SB20-096 Summary

• Authorizes Colorado notaries to perform notarial acts using real-time audio-video communication for remotely located individuals, with data privacy as a key requirement.

• Notaries performing remote notarizations must be located in Colorado, verify the individual's identity through personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence (including government-issued credentials and knowledge-based authentication), and complete the act in a single real-time session.

• Remote notarization systems must require secure authentication procedures, enable identity verification, confirm all parties are viewing the same record, and prohibit providers from using personal information except as necessary to facilitate the notarial act or comply with law.

• Audio-video recordings of remote notarizations require prior disclosure to and explicit consent from the individual, must be stored securely per Secretary of State rules, and cannot be admitted in court proceedings except as specifically allowed.

• Appropriates $132,795 to the Department of State for 2020-21 to implement the law, including additional staff and information technology resources; prohibits remote notarization of wills, electoral documents, and certain other records.