On February 27, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the NAIFA supported SECURE Notarization Act of 2023 by a voice vote. The bipartisan legislation was introduced earlier this month by U.S. Reps. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) and Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.).
The legislation would allow business and consumers to utilize Remote Online Notarization (RON) laws to execute critical documents using two-way audiovisual communication. This federal legislation was initially introduced to address physical restrictions in place during the COVID-10 outbreak, to allow consumers and businesses to continue operations in certain transactions.
The last few years have demonstrated how technology can be leveraged to modernize services across a variety of markets. Notarizations are widely used for real estate, financial services, and other legal documents. RON allows the consumer, notary and other parties to a transaction to be in different locations using two-way audio-visual communication to securely notarize documents. This process provides assured consumer access to notarization, allows for flexible scheduling, and affords consumers time to review documents and proceed when they are ready to sign. There are currently 43 states that have enacted remote online notarization laws.
NAIFA next looks to focus efforts once again on passage of the bill in the U.S. Senate. This is the third time that the U.S. House has advanced SECURE Notarization.