely with assistance of audio-visual technology, electronic signatures, identity verification, an electronic notarial journal, and record keeping technologies.
The notary public and the document signer do not physically appear before each other as they would with a traditional in-person notarization. Instead, they communicate on an audio-visual platform over the internet.
With traditional in-person meetings between a notary public and a document signers, pen-and-ink signatures and rubber stamp notary seals would be used to notarize a document. These mechanisms have been replaced with more secure electronic signatures and electronic notary seals.
These differences between traditional in-person notarizations and remote online notarizations are only the beginning, and the benefits of RON are numerous, as we will discover later on in this post.
What states allow remote online notarizations?
Notary publics have the option to perform remote online notarizations in most states as RON legislation continues to become more common across the United States. The Commonwealth of Virginia became the first state to issue RON legislation in 2011 - SIGNiX was instrumental in writing the first RON law there. Montana followed their lead in 2015. Since then, the list of states where RON is recognized continues to grow.
The states where permanent laws have been enacted permitting remote online notarizations include:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Some states have allowed temporary remote online notarizations with expiration dates. These states include Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.
The state of California and the District of Columbia do not currently allow notary publics to perform remote online notarizations. Additionally, the state of South Carolina has no laws or guidance issued and the temporary authorization for RON in Connecticut has expired.
The status of RON legislation is subject to change and it’s important to check with your state’s authorities for the latest information.
What kind of technology is used in remote online notarizations?
While performing remote online notarizations is a simple and straightforward process, acquiring the technology required to conduct them needs to be done first. Technology standards and requirements vary by each state that has authorized the use of remote online notarizations and notaries must comply with state notary laws to perform remote online notarizations.
In general, the technology needed to perform a RON includes:
To perform remote online notarizations, notaries must use RON technology platforms that comply with their state notary laws. They are also responsible for every remote notarial act they perform. As with traditional notary law, notaries must understand the remote notarization laws of their state to ensure they conduct lawful notarizations.
What are the benefits of using remote online notarizations?
Remote online notarizations benefit both the notary public and their signers. Compared to traditional in-person notarizations, notarizations performed remotely save both time and money. Additional benefits include:
What types of documents can I notarize using remote online notarizations?
Remote online notarizations can be used in many different industries. RON makes signing and notarizing documents more efficient and less costly. RON is most commonly used by professionals in highly regulated industries like financial services, insurance, law and government. Additionally, RON has applications in business services, technology, retail, and many other sectors of the economy.
State and local governments use remote online notarization for many official documents including:
Law firms and other entities in the legal services industry have several use cases for remote online notarizations including:
Financial services and insurance industries use remote online notarized for ensuring the validity of official transactions. Three instances where RON is particularly useful include:
The use cases for remote online notarizations continue to grow across various industries and so does the importance of cybersecurity, encryption, and storage of sensitive electronic documents. Remote online notarizations are relatively new in many states, but it’s clear that this innovative technology is here to stay.
The SIGNiX solution to remote online notarizations
eNotaryDox, SIGNiX’s remote online notarization software, provides users an easy to navigate platform at a much lower cost than similar platforms. With the help of audio-visual technology, in concert with SIGNiX’s patented digital signature technology, notaries can perform their duties in a smooth and simple process ensuring their documents integrity and their customer’s satisfaction.
Included in SIGNiX’s eNotaryDox is a highly detailed record of the signature and notary process itself in TotalAudit™. Additionally, SIGNiX enables strong, multi-factor authentication options like knowledge-based authentication to positively verify the identity of the signers involved in the notarization process.
Notaries play a crucial role in performing many important transactions that need to be completed in a trusted environment. SIGNiX’s solution to remote online notarizations give notaries the ability to acquire new business and improve their current business with increased customer satisfaction, cost effectiveness, security, and fraud protection.