3.5 Remote Online Notarization

Remote Online Notarization (RON) in Connecticut

Legal Authorization

Connecticut authorized remote online notarization through Public Act 23-28, "An Act Concerning Remote Notarial Acts," signed by Governor Ned Lamont on June 12, 2023, and effective October 1, 2023. The statute is codified at C.G.S. Sec. 3-95b. RON lets a notary perform a notarial act for a signer who is not in the same room, using technology rather than physical presence. Before this act, Connecticut had only temporary pandemic-era remote authority; PA 23-28 made it permanent and rule-based.

Location Rules (the most-tested RON fact)

Exam trap: Even in a fully remote session, the notary's physical location must be Connecticut. A Connecticut notary on vacation in Florida may not perform a Connecticut RON act from a Florida hotel. The signer's location is unrestricted; the notary's is not.

Technology Requirements

The remote appearance substitutes live video for physical presence, so the communication standard is strict:

• Real-time and simultaneous — not a pre-recorded video or a back-and-forth of clips.
• Two-way audio AND video — both parties must see and hear each other continuously.
• The notary must be able to observe the signing and interact in the moment.
• A compliant RON platform/provider is used to manage the session and recording.

Identity Verification for RON

Because the notary cannot inspect a physical ID card hand-to-hand, identity rules are heightened. The notary identifies the signer by one or more of:

Prohibited Documents — Must Be Done In Person

PA 23-28 / C.G.S. Sec. 3-95b bars RON for a list of sensitive instruments. These require in-person notarization in Connecticut:

Exam trap: A general business contract is not on the prohibited list, so it can be remotely notarized. But a power of attorney or a will, even routine ones, cannot. Match the document against the statutory list, not against how ordinary it seems.

Fees and Recordkeeping

The $5.00 maximum fee per act applies to RON exactly as it does in person; RON platform/technology charges are separate vendor costs, not the notarial fee. The Secretary of the State recommends keeping detailed records of remote sessions — the signer's location, the video method used, and whether a recording was retained — because a clear record is the notary's best defense if a remote act is later challenged.

Worked Scenario

A Connecticut notary, sitting in her Hartford office, conducts a live two-way video session with a signer in Texas who needs an affidavit notarized for a court filing. She reviews his ID through the platform, administers the affirmation on camera, watches him sign, and completes the jurat. Valid. If that same signer instead asked her to remotely notarize his durable power of attorney, she must decline RON and arrange in-person notarization, because powers of attorney are statutorily barred from remote notarization in Connecticut.

RON Versus In-Person Acts: What Stays the Same

RON changes how the signer appears, not what the notary certifies. Every substantive rule from Sections 3.1 through 3.4 still applies. An acknowledgment performed by RON still certifies voluntary execution; a jurat performed by RON still requires the oath and a signature made during the live session. Identity must still be established (by heightened remote methods), the signer must still be willing and competent, and the $5.00 fee cap is unchanged. The notary still completes a certificate — typically marked as a remote/electronic act — and applies the required notarial information.

The Two Most-Tested RON Distinctions

The Connecticut exam concentrates RON questions on two facts, so anchor them firmly:

1. Notary in-state, signer anywhere. The notary's body must be on Connecticut soil; the signer's location is irrelevant. Flip this and the question is wrong.
2. The prohibited-document list. Sensitive estate, health, guardianship, and real-estate-closing instruments cannot be done remotely, even when both parties are willing. Ordinary commercial documents can.

Exam trap: RON does not eliminate the personal-appearance principle — it satisfies it through live audio-video. A pre-recorded video, a phone-only call, or a screen-share without continuous video does not meet the standard. "Simultaneous, real-time, two-way audio AND video" is the phrase to recognize. Anything less is not a valid remote appearance, and the act is void.