Section 4: Identity Confirmation Requirements

A Principal or witness’s identity must be confirmed by the Online Notary Public. This can be done by the Notary having personal knowledge of the participants. If the Online Notary Public does not have personal knowledge, there is an identity proofing process that must be adhered to. This process has 3 parts:

Identity proofing
Credential analysis
Visual inspection

Identity proofing is the process where the Principal must answer questions that only he/she is likely to know. They are asked 5 or more questions, each having at least 5 possible answers. The Principal must correctly answer at least 4 of the questions within a 2-minute time window. If the person fails, they may have a second chance, again with 5 questions where at least 3 of them are new questions. If the person fails a second time, the notarization session cannot continue. A RON Service Provider performs this task for the Online Notary Public using public or proprietary data sources.

Credential analysis is when a government-issued ID is verified as authentic. The Principal must provide a clear electronic copy (photo or scan) of their ID. The ID is analyzed to determine its authenticity. Again, a RON Service Provider normally performs this task for the Online Notary Public.

Lastly, assuming that the identity proofing and credential analysis have been successful, the final step is visual inspection. This is where the Online Notary Public inspects the photo on the government-issued ID and determines if the person on the AV session is the same.

The requirements for identity confirmation may be updated as technology continues to improve.