e-notarizations information
Each state has different standards for e-notarizations. Please remember that e-documents and e-signings are completely different from e-notarizations. Here are some points about e-notarizations that are interesting.
(1) To do e-notarizations you need a special authorization from your state, and not all states allow this. The rules are completely different for e-notarizations and the types of documents you can notarize are limited as well.
(2) LindaH in our forum stated on 1-05-10 that the NNA is no longer supporting the ENS program (Electronic Notary Signature). There were technical challenges offering that particular technological product. There are no unified standards for e-notarizations which was part of the problem.
(3) ENJOA is an electronic journal. e-Notarizations require the use of an electronic journal and can not be completed with a regular journal. e-signings use a regular journal by the way.
(4) BobbiCT claims that in Connecticut that multiple documents can serve as “originals”. He states that physical documents can be scanned and used as electronic documents that receive an e-notarization.
(5) Many states do not allow a recorded document to have an e-notarization. Recorded documents are often documents effecting real property which is too critical to risk security issues relateing to e-notarizations.
(6) Its common for states to set up e-notarization legislation years before the first e-notarization is completed and years before the first e-notary is appointed in their state. States are thinking ahead. The problem is there can be many bugs in the new systems that are in place which make e-notarizations potentially less secure than “brick and morter” notarizations.
(7) Biometrics can be used on e-signatures on e-notarizations to record the speed of the various strokes involved in a signature. This is one excellent way to deter fraud. Its easy to forge a signature, but no fraud would be able to figure out what the speed of each stroke of the signature would be for a particular individual. There are too many strokes involved.
(8) An e-journal is required for all e-notarization acts. To get an e-journal, you would need to set up an account with a company who provides an e-journal system. You would probably need a login and password to use your journal, and god forbid if the server went down.
(9) 123notary doesn’t know of any particular notaries who have done an actual e-notarization. It sounds like fun though.
(10) LindaH claims that many borrowers she had talked to would not be thrilled if they were asked to be involved in an e-notarization.
(11) LindaH claims that its the state governments that are not prepared to handle e-signatures.
(12) Perhaps private industry and title companies might be ready, but if the county recorders can’t handle e-notarizations, then they can’t be used for recorded documents such as deeds, etc.
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The pros and cons of eNotarizations
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Which states allow e-notarizations?
What states allow e-notarizations or e-notaries?
The status of being an electronic notary is a very new and very misunderstood profession or office. To be an e-Notary, so you can do e-Notarizations, is often a completely different type of commission in many states. Another fact to understand is that e-Notarizations can not (or can not always) be done for Deeds or other documents that effect real property. The biggest issue that bothers notaries about e-Notarizations is that the signer doesn’t always have to appear before the notary to receive an e-Notarization. The first time a signer is notarized, they should appear before the notary, but in some states, the subsequent e-notarizations may or may not require physical presence.
e-Notarizations require the use of an electronic journal (ENJOA). The signature of the signer would go in that journal.
An e-signing is normally done with a physical journal and done in the presence of a notary public. The documents might be signed online, or at least most of them signed online. However, the signer woudl still appear before the notary public and sign a physical journal of notarial acts.
Here are the states that currently allow e-notarizations. The rules for e-Notarizations might be very different from state to state.
California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.