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AZ Administrative Rules (2022)

Rule/Regulation

State: Arizona

Effective: April 24, 2022

Summary
The Secretary of State has adopted amended remote notarization rules to support the implementation of Senate Bill 1115 of 2021.
Affects
Amends Rules R2-12-1201, R2-12-1203, R2-12-1301, R2-12-1204, R2-12-1307, and R2-12-308, and adds new Rule R2-12-1309 to the Arizona Administrative Code.

Changes

Definitions

  1. Defines “credential analysis” to mean a process or service that meets the standards established under R2-12-1305 through which a third person affirms the validity of an identification credential through review of public or private data sources.
  2. Defines “electronic” to mean information that is created, generated, sent, communicated, received or stored by electronic means.
  3. Defines "electronic seal" to mean an electronic image that contains information attached to or logically associated with an electronic record and that contains the words “notary public”, the name of the county in which the notary public is commissioned, the Notary Public’s name as it appears on the notarial commission, the commission number and the expiration date of the notarial commission.
  4. Defines “identity proofing” to mean a process or service that meets the standards established under R2-12-1305 through which a third person affirms the identity of a remotely located individual by a review of personal information from public or private data sources.
  5. Defines “remote online notarization” or “remote online notarial act” to mean a notarial act performed by means of communication technology.
  6. Defines “remote presentation” to mean transmission to a notary public through communication technology of an image of a remotely located individual's identification credential that is of sufficient quality to enable the notary public to reasonably identify the remotely located individual and to perform credential analysis.

Electronic Journal of Remote Notarial Acts

  1. Requires a Notary to record each remote online notarial act performed by the Notary in chronological order in one or more journals maintained in a permanent, tamper-evident electronic format, and expressly prohibits a Notary from recording a remote online notarial act in a paper journal.
  2. Specifies the following entries that must be recorded in the electronic journal for each remote notarization: (a) the date and time of the notarial act; (b) a description of the record, if any, and type of notarial act; (c) the full name and address of each individual for whom the remote online notarial act is performed; (d) if the identity of the individual is based on personal knowledge, a statement to that effect; (e) if the identity of the individual is based on credential analysis and identity proofing, a brief description of the results of the identity verification process and the identification credential presented, including the date of issuance and expiration of the identification credential but not its serial or identification number; (f) if the identity of the individual is based on an oath or affirmation of a credible witness, the information required by (c), (d) and (e) above with respect to the credible witness; and (g) a fee, if any, charged by the notary public.
  3. Clarifies that the electronic journal kept by the Notary and the audio and visual recording are subject to A.R.S. § 41-319, relating to public records.

Other Changes

  1. Makes pointer reference changes to the new statutes cited in the amended rules.
Analysis

In its adopted amended rules, the Secretary of State modifies a few definitions, adds new requirements related to a Notary’s records of a remote online notarial act, and makes numerous pointer reference changes to the new statutes that will take effect when Senate Bill 1115 of 2021 takes effect on June 30, 2022. Since the changes to remote online notarization by Senate Bill 1115 were not substantive, most of the rules that were already in place to support Arizona’s prior remote notarization statutes were not changed.

Read the adopted amended administrative rules (see pages 719-724).

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