Notarization Requirements

In order to use the remote notary platform the following is required of the participants.  If the requirements cannot be met, then the remote notarial act cannot be done.

1. Browser MUST be one of the following.  It will not work with any other browser when using on Windows, Mac, or Android.

o Windows or Android - Google Chrome

o Windows - Firefox

o Mac or IPad - Latest Safari 11 or above

2. IF using an IPad it MUST be IOS version 11 or higher with Safari version 11 or higher.  It will not work on any other IOS versions.

3. A camera and microphone on the device that accessible is also by the browser.

4. Permission for the browser to access the camera and microphone.

5. Each signer MUST have their own device.

6. Notary must also vet the signers beforehand to make sure they can pass the ID verification if not personally know to them. See below: What you need to know about ID Verification 

7. High speed Internet access is a must for everyone, and anything but a high speed uninterrupted connection could have adverse effects on both the ID verification and web cam

8. A consistent high speed internet connection.  If it is not consistent, which in most cases may go unnoticed it will affect the overall service.

9. Properly configured Wifi with strong strength, and fast connectivity.  The users Wifi is the one area where it may fail the most as a minimum of 350kb second is required per stream, and with an improper Wifi it is hard to achieve 350kb even though your broadband connection may be high.

With remote notarizations if the person is not personally known to the notary, the notary must have each signer go through the ID Verification as required by the respective state laws.

What do the states require?

State laws usually require that a third party that specializes in ID verification or Knowledge Based Authorization (KBA) to be able to generate at least 5 questions that only that signer knows the answers to, and the signer must answer 4 or more questions correctly within 2 minutes.  The signer can be given a second chance to answer questions again; however, if they fail it a second time the notary is not allowed to continue or perform the remote notarization either for a specific time period or permanently.  Notaries must know the laws of their respective states by visiting their state portals.

What is required of the signer?

Again, by law if the signer cannot or does not pass the ID verification, the notary cannot continue with the remote notarization.  Doing so may make the notary liable or negligent if issues were to arise with the notarization in the future, and it is best practices to be safe than sorry later.

Am I eligible for remote?

The notary must vet each signer, and if the signers do not have the following below, they will not be able to pass the ID verification as the third party providers usually only have data on U.S. citizens only.

o A U.S. Citizen

o A Valid Social Security Number - Even though our system needs the last 4 digits, if the signer doesn't have a SSN number, more likely than not they won't be in any of the credit bureau databases

o A Valid U.S. Driver's License - This is also a requirement in order for the third party to be able to find questions only the signer knows

Note: Passports cannot be verified and do not meet the state requirements

o Credit History - Technically, if they don't have credit history in the U.S., they're not going to pass the ID verification

o Make sure their credit reports aren't locked. Because of the compromises in recent years it may be locked, and if that is the case they will fail.

o A Valid US Mobile Number - VOIP, Google Voice, Cable provided lines, etc. are not accepted, and it MUST be an actual mobile number from a mobile provider