The Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, known as RULONA, is a model statute drafted by the Uniform Law Commission in 2010 to modernize how notaries operate and to bring consistency across state lines.1Uniform Law Commission. National Support for the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts 2018 It replaced the 1982 Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, which predated electronic documents and remote transactions. RULONA sets rules for how a notary verifies identity, which acts a notary may perform, what the certificate and seal must contain, how records are kept, and when a notary must refuse. The ULC added provisions for remote online notarization in 2018. RULONA is a template, not a federal law: it takes effect only when a state legislature enacts its own version, and each state tailors details like fee caps and bond amounts.
What a Notary Can Do Under RULONA
RULONA authorizes six categories of notarial acts.2Pennsylvania Department of State. Pennsylvania Code 57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3 – Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts The most common is an acknowledgment, where the signer appears before the notary and confirms a signature was made voluntarily. Real estate deeds and powers of attorney typically use this form. A notary can also administer oaths and affirmations, both of which carry the same legal weight; the difference is religious. A verification on oath or affirmation is a sworn statement that the contents of a document are true, which is how affidavits work. A notary can witness or attest a signature made in the notary’s presence, certify that a copy matches an original, and note the protest of a negotiable instrument that was presented for payment and dishonored.
Copy certification has an important limit. A notary cannot make a certified copy of a birth, marriage, or death certificate. Only the government office that holds the original vital record has that authority. A notary can, however, notarize your signature on a request form you send to the issuing agency.
Who Must Appear and How Identity Is Verified
Personal appearance is the backbone of notarization. The person whose signature is being notarized must appear before the notary at the time of the act, either signing in the notary’s presence or acknowledging to the notary that the signature is theirs. The 2018 amendments carved out a regulated exception for remote online notarization, discussed further down.
RULONA accepts three methods of identifying a signer, from strongest to weakest.3Pennsylvania Department of State. Pennsylvania Code 57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3 – Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts – Section: 307 Identification of Individual The first is personal knowledge, which means the notary knows the signer well enough through past dealings to be reasonably certain of identity. A single prior meeting is not enough. The second is a current, unexpired government-issued ID, usually a passport, driver’s license, or non-driver state ID. The notary can request additional credentials if something looks wrong. The third is a credible witness: if the signer has no acceptable ID, a witness who is personally known to the notary, or who presents valid government ID, can vouch for the signer under oath. Witnesses cannot be stacked; a witness cannot be vouched for by another witness.4Maine State Legislature. Maine Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts 2018
Birth certificates do not work as ID for notarization. They have no photograph and no current signature, and some states explicitly prohibit their use.
When a Notary Must or May Refuse
A notary cannot act on a document in which the notary or the notary’s spouse has a direct financial interest. An act performed despite a conflict of interest is voidable, meaning a court can throw it out on challenge.5Pennsylvania Department of State. Pennsylvania Code 57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3 – Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts – Section: 304 Authority to Perform Notarial Act There are sensible carve-outs. A notary employed by a company that is party to a transaction can still notarize as long as the notary gains no benefit beyond ordinary compensation, and owning stock in a publicly traded company involved in the deal is not a disqualifying interest.
RULONA also lets a notary refuse when something feels off: the signer appears mentally incompetent, the signature does not seem to match the ID, the signer’s appearance does not match the photo, or the signature does not look voluntary.6Pennsylvania Department of State. Pennsylvania Code 57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3 – Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts – Section: 308 Authority to Refuse to Perform Notarial Act This discretion is one of the law’s main fraud-prevention tools, particularly in situations where an elderly signer is accompanied by a family member doing the talking.
A notary commission is not a license to practice law. Unless the notary is also an attorney, RULONA prohibits drafting legal documents, giving legal advice, and acting as an immigration consultant. Notaries who advertise their services must typically include a disclaimer that they are not licensed to practice law. The law also bars using the Spanish term “notario público” in advertising, because in many Latin American countries that title identifies a licensed attorney, and the confusion has been used to defraud immigrants.
The Certificate, Seal, and Journal
Every notarial act is recorded on a certificate attached to the document. RULONA requires the certificate to show the notary’s signature as it appears on the commission, the date of the act, the county and state where it was performed, the notary’s title of office, and the commission expiration date.7Pennsylvania Department of State. Pennsylvania Code 57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3 – Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts – Section: 315 Certificate of Notarial Act For paper documents, the notary also affixes an official stamp near the signature. The stamp must be reproducible by a photocopier, so embossed-only seals that do not show up on copies do not meet the requirement; Colorado, for example, prohibits seal embossers.8Colorado Secretary of State. Colorado Revised Statutes Part 5 – Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts – Section: 24-21-517 Official Stamp For electronic documents, the stamp information can be logically associated with the record rather than physically affixed.
Notaries must also keep a chronological journal of every act, recording the date and time, the type of act, the type of document, and the name and address of the signer. Electronic journals must be tamper-evident. The journal is a legal record, and courts rely on it to reconstruct a transaction if the document is later challenged. Retention periods vary by state, but most require several years after the final entry.
When a commission ends, whether through expiration, revocation, resignation, or death, RULONA states generally require the journal to be deposited with a designated government office within 30 to 90 days. The receiving office varies: Secretary of State, county clerk, or county recorder, depending on the state. If the notary dies, the personal representative or next of kin takes on the duty. Failing to transfer records properly can bring administrative penalties.
What Happens If There’s a Mistake
RULONA takes a substantial-compliance approach to technical errors. If a notary forgets to include something small, like the commission expiration date, the act is not automatically void. A notary’s failure to meet a specific procedural requirement does not invalidate the act, with one exception: an act performed despite a conflict of interest remains voidable.9Pennsylvania Department of State. Pennsylvania Code 57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3 – Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts – Section: 326 Validity of Notarial Acts This provision keeps real estate closings and estate plans from unraveling over small clerical issues. Someone with a legitimate complaint about the underlying document can still challenge it on other grounds; the rule only prevents a missing stamp detail from undoing an otherwise valid transaction.
Cross-State and Remote Recognition
A notarial act performed in one state has the same legal effect in another, as long as it was valid where it was performed. RULONA extends the same recognition to acts performed under federal authority and by officials of federally recognized Indian tribes, and to properly authenticated acts from foreign countries. You generally do not need a document re-notarized just because you move or do business across state lines.
The 2018 amendments added remote online notarization, which lets a notary serve a signer who is not in the room. The notary and signer connect by live audio-video, and the session is recorded.1Uniform Law Commission. National Support for the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts 2018 Identity verification is tougher than for an in-person act: the signer must pass at least two different forms of identity proofing, typically credential analysis of a government ID shown on camera plus knowledge-based authentication drawn from credit history or public records, with a short time limit to prevent lookup.10New Mexico Legislature. New Mexico RULONA Article 14A – Remote Notarization
Remote online notarization (RON) is not the same as remote ink-signed notarization (RIN), a weaker process some states permitted temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic. In RIN, the signer uses pen and paper on video, then mails or transmits the document to the notary for stamping, which creates chain-of-custody problems because the document leaves the signer’s hands before the certificate is completed. RON keeps the whole process within a single tamper-evident electronic platform, which is why most states with permanent remote rules have chosen it.
Becoming a Notary Under RULONA
RULONA sets baseline qualifications that each adopting state builds on.11Pennsylvania Department of State. Pennsylvania Draft Rulemaking 16-61 – Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts An applicant must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident, and either live in the commissioning state or maintain a place of employment there.12Colorado Secretary of State. Summary of Changes – Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts RULONA The applicant must read and write English. Many states require a training course and a passing exam; Pennsylvania, for example, requires a three-hour course for new applicants. A prior finding of fraud or dishonesty, or a revoked commission in another state, can disqualify an applicant. Filing fees typically run from $15 to $60, and commission terms commonly run four years.
Roughly 30 states also require a surety bond before issuing a commission. The bond protects the public, not the notary: if a notary’s error or misconduct causes harm, the injured person can file a claim against the bond, and the notary then has to repay the bonding company. Amounts range from $500 to $50,000, with $10,000 common; some states require higher bonds, sometimes $25,000 or $30,000, for notaries who perform remote online notarizations. A bond is not insurance. If a claim exceeds the bond amount, the notary is personally liable. Errors and omissions insurance is a separate purchase that covers defense costs and payouts up to the policy limit without repayment.
Fee caps on standard in-person acts range from as low as $2 to as high as $30 across states that set statutory limits, with most in the $5 to $10 range. About a dozen states set no maximum. Remote online fees are generally higher, and many states allow separate charges for travel and technology on top of the per-act fee.
A commissioning authority, usually the Secretary of State, can deny, suspend, or revoke a commission for violations, and states authorize administrative fines. Pennsylvania sets its penalty at up to $1,000 per violation.13Pennsylvania Department of State. Pennsylvania Code 57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3 – Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts – Section: 323 Sanctions Performing notarial acts without a valid commission or using the commission to facilitate fraud can also carry criminal penalties under state law. Common grounds for discipline include conflict-of-interest acts, failure to maintain journals, fraudulent conduct, and acting while a commission is expired or suspended.
Which States Have Adopted It
Because RULONA is a model act, it only applies where a state has enacted it. Adopting jurisdictions include Pennsylvania, Colorado, Washington, Maine, New Mexico, and North Dakota, among others. Each enactment tracks the model’s structure but tunes specific numbers and procedures, so a notary’s exact duties and limits depend on the law of the state where the commission is issued. If you are reviewing a notarized document, or preparing to become a notary, the controlling text is your state’s version of RULONA rather than the model act itself.