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New requirements, RON on the horizon for Illinois Notaries

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Updated 6-29-23. For more recent and in-depth information on the new Illinois policies, check out How Illinois enacted its sweeping new Notary laws.

Updated 12-10-21. Illinois Notaries can expect some big changes, from keeping a journal and registering to perform RONs, to an increase in the fees they can charge and more when a new law takes effect. Below, we dive into the changes to come under Senate Bill 2664. The law will take effect when the Secretary of State publishes a notice that administrative rules to implement the law have been filed, or on January 1, 2022, whichever is later. Since a notice that rules have been adopted has not yet been filed, the effective date will be sometime after January 1, 2022. The NNA will update this article when the rules are published and will alert Illinois Notaries when we confirm the exact effective date.

Commission qualifications

Minor tweaks to the qualifications for a Notary commission will go into effect under the new law. Applicants must "be proficient in English" and not have had a "prior commission revocation or suspension due to a finding or decision by the Secretary of State."

Journal and itemized receipts

Keeping a journal once was a best practice in Illinois. Under the new law, Notaries will be required to keep a journal regardless if they charge fees. More than one journal may be used, and a journal can be paper or electronic.

Notaries who charge fees will be required to provide itemized receipts to signers that contain the amount charged. Itemized receipts can provide important evidence that a Notary followed the law in charging and collecting fees for notarial acts. The journal you choose to use may already include receipts, but if not, purchasing and using a receipt book is an easy way to keep your records organized. Fees for notarial acts must be listed separately from any other charges when the law takes effect.

Remote notarization

The new law will authorize Illinois Notaries to perform remote notarizations of both paper and electronic documents. If you have a Notary commission you'll be able to perform remote ink-signed notarizations (RIN) on paper documents without registering to become an electronic Notary. Notaries interested in offering remote online notarization services on electronic documents must complete a course of study, pass an exam, and obtain a $25,000 surety bond. There will be two types of commissions — a traditional Notary Public commission and Electronic Notary Public commission — but an applicant may apply for both at the same time.

You can find more information on becoming a remote online Notary in Illinois in this guide.

Bond for remote notarial acts

Current Notaries applying to perform remote online notarizations will need a higher bond than the $5,000 bond they hold for performing traditional notarizations. The bond for remote online notarizations will be $25,000. Notaries can choose to have a $5,000 bond for their Notary commission and a $25,000 bond for their electronic Notary commission, or combine the two into a single bond of $30,000.

Training and exam

The new law authorizes the Secretary of State to require applicants for both a Notary and electronic Notary commission to take a course of study approved by the Secretary of State and pass an exam. We will update this article when the Secretary of State adopts rules on the education and exam requirements. Until then, please refer to our analysis of SB 2664 for any questions you may have.

Digital Certificate, eSeal

For remote online notarizations, Notaries must obtain a digital certificate and an electronic seal (eSeal). The eSeal must include the following elements:

  • Notary Public's name
  • Commission number
  • Jurisdiction
  • Commission expiration date

Electronic seals must resemble your traditional Notary seal and be immediately perceptible and reproducible.

Increased Notary fees

Notaries can start charging $5 per paper notarization when the new law takes effect. Remote Notaries will be able to charge up to $25 per electronic notarization. A Notary can charge a reasonable fee to recover any cost of providing a copy of a journal entry or audio-video recording. Remember to provide signers with an itemized receipt every time you charge a fee.

Coming July 1, 2022

While the effective date for most of Senate Bill 2664 is not yet known, the application fee for a traditional Notary Public commission will increase to $15 on July 1, 2022. Notaries wishing to perform remote online notarizations must pay a separate $25 fee as part of the commissioning process.

Rachel Fraser is the Content Marketing Specialist at the National Notary Association.

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29 Comments

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Michael G Meyers

27 Dec 2023

Why has the Remote Online Notary been delayed so long that us Notaries are losing money and the state revenue? Who is in charge of causing these delays? Also who will be paying my money back for time lost on my $25k extra bond while my paperwork has been sitting on someone's desk since July?

Nickie

11 Jun 2023

Do you know when the training for RON would be avaiable.

National Notary Association

12 Jun 2023

Hello. We will be publishing an article with more information about Illinois RON requirements in the near future. Please continue to watch The National Notary Bulletin for updates.

Nickie

10 Jun 2023

Do you know when RON traning will be avaiable for illinois?

National Notary Association

12 Jun 2023

Hello. We will be publishing an article about Illinois RON requirements in the near future.

Wendy S Eckel

02 Jun 2023

Can a Notary ONLY us his/her Notary stamp to notarize my signature or do they have to also sign their name with their stamp?

National Notary Association

09 Jun 2023

Hello. For each notarization performed an Illinois Notary must complete the appropriate notarial certificate wording as required by state law: “A notarial act must be evidenced by a certificate signed and dated by the notary public. The certificate must include identification of the jurisdiction in which the notarial act is performed and the official seal of office” (5 ILCS 312/6-103[a]).

Marilyn G

24 Apr 2023

Do law firm employees need to keep a journal of every document they notarize?

National Notary Association

05 May 2023

Hello and thank you for contacting us. Illinois has not yet published its official journal rules yet, but we expect them to do so soon. Once the new rules are published, we will update readers.

Valencia Lindsay

13 Apr 2023

Can you do Ron now in Illinois as notary?

National Notary Association

14 Apr 2023

Hello. The state has not yet published rules how to perform remote notarizations. Please see here for more information: https://www.nationalnotary.org/knowledge-center/remote-online-notary/how-to-become-a-remote-online-notary/illinois

Claribel

31 Mar 2023

Is the person being notarized required to sign the log?

National Notary Association

05 May 2023

Hello and thank you for contacting us. Illinois has not yet published its official journal rules yet, but we expect them to do so soon. Once the new rules are published, we will update readers.

Karyl Demonte

19 Jan 2023

Has senate bill 2664 taken effect?

National Notary Association

24 Jan 2023

Hello. Senate Bill 2664 was enacted but administrative rules to implement have not been published yet. Please see here for more information: https://www.nationalnotary.org/knowledge-center/remote-online-notary/how-to-become-a-remote-online-notary/illinois

Sharon Sims

07 Oct 2022

I did receive my actual notary public certificate in the mail to my home. Does that mean we no longer go to the County Courthouse to sign the log?

National Notary Association

07 Oct 2022

Hello. If you obtained your commission through the NNA, please contact our Customer Care team at services@nationalnotary.org and they should be able to assist you with the next step in the process.

Delmarshae Boykin

27 Aug 2022

Hi, can i work/apply to be a remote notary while waiting for the bill to pass?

National Notary Association

16 Sep 2022

Hello. Not at this time. We’re waiting on official remote notarization rules to be published by the state of Illinois and will let you know as soon as we hear more.

Abbi

27 Jun 2022

Hello, I believe that attorneys and their employees are exempt from keeping journals along with title companies. Is that correct?

National Notary Association

30 Jun 2022

Hello. Senate Bill 2664 has not taken effect yet because the IL Secretary of State's office has not yet published a notice that administrative rules to implement the law have been filed. We will provide updated information to our readers once the rules are published.

Eric

22 Apr 2022

Hello! Are out of state notaries able to perform RON for IL signers? Thanks

National Notary Association

28 Apr 2022

Hello. It would depend on the remote notarization rules for Notaries in the state in question. If you are looking for information on a specific state, please let us know which one and we will be happy to provide more information if we can.

Kia currie

08 Feb 2022

When will you start offering the RON training and exam for people that are already notaries?

National Notary Association

22 Mar 2022

Hello. We are still waiting for full rules to be published by the state of Illinois Notaries, but will update Notaries when we have more information.

Vicky Garrison

25 Jan 2022

Where can I find a course of study for the Rim and Ron and when are exams offered? What is the fee for each?

National Notary Association

26 Jan 2022

Hello. We will let you know as soon as more information becomes available. Please continue to watch the Notary Bulletin and NNA website for updates.

Elizabeth Moran

13 Dec 2021

Do you intend to revise the Notary Essentials training for Illinois? If so, when?

National Notary Association

05 Jan 2022

Hello. We will let you know as soon as more information becomes available. Please continue to watch the Notary Bulletin and NNA website for updates.

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