Teams notary: a Teams or Zoom call is not a notarization by itself

The short answer, state by state

The rule that matters is the notary’s commission, not where your employer holds its meetings. Here is what four states’ own pages say. The video notaries we grade on the directory run their own platforms for this reason.

California: no webcam notarizations

The California Secretary of State’s customer alerts are blunt. They say online webcam notarizations are invalid and illegal for California notaries public, and that “a video image or other form of non-physical representation is not a personal appearance.” A California notary on a Teams call cannot notarize your signature.

That may change, but not soon. The same page says the Online Notarization Act lets California notaries act through audio-visual communication once the Secretary of State finishes its technology project, or by January 1, 2030, whichever comes first. Until then, a California signer who wants a video session uses a notary commissioned in a state that allows it.

Florida: the platform is part of the job

The Florida Department of State tells an applicant for a remote online notary commission to contract with a third-party vendor first. It lists what that vendor’s technology must do: attach an electronic notarial certificate, signature, and seal to the electronic document; do identity proofing and credential analysis; and store the audio and video recording of the session.

A Teams meeting can carry the picture and the sound. It does not check your driver’s license against a database or attach a notary’s electronic seal to your PDF. The Department adds that it does not recommend or endorse any particular vendor.

Pennsylvania: only approved technology

The Pennsylvania Department of State says a notary must notify the Department before the first remote act and identify each technology the notary will use. That technology must come from the Department’s list of solutions that meet its standards.

We read the approved list dated April 30, 2026. It names notary platforms such as Proof, NotaryLive, OneNotary, and BlueNotary. It does not list Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, Google Meet, or Webex. A Pennsylvania notary who offers to notarize over a Teams call is outside that list.

Illinois: the ink path describes the call

Illinois is the exception worth knowing. Its remote ink option, in 5 ILCS 312/6-102.5, lets any commissioned Illinois notary watch you sign a printed document over live, two-way audio-video. The statute sets what the call must do: the signer attests to being in Illinois, shows every page, signs where the notary can see it, and the call is recorded and kept by the signer or the signer’s designee for at least 3 years. Then the signed copy goes to the notary by the next day, and the notary signs and returns it within 24 hours.

Under 14 Ill. Admin. Code 176.700, the notary and the signer must both agree to do it remotely, and the technology must be good enough to protect the recording. The statute and the rules we read describe the call. They do not list approved meeting apps for the ink path. So an Illinois notary may offer a remote ink appointment on a common video app, as long as the call meets those rules and you can keep the recording. The full steps are on Illinois remote ink notarization.

Illinois electronic notarization is a different act. That one needs an Illinois electronic notary public, and the notary keeps the recording, as the Illinois scorecard explains.

What a notary platform does that a meeting app does not

• Checks your ID. Florida, for one, names identity proofing and credential analysis as jobs for the vendor’s technology. The platform reads your ID and checks it, which a meeting app does not.
• Seals the file. The notary’s electronic signature and seal are attached to your electronic document, so the finished file shows it was notarized.
• Keeps the recording. The session is recorded and stored for the period the notary’s state sets.

That is why our grades look at the ID check and the session record, not only at hours. The methodology page explains each letter. What the call itself is like is on how a remote online notary works.

If someone asked you for a “Teams notarization”

Sometimes the request comes from a remote employer, a landlord, or a family member who is used to meeting on Teams. Before you book anything, ask these questions.

1. Does the receiving office want a notarization, or only a signature? Many forms take an e-signature with no notary. If no notary certificate is printed on the form, ask.
2. Which state commissions the notary? That state’s rules decide whether a video session is allowed and what technology it needs.
3. Paper or electronic file? A video platform produces an electronic file. If the office wants ink on paper, you need the Illinois ink path (if you are in Illinois), a mobile notary, or a walk-in counter.
4. Who keeps the recording? On a notary platform, the notary or platform does. On the Illinois ink path, you do.

If you need a video session tonight or on a weekend, see 24 hour notary.

Next step

If the receiving office accepts a remote notarization, skip the meeting app and use a video notary that runs its own notary platform. Compare them on the directory, or start with the buttons below, ordered by grade.