Temporary NJ Remote Notary Law Signed by Governor
On April 14, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed
A3903
, a temporary law permitting remote notarization for the duration of the public health emergency declared in Executive Order 103. The law is effective immediately and will remain in effect until the Executive Order is rescinded.
The law, originally introduced on March 23
rd
and amended by the Senate on April 13
th
before passing both houses, permits the use of communication technology by notaries, attorneys, and others authorized to take acknowledgements. In addition to communicating by sight and sound, identity proofing must be accomplished. The notary’s personal knowledge of the identity of the individual or an affirmation by a credible witness would suffice, or the use of a service or process to verify identity by review of personal information from public and private sources may be relied upon together with two additional types of satisfactory evidence such as a passport, driver’s license, or government-issued ID.
An audio-visual recording of the performance of the notarial act must be made and retained for a period of at least 10 years.
Since this temporary law was just enacted yesterday, we are not yet aware of any issues or concerns with the recording of documents executed and acknowledged pursuant to this legislation, nor the acceptance of remotely notarized documents by mortgage lenders. CATIC Title agents should verify compliance with lender instructions and seek to promptly record all deeds and mortgages as soon after settlement as possible.
We will provide further information and guidance regarding remote notarization or other COVID-19 search, production, settlement, or business issues in New Jersey as additional information becomes available. E-mail us at
[email protected]
with any questions for an immediate response.
