General Information 

Notarization is the official fraud-deterrent process that assures the parties of a transaction that a document is authentic, and can be trusted. It is a three-part process, performed by a Notary Public, that includes of vetting, certifying, and record-keeping. Notarizations are sometimes referred to as "notarial acts."

Above all, notarization is the assurance by a duly appointed and impartial Notary Public that a document is authentic, that its signature is genuine, and that its signer acted without duress or intimidation, and intended the terms of the document to be in full force and effect.

The central value of notarization lies in the Notary's impartial screening of a signer for identity, willingness, and awareness. This screening detects and deters document fraud, and helps protect the personal rights and property of private citizens from forgers, identity thieves, and exploiters of the vulnerable. Every day the process of notarization prevents countless forged, coerced, and incompetent signings that would otherwise overwhelm our court system and dissolve the network of trust allowing our civil society to function.

The Different Notarial Acts

Acknowledgments

An acknowledgment is typically performed on documents controlling or conveying ownership of valuable assets. Such documents include real property deeds, powers of attorney, and trusts. For an acknowledgment, the signer must appear in person at the time of notarization to be positively identified and to declare ("acknowledge") that the signature on the document is his or her own, that it was willingly made, and that the provisions in the document are intended to take effect exactly as written.

Jurats

A jurat is typically performed on evidentiary documents that are critical to the operation of our civil and criminal justice system. Such documents include affidavits, depositions, and interrogatories. For a jurat, the signer must appear in person at the time of notarization to sign the document and to speak aloud an oath or affirmation promising that the statements in the document are true. (An oath is a solemn pledge to a Supreme Being; an affirmation is an equally solemn pledge on one's personal honor.) A person who takes an oath or affirmation in connection with an official proceeding may be prosecuted for perjury should he or she fail to be truthful.

Certified Copies

A copy certification is performed to confirm that a reproduction of an original document is true, exact, and complete. Such originals might include college degrees, passports, and other important one-and-only personal papers that cannot be copy-certified by a public record office such as a Bureau of vital statistics and which the holder must submit for some purpose but does not want to part with for fear of loss. This type of notarization is not an authorized notarial act in every state, and in the jurisdictions where it is authorized, may be executed only with certain kinds of original documents.

Each state and U.S. territorial jurisdiction adopts its own laws governing the performance of notarial acts. While these different notarial laws are largely congruent when it comes to the most common notarizations, namely acknowledgments, and jurats, there are unusual laws in a number of states. In the state of Washington, for example, certification of the occurrence of an act or event is an authorized notarization. In Maine, Florida, and South Carolina, performing a marriage rite is an allowed notarial act.

The Parts of a Notarization

The Notary's screening of the signer for identity, volition, and awareness is the first part of a notarization.

The second part is entering key details of the notarization in the Notary's "journal of notarial acts." Keeping such a chronological journal is a widely endorsed best practice, if not a requirement of law. Some states even require document signers to leave a signature and a thumbprint in the Notary's journal.

The third part is completing a "notarial certificate" that states exactly what facts are being certified by the Notary in the notarization. Affixation of the Notary's signature and seal of office on the certificate climaxes the notarization. The seal is the universally recognized symbol of the Notary office. Its presence gives a notarized document considerable weight in legal matters and renders it genuine on its face (i.e., prima facie evidence) in a court of law.

A Notary Signing Agent is a Notary who has special expertise in handling and notarizing loan papers. For lenders, Notary Signing Agents are the critical final link to complete the loan. A Notary Signing Agent is hired as an independent contractor to ensure that real estate loan documents are executed by the borrower, notarized, and returned for processing on time. Completing this critical part of the loan process enables the loan to be funded.

The responsibilities of a Notary Signing Agent generally include printing loan documents, meeting the signer and notarizing their signature, and quickly returning the documents for processing. NSAs are also responsible for following any additional instructions from the lender, title company, or signing service that hires them for loan closing work. For example, an NSA may be asked to fax back documents right away or use a specific mailing service to return the paperwork safely.

Since Notary Signing Agents have access to private financial information about borrowers and are sent into their client's homes, the mortgage finance industry requires all Signing Agents to undergo a background screening on an annual basis. This helps prevent mortgage fraud and ensures the consumer's information is secure.

The main difference between a mobile Notary and a Notary Signing Agent is the focus of their work. While Notaries encounter a wide variety of documents, Signing Agents specifically handle home loan documents.

Mobile Notaries and Notary Signing Agents are both required to have a traditional Notary commission, but NSAs must also pass a background check and an exam every year. Some states have specific restrictions related to real property documents and may require additional professional licenses.

With remote notarization, a signer personally appears before the Notary at the time of the notarization using audio-visual technology over the internet instead of being physically present in the same room. Remote online notarization is also called webcam notarization, online notarization or virtual notarization.

Is remote notarization the same as electronic notarization?

Many people confuse electronic notarization with remote notarization, believing they are the same. They are not.

Electronic notarization, or eNotarization, involves documents that are notarized in electronic form, and the Notary and document signer sign with an electronic signature. But all other elements of a traditional, paper notarization apply to electronic notarization, including the requirement for the signer to physically appear before the Notary.

The confusion arises from the fact that remote notarizations typically involve digital documents that are signed and notarized electronically. However, they go a step further in that the transaction is conducted online rather than in person.

What states allow remote notarization?

Currently, 43 states have passed remote notarization laws. Those states include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Identification of the signer

Both traditional and in-person electronic notarization use the same methods for identifying signers. The signer must personally know or present satisfactory proof of identity to the Notary, typically an identification document such as a driver’s license or one or more credible witnesses who know the signer personally and can vouch for the signer’s identity, following the requirements of state Notary laws.

Remote online notarization requires signers to be identified through a combination of at least 2 identity verification methods that are tailored for the remote environment.  Examples include knowledge-based authentication (KBA) where the signer must answer questions correctly about their credit history and background; credential analysis, where the signer’s ID is checked using an automated process to confirm the ID is genuine; remote presentation, where the signer presents ID to the Notary on camera so the Notary can read the information, biometrics, or a public key certificate.

For remote notarizations on electronic documents, the customer signs the electronic document with an electronic signature. The Notary then signs the notarial certificate with an electronic signature and affixes their electronic seal.