Can a RON be conducted in any state?
Yes!
No matter which of the 50 states you call home, your documents can be remotely notarized. The only geographically constrained member of the transaction is the remote online notary themselves. As per the law, the notary must be within the borders of the state in which they are commissioned to perform remote online notarizations during the notarial act.
Remote online notarization permits anyone to get a document signed, verified, and sealed from the comfort of their own home or office. Signers meet a licensed notary online, present their ID and documents, and sign their papers digitally. After that, the notary verifies their identity, signs, and digitally notarizes the document. It all happens securely online with audio-video technology.
A notary conducts a lawful RON if they are physically located within one of the 41 RON enacting states. However, a signer physically located in any state may lawfully access a notary in a RON state to have an online notarization performed.
Where does the notarization have to take place?
The notarial act takes place in the location of the notary. Therefore, the laws of the notary’s commissioning state govern the validity of the notarial act. With RON, the signer’s physical location does not determine the law that applies to the notarial act.
According to RON laws, the requirement for a personal appearance no longer requires a face-to-face meeting with a notary. With RON, the definition of ‘personal appearance’ broadens. Audio-visual technology can satisfy the requirement for face-to-face contact. Physically, a signer can be located in another town, state, or even another country from where the notary is based.
What states have RON laws?
Visit MBA’s RON Adoption Map to see which states have RON laws. It also shows which states are in the progress of adopting RON. Similarly, you can visit your state’s secretary of state’s website to learn more about your state’s RON laws. Notaries must complete training to understand the requirements and legal issues surrounding remote online notarization. eNotaryLog’s trained professionals walk clients through the remote online notarization process, therefore making sure that the notarization follows each notaries state’s laws.
Regarding eNotaryLog’s training and onboarding, paralegal Jennifer Pierce of Balson Faix & McVey LLP stated, “I really appreciate how great you have been during the training and onboarding process! I chose our provider based on the level of customer service/customer support, and I am so happy with the decision. You all are amazing, and the platform is easy to use.”
States that permit RON have stringent requirements for notaries, and the notaries must show the platform they’re using meets the state’s standards for security and identity verification protection. They also maintain an online notary journal or eJournal. Therefore, they report every notarization. The eJournal is part of the eNotaryLog platform and is available to the notary as part of dashboard access. It also includes the ability to download it if needed.
Why use RON?
Remote online notarization adoption continues to progress, with the remaining states actively working through legislation to pass their RON laws. RON platforms like eNotaryLog provide security, speed, fair price, safety, and convenience to organizations and their clients. eNotaryLog follows strict security protocols and uses high-level encryption to guard client privacy. Also, when conducting a remote online notarization, the client can do it in the privacy of their home or office. They don’t have to worry about conducting private business in a public space.
RON is fast and convenient. Businesses and consumers don’t have to ask around or research where to find a physical notary. It can take a lot of time out of their day to find an in-person notary.
Instead, a typical remote online notarization session lasts 15 to 20 minutes. An online notary can take care of the documents, and the signer can get on with their day. Also, using an online notary platform is affordable and cuts down on paper, shipping/mailing, and gas costs.
Remote online notarization is a natural progression in our digital-first world, where everyone expects to conduct business online from anywhere at any time. States recognize that people need a convenient, secure way to submit important documents to professionals for approval. eNotaryLog’s platform does just that. Remote online notarization is as simple as 1, 2, 3. Visit the Notarize Now page to learn more about notarizing your next document online.
