9.1 RON Overview and Legal Framework

What Remote Online Notarization Is

Remote Online Notarization (RON) is a notarial act in which the signer does not stand physically in front of the notary. Instead, the signer appears through real-time, two-way audio-video communication while the notary applies an electronic signature and electronic seal to an electronic document. RON is sometimes confused with two related concepts the exam will test you on, so keep them straight:

• In-person electronic notarization (IPEN): signer and notary are physically together, but the document and seal are electronic.
• Remote ink-signed notarization (RIN): signer signs paper while appearing on video; Colorado does not authorize RIN as a standalone permanent act.
• RON: signer is remote AND the record is electronic. This is the act this chapter covers.

Colorado adopted RON under the framework of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA), the same statute (Title 24, Article 21, Part 5 of the Colorado Revised Statutes) that governs traditional notaries.

Legal Timeline

How RON Differs From Traditional Notarization

Worked example. Maria holds an active Colorado commission and is registered for RON. A client in Florida needs an electronic power of attorney notarized. Maria may perform the act remotely: the signer is in the United States, the document is permitted, and the record is electronic. Had the client mailed paper to sign on camera, that would be remote ink notarization, which Colorado does not authorize, and Maria must decline.

Acts Authorized via RON

Documents and Signers Outside RON's Reach

Certain records and circumstances are off-limits even for a properly registered remote notary. The exam loves to bury one of these in an answer choice.

Geographic scope. A signer located anywhere in the United States may use RON for permitted documents. A signer outside the United States may only use RON for narrow categories, primarily records to be filed with or relating to a U.S. court, government, or matter involving U.S. property, or used in litigation. For an ordinary contract signed by someone vacationing abroad, the notary should refer them to an in-person notary.

Why Colorado Built RON the Way It Did

The statute balances two interests: convenience for signers who cannot travel, and protection against fraud that physical presence normally provides. Because the notary loses the ability to physically inspect an ID and read body language across a desk, the law replaces those safeguards with technological substitutes: software credential analysis, knowledge-based authentication, and a permanent recording that can be reviewed if the act is later challenged. Understanding this trade-off explains nearly every RON rule — each requirement exists to recreate, electronically, a protection that physical presence used to supply.

Where RON Fits Among Notarial Authorities

A notary may hold all three. RON does not replace the base commission; it sits on top of it. If the base commission is suspended or expires, the RON authority falls with it.

Common Traps

• Thinking RON can be used on paper. It cannot — RON is electronic-record only.
• Assuming a will can be notarized remotely. It is expressly excluded (along with codicils and ballot-petition/candidacy affidavits).
• Confusing the $15 traditional cap with the $25 RON cap.
• Believing any video app qualifies. Only a Secretary of State-approved provider may be used.
• Assuming a U.S. notary may RON for anyone anywhere abroad — overseas signers are limited to narrow U.S.-related categories.
• Treating RON registration as a separate commission rather than an add-on tied to the base commission.

On the Exam

• Permanent RON effective date: December 31, 2020 (SB 20-096).
• HB 24-1248 modernization effective: January 1, 2025.
• Maximum RON fee: $25 per notarial act.
• Recording retention: 10 years minimum.
• Excluded documents: wills, codicils, ballot petition and candidacy affidavits.