Remote online notarization empowers consumers and businesses to have their documents notarized by a remote notary public from anywhere at any time. This presentation will highlight the remote online notarization movement, its benefits, and the processes that ensure a safer, simpler, more convenient notarization experience.

1. Remote Online
Notarization
A Crash Course in How New Laws, Technologies,
and Consumer Demands are Reshaping the Notarial
Act and the Future of Trust in the Digital Age
An Introduction to

2. Andrew MacDougall
Editor and Content Strategist, Notarize
@Andy_MacDougall
linkedin.com/in/andrewmacdougall/
Author, The Complete Guide to Remote
Online Notarization

3. Notaries date back to Ancient Egypt

4. But there’s been
little innovation
over 4,000 years

5. We're talking
the ballpoint pen

6. Government-
issued IDs

7. and the
laser printer

8. Until photo IDs
the notary either knew the signer...

9. … or knew
someone
who knew
the signer

10. IDs mean notaries can now identify a
signer without personal knowledge of
the signer or a credible witness

11. But modern threats
mean we must update
the notarial act to
protect its integrity

12. The answer?

13. Remote Online Notarization

14. FREE EBOOK
The Complete Guide to
Remote Online
Notarization
How New Laws, Technologies, and Consumer Demand
Are Reshaping the Notarial Act and the Future of Trust
in the Digital Age
Grab your FREE COPY 👉👉 notarize.com/book

15. What is Remote Online Notarization?
A notary public is a public servant commissioned to certify the integrity
and authenticity of contracts, deeds, and other documents by engaging
with the signers to ensure:
1) Signers are who they claim to be;
2) Signers understand the contents of the document(s); and
3) Signers are seeking a notarization under their own free will.

16. What is Remote Online Notarization?
For thousands of years, the notarial act was conducted in-person using paper,
ink, and a stamp or seal.
Electronic signatures gained popularity in the early 2000s, allowing a signer to
use an electronic sound, symbol, or process to replace their written signatures
on digital records.
However, while signatures no longer had to be physical, notarizations still had to
occur in the physical presence of a notary.

17. What is Remote Online Notarization?
In 2011, Virginia became the first state to pass Remote Online Notarization
(RON) legislation.
RON allows documents to be notarized in an electronic form where the signer
uses an electronic signature and appears before the notary using online audio-
video technology.

18. Be Careful!
Remote notarizations
A notary public or
an electronic notary public
A remote notary public
Electronic notarizations are performed online in the physical presence of a notary.
Remote online notarization is performed online over a secure, two-way audio/video feed.
States that have in-person electronic notarization laws also call their notaries electronic notaries.
Electronic notaries may only perform online notarizations if their state has enacted RON legislation.
Electronic notarizations or
Face-to-face electronic notarizations

19. So what makes RON better than
the traditional notarial act?

20. 1) Identity
Verification

21. In 2014, the National Notary
Association surveyed 2,900 notaries
as part of an ID-matching quiz.

22. The quiz presented 18 pairs of photos
One photo was of a real driver’s license
The other photo was either the driver or an imposter

23. The quiz presented 18 pairs of photos
Half of the pairs were of imposters

24. Notaries were able to identify the imposter...

25. … only 68% of the time...

26. … and only matched the person to
their ID 69% of the time

27. And the National Institute of Health said
ID verification remains a challenge
even with years of experience.

28. When it comes to mortgages
powers of attorney
estate planning
minor travel consent
sworn affidavits
We need greater than 69% certainty

29. 2) Modern
Securities

30. We hear about it
time and again...
Unfortunately, people
abuse the notarial act
for personal gain.

31. … and again...

32. … and again.
And these are only the
ones that made the news.
These are only from the
first few months of 2019.

33. Millions of people are affected by
fraud each and every year.

34. If we have the technology to curb
fraud, why wouldn’t we use it?

35. 3) Safety for All

36. We focus a lot of time and energy on the
safety and security of signers

37. … but what about notaries?

38. 25% of notaries have felt
threatened during a notarization

39. Of those 25%, only 4% ever
alerted the authorities

40. That’s one out of every 100 notaries.

41. There are over 4 million notaries in the US
That means over 1 million have felt threatened
And only 40,000 have done anything about it

42. We can do better

43. We must do better

44. And on top of everything, we must offer the
efficiency, speed, and convenience the public
has come to expect from digital transactions

45. Do you work in real estate, or
own a business that needs
documents notarized?
Contact our sales team at
notarize.com/contact-sales to
learn more about how we can
super-charge your customer
experience!

46. About that...
RON sounds awesome!
Is it available everywhere?

47. Virginia’s RON bill enables anyone with a Social Security Number to get their
documents notarized by a commissioned Virginia electronic notary from anywhere
at any time. The interstate recognition of notarial acts means remotely notarized
documents hold merit everywhere (except Iowa, which we’ll get into shortly).
HOWEVER
While the law empowered consumers and businesses nationwide, it only benefits
notaries commissioned in Virginia. Notaries are state officials, so each state must
enact RON legislation before their notaries can conduct online notarizations.

48. It’s a tall task, but we’re building momentum.

49. Through 2010, documents could be
notarized in a face-to-face electronic
notarization (via a desktop, tablet, etc.)

50. But the notarization still needed to occur
in the physical presence of a notary

51. 2011
Virginia signed House Bill 2318/Senate Bill 827 into law
● First bill in the country to allow commissioned Virginia electronic
notaries to notarize documents online via audio-video technology.
● The law was grounded in long-time audio-video appearance experience
from court proceedings along with well-developed, heightened online
identity validation techniques widely used across the federal sector.

52. This is the birth of
Remote Online Notarization

53. 2012
Iowa enacts Iowa Code Chapter 9B
● Despite centuries of universal interstate recognition, Iowa legislators
expressly conditioned the state’s acceptance of out-of-state notarizations
by requiring they be performed in the physical presence of a notary.
● As such, documents to be used for business in Iowa may not be remotely
notarized.

54. 2015
Montana adopts RON; CFPB eClosing pilot
● Montana becomes the second state to adopt RON, four years after VA.
● The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau eClosing pilot reports that:
○ RON technologies offer greater borrower convenience and satisfaction than paper closings.
○ RON adoption and implementation is an impediment to the digital mortgage process, and
it’s being slowed by an absence in broad statutory acceptance and uneven standards.

55. 2017
Texas, Nevada adopt RON; First Fully Digital Mortgage
● Texas (second-largest state for homeownership) and Nevada adopt RON.
○ Nevada legislation allows for Wills to be electronically signed and remotely notarized.
■ Opened door for first fully digital Will in Jan. 2019.
● First Fully Digital Mortgage (July 2017)
○ From the comfort of their home in Illinois, a couple bought a Texas property in under 30
minutes using a Texas title company (Stewart Title), a Michigan lender (United Wholesale
Mortgage), and a Virginia notary (Notarize).

56. 2018
Six new states pass RON legislation
● Indiana, Tennessee, Minnesota, Vermont, Michigan, and Ohio jump on the
bandwagon, bringing the number of RON-approved states to 10.

57. 2019
Eleven new states pass RON bills; First fully digital Will
● As of June 1, 12 state legislatures have approved RON in 2019
○ North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Kentucky, Utah, Arizona, Maryland, Washington, Iowa,
Oklahoma, Florida, and Nebraska.
○ Iowa Code Chapter 9B to be repealed, making RON available nationwide July 1, 2020.
○ Montana also updated its RON legislation to more closely align with national standards.
● First fully digital Will conducted by Notarize and Trust & Will in Jan. 2019.

59. Full Faith and Credit Clause
of the United States Constitution (1789)
“Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every
other state. And the Congress may by general laws
prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and
proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.”

60. Interstate Recognition
● The authority and validity of a notarized document have been honored in
America for nearly four centuries.
● The trust tied to a notarized document is critical to both consumers and
businesses, across state lines and abroad, and rests on the idea that:
○ Notarizations are Portable: A duly notarized document is accepted as such essentially
anywhere in the United States without further proof of the notary’s authority; and
○ Notarizations are Durable: A duly notarized document retains its value over time.

61. The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA)
● UETA was approved by the ULC in 1999, giving electronic signatures
related to business, commercial, and government transactions the same
legal effect as traditional handwritten signatures.
○ 47 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam have adopted UETA as of 2018.
● Three states have enacted comparable electronic signature legislation in
lieu of UETA:
○ Washington: Electronic Authentication Act (1997)
○ Illinois: Electronic Commerce Security Act (1999)
○ New York: Electronic Signatures and Records Act (2000)

62. The Electronic Signatures in Global
and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act)
● The E-Sign Act is the legislative complement to UETA, allowing electronic
records to replace paper documents involved in interstate or foreign
commerce that require a written signature, so long as the signer consents.
● UETA and the E-Sign Act only address business, commercial, and
government needs. Neither applies to Wills, Trusts, or a number of other
transactions managed by the courts.
○ Those instances require legislative adoption at the state level.

63. The Uniform Real Property
Electronic Recording Act (URPERA)
● URPERA was created by the ULC in 2004 and authorizes land records
officials to accept, store, and organize electronic real property land records.
○ Equates digital documents and signatures with paper documents and manual signatures.
● URPERA adoption is not required to electronically record real property land
records, but offers a measure of certainty about the legal authority to do so.
○ 31 states, the District of Columbia, and the USVI have adopted URPERA as of 2018.
● URPERA does not require a recording office to accept digital documents.
○ Offices may base their decision on available technology, resources, and market needs.

64. The Revised Uniform Law
on Notarial Acts (RULONA)
● RULONA was created by the ULC in 2010 to provide requirements and
provisions to perform notarial acts using electronic records and signatures.
● RULONA was updated in 2018 to further recognize electronic notarial acts
and put them on a par with notarial acts performed on tangible media.
○ The new amendments allow notaries public to conduct remote online notarizations through
identity-proofing and audio-video communication technologies.

65. According to the Property Records
Industry Association (PRIA)
The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA)
+
The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act)
+
The Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act (URPERA)
=
“... a basic legal foundation for notaries to utilize an electronic
signature and seal when notarizing an electronic document.”
-- PRIA Position Statement on Electronic and Remote Notary

66. Let’s address the in the room

67. There’s a perception that your state
must pass a RON bill before you can
get a document remotely notarized.

68. “I’m excited for my state to
pass RON so I can finally
do business online.”
OR
“My state hasn’t
introduced a bill, so this
stuff isn’t relevant to me.”
We hear from folks all the time who say:

69. You can use RON today in a state
that doesn’t have a RON bill
RON bills only apply to notaries
Notarizations are portable and durable
⇩
⇩
All you need is a county clerk
that will accept eRecordings*
* If your notarizations are for home
closings, you will also need an underwriter
that is willing to insure the transaction.

70. As of May 2019, only half the
jurisdictions in the United States
accept eRecorded documents

71. but those jurisdictions account for
85% of the U.S. population

72. That being said…
Always check with your intended recipient to
confirm they are able to accept electronically
signed and notarized documents.

73. Remote online notarization offers a safer,
simpler, more convenient notary process
that’s built for the 21st century.
Want to learn more? Visit notarize.com/

74. FREE EBOOK
The Complete Guide to
Remote Online
Notarization
How New Laws, Technologies, and Consumer Demand
Are Reshaping the Notarial Act and the Future of Trust
in the Digital Age
Grab your FREE COPY 👉👉 notarize.com/book