HB 1803 Summary

• Codifies provisions of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (2018) to authorize notaries public to perform notarial acts on electronic documents with electronic signatures and seals without physical presence of the parties, provided they can communicate simultaneously by sight and sound via communication technology.

• Establishes a remote online notary (RON) endorsement program requiring notaries to obtain attorney general approval, use approved communication technology, verify identity through personal knowledge or at least two identity proofing methods, and create audio-visual recordings of remote notarial acts.

• Expands definitions and procedures to address electronic documents, electronic signatures, and electronic seals; requires notaries to maintain journals (tangible or electronic) chronicling all notarial acts for ten years.

• Increases notary fees including a new $25 fee for remote notarial acts and allows attorney general to charge electronic processing service fees up to ten percent of transaction amounts.

• Modifies identity verification standards and certification requirements for both in-person and remote notarial acts, and permits registrars of conveyances to accept tangible copies of electronic documents with notarial certificates; effective July 1, 2050.