NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL INTO LAW TO ALLOW FOR REMOTE NOTARY ACTS
Effective immediately, the State of New Jersey has temporarily amended its laws to allow for remote notary acts until the rescission of Governor Phil Murphy’s emergency declaration order.
Under the revised notary guidelines, a notary public authorized to conduct notarial acts throughout the State of New Jersey may perform remote notarial acts if:
(1) The notary
- Has personal knowledge of the identity of the customer requesting the notary service;
- has obtained satisfactory evidence of the identity of the customer by using at least two different types of identity proofing; or
- has satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely located individual by oath or affirmation from a credible witness personally appearing before the notary public;
(2) The notary is able to confirm the document upon which notarization is requested is the same document the remote customer is requesting notarization on and has executed remotely; and
(3) The notary public creates an audio-visual recording of the performance of the remote notarial act, which must be retained by the notary public for a period of ten (10) years.
Please note, that although New Jersey is temporarily allowing remote notary acts to be conducted, customers who need to have adoption, divorce or other family law documents notarized must appear in person in front of a notary, as the law prohibits any family law related document from being notarized via a remote notary act. Additionally, please check with an attorney prior to having any document governed by the Uniform Commercial Code notarized as the law expressly prohibits certain UCC documents from being notarized via a remote notary act.
Any notarial act conducted using communications technology must contain a statement in the notary block that indicates that the notarial act was performed using communication technology.
We will continue to monitor to changes to the notary laws that affect businesses throughout our region. We would encourage you to contact one of our attorneys before proceeding with a remote notarial act to ensure: (i) you have properly complied with the state’s notice requirements; (ii) the remote notary act complies with New Jersey’s permissible remote notarial acts as there are different requirements for notaries performing acts for customers outside of the United States and outside of the state of New Jersey; and (iii) that the remote notary act is being conducted on an approved document. Additionally, the law enacted by the State of New Jersey allows the New Jersey Department of Treasury to promulgate rules and standards for remote notary acts and the communication technology used to complete them.
Although the State of New Jersey has authorized the use of remote notaries, the act permitted under the New Jersey law, may not be the same as or consistent with such permitted acts under other laws or executive orders under other states (i.e. the remote notary permitted acts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania may not be the same). We would strongly advise you contacting an attorney within our firm before notarizing any document remotely.
