Electronic notarization involves documents that are signed in electronic form; the certificate and journal are also electronic, but the signer must appear in front of the notary in person. 

This varies depending on the platform: they may charge you by the month, the year, or the transaction, and amounts will vary. You should research possible platforms before committing to any, to be sure that you understand costs and other details such as who is responsible for retaining the recordings of RONs. Some platforms are also requiring that you have a certain amount of coverage for Errors and Omissions insurance.​

Vendor requirements for Oregon remote notarization can be found at OAR 160-100-0800 and OAR 160-100-0850​. Under OAR 160-100-0140, the notary may rely on a vendor’s declaration that the vendor’s technology meets the National Electronic Notarization Standards. Keep documentation of their declaration in case an issue arises.

The notary must be in Oregon, because that is where they are commissioned. The signer may be anywhere, as long as the requirements for properly performed RON are met.​

An electronic journal is required for remote notarizations, and it will normally be provided by the vendor platform. The electronic journal entry will include an electronic signature from the signer. It is a best practice to also record the RON in your paper journal, writing “remote notarization” in the signature portion of the journal entry. Remember, the same retention schedule applies to your electronic journal as to your paper journal: the journal must be kept for 10 years from the date of the last transaction.​

The Oregon Secretary of State provides training in RON requirements and procedure. You can learn more about the training and register for it here​. 

Yes, if the document was notarized properly.​

Currently, the Oregon Secretary of State is unable to attach apostilles to electronic documents. However, the document may be printed out and apostilled provided the notary completes and attaches a certificate for special circumstances, which is available here​.

No. Standard videoconferencing applications do not meet Secretary of State requirements for RON. Vendor platforms will provide appropriate software for secure audio and video recording of the notarization; this may include Zoom or a similar resource, but these programs may only be used as directed within the vendor platform.​

Yes. Guidance on when and how to do this will be provided by the RON platform, and should be addressed in the training materials provided by the vendor.​

The signer’s identity will be verified through the RON platform. Usually the signer will be required to upload a high-quality image of an identification document that meets the requirements under ORS 194.240, and to successfully complete a Knowledge-Based-Authentication (KBA) process. Some vendors use biometrics. The specific processes used by your RON platform will be explained in their training. You may also be required to undergo these verifications when signing on to the platform to provide RONs.​

Yes. You can contact the Secretary of State Corporation Division at 503-986-2200 or by email corporationdivision.sos@sos.oregon.gov​. The agency also maintains a searchable list of notaries authorized to perform RON and IPEN. This list doesn’t include all notaries that are authorized--it is only updated with notaries who opt in to have their information included.