One blog commentator writes that online and webcam notarizations are illegal (in many jurisdictions) simply to protect the outdated customers of traditional Notaries. Since many Attorneys are Notaries, this in his opinion is a case of mob rules where the public loses. Hmm. Interesting thought.

Security is another issue. It is hard to know on a webcam if that is the actual person being notarized. People change their hairstyle and sometimes more than one person looks like the same person. As a former Notary, seeing people’s ID is not enough in my opinion. Women change their hair around so much they are often not recognizable.

I would feel more comfortable if Notaries had facial recognition technology so that we could really identify people. It would be like that movie from thirty years ago whose name escapes me where you walk into a store and a computer greets you by name due to the technology. How annoying and invasive. China is becoming like that, but then, they have 1.4 billion people (and counting) to take care of. On a brighter note, I think the urban folks have given up having children.

So, is the growth of online notarizations stifled by mob rule, a lust to preserve traditional practices, or for realistic and reasonable concerns about security?

You might also like:

Why you shouldn’t use an online notary
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22090

eNotary
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21344