The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bipartisan bill concerning remote and electronic notarization called the “Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization Act of 2022” or the ‘‘SECURE Notarization Act of 2022” (the “Act”).
The Act, if signed into law, would authorize the use of remote online notarization (RON), and it would set forth national standards for its use. It would also create a federal statute to codify the interstate recognition of notarial acts. While 41 states have adopted RON law, this Act would expand RON to all 50 states, Washington D.C., and the U.S. territories and would give states the freedom to still put in place their own RON standards.
This Act would allow a notary public commissioned under state law to remotely notarize electronic records and perform notarizations for remotely located individuals. The Act outlines technical requirements including creating and retaining audio and visual recordings of the performance of the notarization. Additionally, the Act would require U.S. courts and states to recognize notarizations—including remote notarizations of electronic records and notarizations of remotely-located individuals—that occur in or affect interstate commerce and are performed by a notary public commissioned under the laws of other states.
This type of legislation has been deemed crucial now that online access impacts so many areas of life, especially after the Pandemic. If the Act becomes law, consumers will have a convenient way to secure documents. The legislation will now be reviewed by the Senate.
To see the full text of the SECURE Notarization Act of 2022 (H.R. 3962), please visit this link.