Senate sends Remote Online Notary Act to Governor

Beginning next year, notary publics will be able to certify electronic documents following legislation unanimously approved Thursday by the Senate. Authored by Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Chris Kannady, R-Oklahoma City, Senate Bill 915 creates the Remote Online Notary (RON) Act.

“Oklahoma’s business community is growing, and ensuring we’re utilizing the latest technology will help foster and strengthen that growth,” said Rosino. “Creating a RON process in the state will make notaries’ jobs faster and more convenient for those businesses and individuals that depend on them. This is going to revolutionize business in Oklahoma.”

Senate Bill 915 was requested by the Oklahoma Association of Realtors (OAR). Notaries will be required to follow specific steps and rules created by the Secretary of State in order to electronically certify documents. The Secretary will determine the tools that can be used to validate documents, storage for electronic documents and forms for remote online notarizations.

The bill will not apply to plats, plans, maps, or surveys of real property in certain circumstances.

“I’d like to thank the Oklahoma Association of Realtors and the Oklahoma Land Title Association for their hard work on this bill as well as my Senate and House colleagues and Secretary of State Michael Rogers for their tremendous support,” said Rosino. “This is a great example of people working together to find solutions to make Oklahoma better. I look forward to seeing how this new technology benefits our business community.”

Notaries will register with the Secretary of State and pay a $25 fee to be authorized to notarize remotely. When someone renews their notary public commission, they will also be renewed to notarize electronic documents.

SB 915 will now go to the Governor’s office for final approval.