Remote online notarization services (RON) is a process followed by a state-licensed notary public that notarizes a document remotely through the audio-visual and electronic notarial journal, electronic signature, identity verification, and record-keeping methods.
- The convenience of RON is evident to anyone who has had to find a public notary office and visit them to sign a document. The RON service offers many benefits that paper-based or in-person services can’t provide, like:
- Increased access to notarial services
- Security and enforceability
- Reduced risk of identity fraud
People have become accustomed to digital convenience after the millennial generation and the rise of e-signatures, and find the paperwork extremely frustrating. Nowadays, everyone has adapted to the digital world as it is more efficient and effective than traditional methods.
These online services and technologies enable notary officials to notarize efficiently while saving travel and time for the general public, parties involved, and themselves too. It is better and more convenient for the notary official and the signer to conduct a notarial act on their phones rather than meet physically.
General criteria for performing RON?
In today’s time, almost every state is authorizing remote online notary transactions. The criteria for performing RON are different for different forms, but majorly, the legislation and execution include the mandates:
- Notary registration with the state
- Utilization of audio-visual communication technology
- Use of credential analysis technology to verify ID issued by the government
- Application of e-signatures and seals
- Adherence to common data privacy principles
What are the benefits of using online notarization services?
Remote online notarization services provide various benefits, which include:
1. Convenience and increased access: With this digital system, notaries do not need to meet in person at a location to give notarial services. It makes the process accessible to those who lack basic amenities like transportation or live in remote areas, have busy schedules, have health issues, or are confined to their homes.
2. Fraud minimization: Notarization ensures that the person signing a document is actually who they say they are. Online notarization makes it authentic by using established techniques which include:
- Identity verification: In this, the person who has to sign has to provide a government-issued ID to the camera on their phone. The RON solution confirms the ID’s visual, cryptographic, and physical security.
- Knowledge-based authentication (KBA): The person has to go through a set of questions from their background, which are again verified by the computer database. Signers must correctly answer several questions from their background, which are then checked from the computer database. It ensures another layer of identification of the person’s identity before proceeding forward.
3. Security and enforceability: RON uses a few extra security elements to help demonstrate the authenticity of a document that has been signed and notarized.
- Tamper-evident seal: Authorities can check a document that has been notarized using RON using an automatically created digital seal to see whether it has been altered.
- Entire audit trail: The electronic journal and audio-visual recording indicate a completed notarial act.
Conclusion
The article clearly states that there are plenty of advantages of online notarization services over traditional brick-and-mortar notary options. An online notarization service is the most suitable and reliable method to perform notarizations in the comfort of one’s home or office instead of scheduling meetings with a courthouse. The online option also comes with low fees, quick and convenient support, multilingual features and ensures high security.
About The Author
Nicole Hinton
Nicole is a freelancer & passionate blogger. She has 4+ years of experience in digital marketing and specialize in content writing, content marketing and organic search engine optimization. She has worked with many brands from Canada as well as the USA. Currently, she manages content marketing team of freelancers and doing their business efficiently.
