Technology has changed how business is conducted. Our society now conducts many business transactions online, whether it is accessing a bank account, signing a contract, or making a purchase. These transactions may occur at any time of the day, on any day of the week, from almost any location in the world. To support this business environment, Notaries Public must move beyond traditional requirements of performing a notarization in the physical presence of a person.

Remote Online Notarization (RON), also referred to as Online Notarization, utilizes audio-visual (AV) technology allowing the Online Notary Public, the Principal (the person signing the document), and any witnesses to be in each other’s presence. They no longer have to be physically in the same room.

There are many benefits to RON. By allowing the Online Notary Public, the Principal, and any witnesses to access the notarization session via the internet, it simplifies scheduling for all the participants. The Online Notary Public must be in the state at the time of the notarization session; however, the Principal and witnesses may be located outside of the state. The notarization session may take place at any time that is convenient for all parties, including evenings and weekends. Further, fraudulent identities are more easily exposed with the RON identity authorization process, resulting in a reduced number of identity errors.

The document being notarized does not have to be used in the state that the Online Notary Public is in. Due to interstate recognition practices, a document that was notarized remotely may be used in other states, just like a traditional notarization. So, for example, the Online Notary Public can be in Florida, the Principal in California, and the witness in Oregon, for a document that will be used in Texas.

All rules for a Notary Public apply to a RON, along with a few new rules.

This course does not cover material for becoming a “traditional” Notary Public. Rather, it discusses the requirements to become an Online Notary Public, requirements for recording an online notarization session, the procedure for conducting an online notarization, what a RON Service Provider is, and what services they provide.