An e-notary is a commissioned notary public who notarizes documents electronically, using a digital signature, an electronic seal, and a secure platform instead of paper, ink, and a rubber stamp. The notary still does the same core job: confirming your identity, making sure you understand what you’re signing, and witnessing the signature. The difference is that everything happens on screen, either in person on a tablet or laptop, or over a live video call with the notary and signer in separate locations. Nearly every state now authorizes some form of electronic notarization.
How an E-Notary Differs From a Traditional Notary
The notary’s duties haven’t changed. What’s changed is the toolkit. Instead of a wet-ink signature and a physical stamp, an e-notary uses an electronic signature, a digital seal, and a digital certificate. That certificate uses cryptography to bind the notary’s signature and seal to the document, so any alteration made afterward is detectable.
E-notarization platforms log every step of the session, which creates an audit trail that is actually harder to falsify than a paper journal. The notary must hold a valid commission in their state, and depending on the state, may need to complete additional training, obtain a digital certificate, and register with the secretary of state before performing electronic notarizations.
The Two Types: In-Person Electronic and Remote Online
Electronic notarization comes in two forms, and the practical difference is whether you’re in the same room as the notary.
In-Person Electronic Notarization (IPEN)
With IPEN, you and the notary meet face to face, just like a traditional notarization. You sign on a screen instead of paper. The notary checks your government-issued photo ID in person, the way they always have. The document, your signature, and the notary’s seal are all electronic, but the meeting is physical.
Remote Online Notarization (RON)
RON is the version that lets you skip the trip. You and the notary connect through a live, two-way audio-video call. You can be in a different city, a different state, or in many cases a different country, while the notary must be physically located in their commissioning state during the session. As of early 2025, roughly 47 states and the District of Columbia had permanent RON laws in place, with the remaining states considering legislation. Because the notary can’t physically examine your ID, RON sessions use stronger identity checks than IPEN.
How a Session Actually Works
The basic flow is similar for both types: prepare the document, verify your identity, sign electronically, and let the notary complete the notarization. RON adds a few extra security layers.
Document Preparation
You upload your document to the platform ahead of time. The platform converts it to a format that supports electronic signatures and seals. Some platforms let you pre-fill fields before the session, which saves time during the appointment.
Identity Verification
For IPEN, the notary examines your photo ID in person. For RON, verification is layered. First, the platform runs credential analysis on your government-issued ID, scanning it for security features like watermarks, holograms, and microprinting to confirm it’s genuine. Then comes knowledge-based authentication (KBA), where the system pulls questions from your credit and public records history that only you should be able to answer. These aren’t questions you set up yourself. They might ask which of four addresses you’ve lived at, or which bank holds a particular account. You typically need to answer four out of five correctly within two minutes. If you fail twice within 24 hours, the session can’t proceed until the next day.
The Signing
Once your identity is confirmed, the notary walks you through the document. During a RON session, the notary watches you sign over the live video feed. You apply your electronic signature, and the notary then applies their digital signature, electronic seal, and completes an electronic journal entry for the transaction. For RON sessions, the entire audio-video interaction is recorded and stored. The finished document comes back to you through the platform or by secure email.
What the Notary Keeps
E-notaries maintain an electronic journal capturing the date and time, the type of notarial act, a description of the document, each signer’s name and address, how identity was verified, and any fee charged. For RON sessions, the audio-video recording is stored as well. Retention requirements are set by state law, with periods of five to ten years common.
Documents You Can and Can’t E-Notarize
Not everything qualifies. The biggest exclusion is wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts. Federal law specifically carves these out: the ESIGN Act’s general rule that electronic records and signatures are legally valid does not apply to documents governed by state laws on creating and executing wills, codicils, or testamentary trusts.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 7003 – Specific Exceptions A will is a unilateral act rather than a transaction between parties, and the potential for fraud or undue influence has kept it under more traditional safeguards. A handful of states have begun allowing electronic wills under tightly controlled conditions, but these remain exceptions. Some states also exclude other specific document types, such as certain court orders or family law documents. Confirm with your state’s secretary of state before scheduling an electronic notarization for an unusual document.
The documents routinely handled by e-notaries cover a wide range: real estate deeds and closing documents, powers of attorney, affidavits, vehicle title transfers, trust agreements other than testamentary trusts, corporate resolutions, loan documents, and custody agreements. Real estate transactions are the single biggest driver of RON adoption.
Legal Validity
An e-notarized document carries the same legal weight as a paper one. The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN Act) established that a signature, contract, or other record cannot be denied legal effect solely because it’s in electronic form.2GovInfo. 15 USC 7001 – General Rule of Validity The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) applies the same principle at the state level, and nearly every state has adopted it or substantially similar legislation. Authority for e-notarization specifically comes from each state’s statutes, which define who can perform electronic notarizations, what technology they must use, and what safeguards are required.
Interstate Recognition
A practical question with RON is whether a notarization performed by a notary in one state will be accepted in another. Usually, yes. Interstate recognition rests on state-level recognition statutes, most of which look to the law of the state where the notarization was performed to determine its validity. If a Virginia-commissioned notary performs a RON that complies with Virginia law, other states with standard recognition statutes will generally accept it. During a RON session, the notary must be physically in their commissioning state, but the signer can typically be anywhere in the United States, and some states even allow signers abroad when the document relates to a U.S. matter. Occasionally, county recorders or title companies that haven’t updated their procedures balk at RON documents, so a call to the receiving office in advance is worth making.
What It Costs
States cap the fee a notary can charge per notarial act, and those caps generally range from $5 to $40 depending on the state. RON sessions often cost more than traditional notarizations because of the technology involved, and many states allow notaries to charge a separate technology or platform fee on top of the base fee. A typical RON session runs roughly $25 to $50 total. That’s competitive with hiring a mobile notary to come to your location, with no scheduling or travel to coordinate.
Some RON platforms bill the signer directly; others bill through the notary. If your notarization is part of a real estate closing or loan signing, the cost is usually bundled into your closing costs and itemized on your settlement statement. For a standalone notarization, you’ll generally pay through the platform at the time of the session.