Only six states have passed laws allowing notarizations to be performed via webcam, but that isn’t stopping Notaries elsewhere from the practice. And they are doing so at the request of their employers, according to a recent survey.
The online survey was conducted by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Remote Notarization Working Group, which queried all 81,981 Notaries in the state. They received responses from 14,250 Notaries, or 17.4 percent of the total.
Many Notaries Get Online Notarization Requests
More than 12 percent of the respondents said they have been asked to perform an online notarization in the past year, and nearly half of those were asked three or more times.
Significantly, 257 of those who were asked to perform a webcam notarization did so, even though current Colorado law requires signers to be in the physical presence of the Notary when performing a notarization. Most of those who notarized a signature using a webcam said they did so at the request of their employers.
With webcam or online notarization, the Notary and signer do not have to be in each other’s physical presence at the time of the notarization. The personal appearance requirement is satisfied using audio-video technology via the internet. To date, only Virginia, Texas, Montana, Florida, Nevada and Ohio have enacted laws allowing webcam notarization in any form.
While the survey was conducted in Colorado, the sample size is so large that the results likely paint an accurate picture for the state.
“Because more than 250 Colorado Notaries admitted to notarizing signatures online, we wonder how many Notaries in other states across the nation have performed webcam notarizations at the behest of their employers without the legal authority to do so,” said Bill Anderson, NNA Vice President of Governmental Affairs.
Notaries Split Over Webcam Notarization
The survey results also highlighted mixed views about webcam notarizations:
- 53% said they have no concerns about performing webcam notarizations, while 28% did have concerns;
- 49% favored allowing online notarizations, but 29% did not;
- 46% are interested in offering online notarizations; and
- 68% said there should be limits on how webcam notarizations can be used.
The top concerns mentioned were how to properly identify signers, assess signers’ willingness and awareness, and protect against hacking.
Some of the respondents who said they had no concerns noted that they would only perform webcam notarizations for existing clients.
Michael Lewis is Managing Editor of member publications for the National Notary Association.