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Please sign on the digital line
Pennsylvania moves notaries into electronic era
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In this report
E-notaries Step-by-step
Notaries are professional witnesses who verify identities and signatures on legal documents. But how can states ensure that digital certificates by notaries do not get into the wrong hands? Here’s the process Pennsylvania is using:
- A notary pays a $40 fee and applies to the Pennsylvania Department of State, which verifies eligibility for the program.
- The department notifies the National Notary Association, which maintains the e-notary seal registry, of approved applications. The notary has 45 days to download the seal.
- NNA notifies the applicant by e-mail, and the notary pays NNA $24.95 for a digital certificate good for one year.
- The notary must appear in person at the county recorder’s office to verify identity. Using a secure Web interface, the recorder enters the identity information into a database shared with NNA.
- NNA e-mails the notary a link where the digital certificate can be downloaded. The notary must call NNA to get a user identification and personal identification number needed to download the certificate.
- The certificate is good for one year or until the expiration of the notary’s commission. It is verified with the registry to make sure it is valid with each use. NNA can suspend or revoke the certificate upon notification by the Pennsylvania State Department.
—William Jackson
As you might expect, the initiative has had as much to do with policy as it has with technology, but officials are optimistic that e-notarization will be a change for the better—and something that can enable more secure transaction across state lines.
“Once it is fully enabled for every kind of transaction, it will spur a huge amount of e-commerce,” said Steve McDonald, the Lancaster County recorder.
The Pennsylvania program is limited in its first phase to real-estate transactions in Chester, Lancaster, Philadelphia and Westmoreland counties, but McDonald said it would probably expand to the rest of the state after the first year.
Even so, change may not come quickly. State and local officials worked for four years with the help of the National Notary Association to overcome legal and technical hurdles. NNA maintains the registry for the program, which was announced in February.
“We don’t have any illusions that this is going to change notarization overnight,” said Richard Hansberger, NNA’s director of e-notarization.
But Hansberger hopes that e-notarization will eventually lead to more secure, standards-based seals that are readily accepted across state boundaries, unlike present paper-based systems.
“It is absolutely more secure, but there is more work ahead,” before electronic seals are universally recognized, he said.
Notaries are state-appointed officials who administer oaths and witness legal documents. They typically authenticate the identity of signers, witness their signatures and verify that documents being signed are complete.
Applying technology
Laws governing notaries vary from state to state. Some require an embossed seal and some require an inked stamp that will show up more clearly on a copy. But all are focused on paper-based transactions.
“I’ve been interested in applying technology to government since I stepped into government nine years ago,” McDonald said. “But there was a hurdle in changing notary laws so they could sign electronically, like everyone else.”
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