7.1 Arkansas Electronic Notary Act (Act 1047 of 2021 / A.C.A. § 21-14-301)

7.1 Arkansas Electronic and Online Notarization

Arkansas law distinguishes an electronic notarial act from an online notarial act. Both concern electronic records and electronic signatures, but only the online act uses communication technology for a remotely located individual. Act 1047 of 2021 added the permanent online-notarization framework to A.C.A. Title 21, Chapter 14, Subchapter 3.

Electronic-notary status

An electronic notary public is a commissioned Arkansas notary who has registered with the Secretary of State and has the capability to perform electronic and online acts. A traditional commission alone does not authorize someone to attach a digital notary seal. The person must complete the electronic application, training, exam, and provider steps.

An electronic signature is an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and adopted with intent to sign. The electronic notary seal contains the notary's official identifying information. Approved technology attaches or associates those items with the electronic record in a manner that protects integrity and makes later changes detectable under the solution's standards.

IPEN and RON

In IPEN, the parties may use a tablet, signature pad, or computer, but they remain close enough to see, hear, communicate, and exchange identification without relying on a device for their interaction. If the provider is not approved for RON, the notary may not move the signer to a video call.

RON replaces physical proximity with the approved online process. The notary must be in Arkansas, verify identity by a statutory method, reasonably confirm that the record before the notary is the same record signed or discussed by the principal, create the required audio-video record, protect the communication from interception, and add the online-notarization notation to the certificate.

Authorized online acts

Act 1047 defines an online notarial act to include:

1. taking an acknowledgment;
2. administering an oath or affirmation;
3. taking a verification on oath or affirmation;
4. witnessing or attesting a signature; and
5. certifying or attesting a copy.

The fifth item is important. Arkansas does not impose a blanket statutory ban on all online copy certifications. The notary must still be able to perform the requested copy act truthfully, use the approved system, and respect the ordinary exclusions for vital and public records.

Traditional duties remain

Technology changes the medium and, for RON, the form of appearance. It does not eliminate the certificate or the notary's judgment. The notary still verifies identity, administers the correct verbal act, completes the actual date and venue, assesses understanding and willingness, and refuses when the required facts cannot be established.

An electronic signature by itself is not a notarization. The record must include an electronic notarial certificate stating what occurred and bearing the electronic notary's official signature, seal, title, number, expiration date, and other required information.

Examples

A signer and eNotary sit at the same desk and sign a PDF through an approved electronic provider. That is IPEN. The notary does not need to label it remote merely because no paper is used.

A signer in Texas appears to an online notary in Little Rock through an approved RON provider. That can be RON if identity, record confirmation, recording, security, and certificate rules are met.

A notary receives a DocuSign file and a telephone assurance from an absent signer, then pastes an image of a stamp into the PDF. That is neither lawful IPEN nor lawful RON.

Exam focus

Separate medium from appearance. “Electronic” describes the record and signatures. “Online” describes the approved remote interaction. Both require registered authority and approved technology, while only RON removes physical proximity.

Also separate the electronic commission from a provider subscription. State authorization does not make an unapproved product lawful, and buying approved software does not commission its user. Both pieces must be in place.

Source anchor: Arkansas Secretary of State, Arkansas Notary Public Handbook (rev. 1-2025), “Electronic Notarizations”; Act 1047 of 2021, A.C.A. §§ 21-14-302 and 21-14-309.