More than 45 states and the District of Columbia are states that allow remote online notarization under permanent law. Virginia opened the door in 2012, and the pandemic years pushed most of the country to follow.1Virginia Legislative Information System (LIS). 2012 Session SB270ER – An Act Relating to Notaries If you live in one of the few holdouts, you can usually still get a document notarized online by using a notary commissioned in a state that permits it, because the notarization is governed by the notary’s state rather than yours.
The States With Permanent RON Laws
These states and the District of Columbia have enacted permanent legislation authorizing their commissioned notaries to perform remote online notarizations:
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Many of these states modeled their statutes on the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, a template the Uniform Law Commission published in 2018. Each state still sets its own rules for identity verification, video recording, electronic signatures, and platform security, so what works in Florida does not necessarily look identical to what works in New York.
The States Without Permanent RON Laws
As of early 2026, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi are the primary states without permanent RON legislation. Georgia and Mississippi have both introduced bills to authorize it. Alabama allows a related process called remote ink notarization, which uses video technology but still requires a wet-ink signature rather than an electronic one.
California is a special case. The state passed SB 696 in September 2023, creating the Online Notarization Act and authorizing California notaries to perform RON.2California Secretary of State. Customer Alerts But the core provisions do not take effect until the Secretary of State completes a technology project needed to support the system, or January 1, 2030, whichever comes first.3California Legislative Information. Bill Text – SB-696 Notaries Public Until that project is certified complete, California notaries cannot perform remote online notarizations. California residents can still use a remote notary commissioned in any state that has already implemented its RON law.
Using a Notary Commissioned in Another State
Your own location does not control which state’s notary you can use. The legal framework applies based on where the notary holds their commission and where the notary is physically located during the session. A Florida-commissioned notary performing the session from Florida is operating under Florida law, whether the signer is sitting in Georgia, Alabama, or somewhere overseas.
This is the practical answer for anyone in a state that has not authorized RON. If you are in Mississippi and need a document notarized remotely, you can use a notary commissioned in any of the 46 states with permanent RON laws. The U.S. Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause requires each state to honor the public acts of every other state.4Legal Information Institute. U.S. Constitution Article IV The clause refers to “public acts, records, and judicial proceedings” and does not name notarial acts specifically, but interstate recognition of notarizations is well established in practice. The exceptions tend to involve real property or court filings with strict local requirements, where a receiving party may push back on an out-of-state RON.
Document Types That May Not Qualify
A state having a RON law does not mean every document can be notarized remotely there. Wills and codicils draw the most restrictions. Several states either prohibit remote notarization for these instruments or add requirements such as attorney supervision and remote witness participation. Some powers of attorney face restrictions as well, depending on the state.
Connecticut’s RON law excludes real estate closings unless the notarization is conducted by an attorney licensed in the state. If you need a document notarized for a real estate transaction in Connecticut, a standard RON platform will not satisfy that requirement.
Separately, the receiving party matters. Courts, government agencies, and title companies sometimes have their own policies about whether they accept remotely notarized documents, even when the notarization is legally valid in the state where it was performed. If a specific institution is going to receive the document, confirm with them in advance that they will accept a RON-completed version.
Remote Witnessing for Estate Documents
Some documents, particularly wills, need witnesses in addition to a notary. Several states allow witnesses to participate in a RON session through the same audio-visual technology. Where it is permitted, the signer, witnesses, notary, and sometimes a supervising attorney typically must all see and hear each other in real time. The signer may also need to show their surroundings on camera to confirm who else is physically present in the room.
Signers Located Outside the United States
Many state RON laws explicitly allow notaries to serve signers who are abroad, provided certain conditions are met. The notary usually cannot proceed if they have actual knowledge that remote notarization is prohibited in the country where the signer is located. Most states also require that the document relate to a matter filed with a U.S. court or government entity, involve property located in the United States, or pertain to a transaction with a substantial connection to the country.
U.S. embassies and consulates do not offer remote or virtual notarial services. If you want notarization through an embassy, you must appear in person.5Travel.State.Gov. Notarial and Authentication Services at U.S. Embassies and Consulates Using a U.S.-based RON notary from abroad is the main alternative, though you should verify that both the notary’s state law and the foreign country’s rules permit it.
If the notarized document will be used in a foreign country, you may also need an apostille, which is a certificate issued by the notary’s state (usually the Secretary of State’s office) that validates the notary’s seal for international use. Apostilles apply when the destination country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. For countries outside the convention, a longer chain of authentication certificates from multiple government agencies is required. The notary does not handle this step. You request the apostille directly from the appropriate state office after the notarization is complete.
What You Need to Complete a Session
The requirements on your end are modest:
- A current, unexpired government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, state ID card, or U.S. passport. The platform’s credential analysis checks for validity.
- Your document in digital format, usually a PDF, uploaded to the notary’s platform before the session begins.
- A device with a working camera and microphone. A computer, tablet, or smartphone works, as long as the image is clear and the audio is clean.
- A stable internet connection. A dropped video feed can void the recording and force you to start over.
Identity verification happens in two parts during the session. First, you answer knowledge-based authentication questions generated from third-party databases, pulling from credit history and public records. Second, you photograph your ID and the platform runs credential analysis to check the document for signs of tampering and match it against the information you provided. Once your identity is confirmed, you apply an electronic signature, the notary attaches an electronic seal and digital certificate, and the video session is recorded and stored under the retention rules of the notary’s state, which in most places require at least ten years in a secure, encrypted format.