South Carolina online notary: electronic seals yes, video sessions no

What South Carolina’s electronic notary law allows

The law is the Electronic Notary Public Act, in Title 26, Chapter 2 of the South Carolina Code. Read for a signer, it says four things.

• You must be there. Section 26-2-50(A) says an electronic notarization may be done only if the principal appears in person before the electronic notary at the time of notarization.
• The notary registers first. Under Section 26-2-20, a commissioned notary must register with the Secretary of State before doing electronic acts. That takes a course and an exam, a $50 fee, and naming the technology. The Secretary issues a registration number.
• The fee is capped. Section 26-2-70(B) caps the electronic notarization fee at ten dollars per signature. The notary may charge less or waive it. Travel fees are allowed under conditions.
• There is a journal. The notary keeps an electronic journal of each electronic act.

Nothing in the chapter authorizes a remote appearance by video. That is why our South Carolina scorecard treats an in-person electronic seal and a video session as different products.

So what is a “South Carolina online notary”?

When you search for an online notary in South Carolina, the companies you find use notaries commissioned in other states. The video session follows that notary’s state law, not South Carolina’s.

Proof, one of the companies we grade, says on its South Carolina legislation page that South Carolina has not yet authorized remote online notarization. That page is a vendor’s summary, and it also says Proof cannot guarantee a document will be accepted, so confirm with the receiving office.

How the notary’s home state shapes the session is covered in Tennessee online notary and New Jersey remote notary.

Will South Carolina accept a notarization from another state?

South Carolina has a recognition law, the Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgments Act, in Title 26, Chapter 3. Section 26-3-20 says notarial acts may be performed outside the state for use in South Carolina with the same effect as if performed by a South Carolina notary, and lists who may perform them, including a notary public of the place where the act happens.

The chapter does not mention remote or electronic acts. It refers to the person having “appeared before” the officer, without saying whether that appearance may be by video. So the law does not answer the video question either way, and the receiving office decides. Ask before you book. For a deed going to a county register of deeds, call that office.

Which product to use in South Carolina

Booking a house call is on mobile notary services. Fee caps by state are on how much does a notary cost. Before you book anyone, you can check the commission with how to check a notary’s commission.

Questions to ask the receiving office

1. Do you accept a remote online notarization by a notary commissioned in another state?
2. Do you want the electronic file, a printed copy of it, or a paper original with ink?
3. Does the document need witnesses, and may they appear by video?

If the answer to the first question is no, book a walk-in or a mobile notary. Documents that often need witnesses are covered in can a notary notarize a will and how to notarize a power of attorney.

Next step

Start with the South Carolina scorecard for the companies and the documents table. If the receiving office accepts a remote act from another state’s notary, the buttons below are video notaries, ordered by grade.