What a remote online notary is
What is remote online notarization? It is the same job as the video session above. RON is the short name. You are not in the room with the notary. You can see and hear each other. Ohio Revised Code § 147.60 calls an online notarization a notarial act done by live two-way video and audio.
How does an online notary work, if that is the phrase you searched? Same session. The notary’s license state is the law that applies. The state where you sit is a different question. Company grades for hours, the ID check, and the saved file are on the directory, once. This page does not reprint those cards. Methodology explains the three letters.
The session, in order
The five steps below are the consumer session the companies print, lined up with the state rules we can quote. A checkout screen is not a statute.
| Step | What you do | What we can cite |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The document | The document goes into the session before the notary finishes. People call this an upload. | NotaryLive’s pricing page charges about $25 for the session and $5 for an extra 25 pages. The page count only makes sense if the document is already in the session. We did not read a statute that names an upload button. |
| 2. ID check | You show a government photo ID. A quiz checks that you are that person. The quiz is often called knowledge-based authentication. | Ohio § 147.64 wants a government ID with your photo and signature, such as a passport or driver license, plus credential analysis and identity proofing. Texas says the quiz comes from a credit file and a third party checks that the ID is real. NotaryLive prints the quiz as 4 of 5 questions. |
| 3. Live video | You stay on the call with the notary while the document is notarized. | Ohio § 147.60: live two-way video and audio. Texas: a video conference, not two people in the same room. The notary with the online commission is physically in that state. |
| 4. Electronic signature and seal | You sign electronically. The notary signs electronically and completes the certificate on the file. | Ohio § 147.64(D): each of you signs with an electronic signature. § 147.64(A)(2): that electronic document counts as an original. Texas uses “electronic signature and seal” for a different act, with both people in the room. The video session is the Online Notary Public commission, not that in-room act. Do not paste a picture of a seal onto the PDF. The Texas page flags that paste as a common reject. |
| 5. The recording | The call is recorded. How long it is kept depends on the notary’s state, and on what the company prints. | Texas keeps the online record, including the video, for five years. Florida § 117.245 says at least ten years. NotaryLive prints 10-year document storage. Proof records the session and does not print a year count on the pricing page we retrieved. We do not invent one number for every state. |
What to have on hand
- The document that needs to be notarized, ready to put in the session.
- A current government photo ID with your photo and signature. Ohio’s statute names a passport or a driver license as examples.
- Answers for the identity quiz. Texas describes that quiz as drawn from a credit file. If the quiz cannot be finished, the act does not finish. NotaryLive prints a Personal Verifier path when its quiz is unavailable. That path is their product, not a rule in every state.
- A phone or computer that can join a live video call. NotaryLive’s pricing page describes a browser session and does not require an app. Ohio and Texas both require two-way audio and video.
Published starting prices, retrieved August 2026: NotaryLive about $25 a session. Proof/Notarize about $25 for the first notarization and $15 for each extra notarization. OneNotary online about $25, and mobile from about $80. BlueNotary does not print a consumer session price we can cite. We do not fill that in.
Ready to get an online notary? Try these services.
OneNotary and BlueNotary stay ordinary links: OneNotary pricing and BlueNotary. A mobile notary from OneNotary is the house-call product, not the video session.
Which states allow remote online notarization
Which states allow remote online notarization is two questions. Can a notary with an in-state commission do the video session? And will the office that receives the document accept a notarization from a notary licensed somewhere else? A law on the books is not the same as tonight.
The National Association of Secretaries of State reports that 47 states plus Washington, D.C. have a law that allows remote e-notarization. The National Notary Association is the other country source we use. Proof’s July 8, 2026 map counts 42 states plus D.C. for its own notaries. That map is a vendor count. It is not the country authority.
These states let their own notaries do a video session after an extra signup. The signup is not automatic on the day the commission arrives.
- Texas issues a separate Online Notary Public commission. A regular Texas commission still needs the signer in the room. The online notary is physically in Texas. The Secretary of State’s getting-started page is the office source.
- Florida requires a separate Online Notary Public registration with the Department of State. The online notary is physically in Florida. Florida § 117.209 lets the signer be elsewhere. A wedding is not an online notarization.
- New York lets a notary do video after registering as an electronic notary with the Department of State. A regular New York commission still needs the signer in the room.
- Ohio requires written online-notary authorization from the Secretary of State. An in-person electronic seal does not need that extra card. The online notary is an Ohio resident and is in Ohio during the act.
- Maryland lets a notary do video after a Secretary of State remote-notary notice. For an electronic record, the notary also names an authorized vendor. § 18-214(n) says nothing in that section requires any person to accept the remote act.
These states do not let their own notaries finish that electronic video session tonight. A person sitting there may still use a notary licensed in a state that does, if the receiving desk accepts it.
- California has a statute. A California-commissioned notary cannot perform remote online notarization until the Secretary of State finishes the technology project, or by January 1, 2030, whichever is earlier. The Secretary of State customer alert is the source we use.
- Georgia has not authorized a Georgia-commissioned notary to do video. The commission comes from the Clerk of Superior Court. GSCCCA is the office source.
- Massachusetts put G.L. c. 222, § 28 on the books. The Secretary of the Commonwealth says the training and the notification form are not yet available, so a Massachusetts notary should not use an online platform tonight.
- Connecticut is a different product. A Connecticut notary can meet you on video, watch a wet-ink signature, and then wait for the signed document in the mail. That is not a same-session electronic notarization. C.G.S. § 3-95b is the statute.
That is a sample of the split, not a list of every state. Start with the state page for the notary’s license. The directory is the company comparison.
When a video session will not finish the job
Online will not work in three situations we can cite. If your document is one of them, a mobile notary or a bank or UPS counter is the product that can finish. Do not pay for a video session to argue with the desk.
| The stop | The rule | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The county recorder or the title company refuses it | Maryland § 18-214(n) says no one has to accept a remote act. Connecticut § 47-7(c) says the usual out-of-state acknowledgment rule does not apply to a Connecticut real-estate closing done by someone who is not in the room. § 3-95b(i) keeps that closing off remote acknowledgment. A real estate closing is defined in § 51-88a. | Ask the desk before you pay. If they want a person in the room, book a mobile notary or walk in. |
| The document needs an original wet-ink signature | Connecticut’s live in-state path is wet ink on the video call, then mail. It does not finish as an electronic notarization while you are still on the call. A desk that wants the signed original today is not buying that mail loop. | Use a mobile notary or a walk-in. Read Connecticut before you assume every state works this way. |
| The statute names the document | Ohio § 147.64(A)(3): an online notary shall not take or certify a deposition as an online notarization. New York State Technology Law § 307 keeps wills, trusts, decisions consenting to orders not to resuscitate, and powers of attorney outside the electronic-signatures law, except the cases printed in that section. An electronic-will change is printed to take effect December 12, 2027. It is not a session you can buy tonight. Massachusetts § 28(c) keeps a will, a codicil, and an electoral record off communication technology. Florida § 117.209: an online notary does not perform a wedding. | Read Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, or Florida. We will not turn one state’s list into a national ban. |
If the ID check fails, stop and switch products. Ohio requires the identity steps before the act. Texas requires a third party to run them when the notary does not already know you. A second try on the same checkout is not a plan.
Sources
- Ohio Revised Code § 147.60: online notarization is a notarial act by live two-way video and audio.
- Ohio Revised Code § 147.64: government photo ID, credential analysis, identity proofing, electronic signatures, the electronic document is an original, and an online notary shall not take or certify a deposition as an online notarization.
- Texas Secretary of State, Getting started as an online notary: video conference; extra Online Notary Public commission.
- Texas Secretary of State, Identity proofing: third-party credential analysis and a quiz from a credit file.
- Texas Secretary of State, Record-keeping and Tex. Gov’t Code § 406.108: keep the electronic record, including the video, for five years.
- Florida Department of State, Remote Online Notary Public: separate registration.
- Florida Statutes § 117.209: audio-video appearance; online notary in Florida; does not include solemnizing matrimony.
- Florida Statutes § 117.245: audio-video recordings kept at least ten years.
- California Secretary of State, Customer alerts: California notaries and personal appearance; technology project or January 1, 2030.
- GSCCCA, Georgia Notary Law: Clerk of Superior Court commission. No remote-online product on that page.
- Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Remote Online Notarization: training and notification form are not yet available.
- C.G.S. § 3-95b: remote acknowledgment rules and the records that cannot use it, including a real estate closing.
- C.G.S. § 47-7: out-of-state acknowledgments, and the exception for a Connecticut real-estate closing by a remotely located individual.
- C.G.S. § 51-88a: definition of a real estate closing.
- New York Department of State, Notary Public FAQ: electronic-notary registration.
- New York State Technology Law § 307: wills, trusts, do-not-resuscitate decisions, and powers of attorney sit outside the electronic-signatures article, with the exceptions printed in the section. The electronic-will change is printed to take effect December 12, 2027.
- Maryland Code, State Government § 18-214: remote act rules; nothing in the section requires a person to accept the act.
- NASS, Remote Electronic Notarization: 47 states plus Washington, D.C. have a remote e-notarization law.
- NNA, What is a Remote Online Notary?: notary-side status, including states that have not turned the session on.
- NotaryLive pricing: about $25 a session; extra pages; credential analysis; knowledge-based questions, 4 of 5; 10-year document storage; browser session.
- Notarize consumer pricing: about $25 for the first notarization and $15 for each extra notarization. Proof records the session and does not print a retention period on this page.
- OneNotary individuals pricing: about $25 online; mobile from about $80.
- BlueNotary: no consumer session price cited. We do not invent one.
- Proof RON map (July 8, 2026), labeled secondary vendor map. Proof is also a listed vendor on this site.