8.2 Remote Online Notarization (RON)

Remote online notarization (RON) is the form of electronic notarization in which the signer is not physically present with the notary. Instead, the two appear together through real-time, two-way audio-video communication technology approved under New York's standards. New York authorized RON in Executive Law 135-c, and after the pandemic-era authorization expired, remote ink notarization ended on January 31, 2023; since then, the only sanctioned remote process is electronic notarization using communication technology.

The single most important distinction to keep straight: in RON, the signer may be remote, but the notary must still be physically in New York. 'Remote' describes the signer's appearance, not a license for the notary to roam.

Satisfying 'Personal Appearance' Remotely

New York preserves the personal-appearance requirement by treating a compliant live audio-video session as the appearance. The notary must be able to see and interact with the signer in real time, observe the signing, and confirm the record presented is the one being signed. A pre-recorded video or a simple phone call does not qualify, the session must be two-way, real-time, and carry both audio and video so the notary can both see and hear the signer.

Real-time interaction matters because it lets the notary detect the same warning signs an in-person notary watches for: confusion, duress, or someone off-camera coaching the signer. If the connection drops, the video freezes, or the notary cannot clearly see the signer and the act, the notary should stop and not complete the certificate. The communication technology itself must meet the standards the Secretary of State has approved; a notary cannot improvise with an ordinary consumer video-chat app that lacks the required identity and recording features.

Example: A New York notary, sitting at her Albany office, launches an approved RON platform. The signer joins by video from a hotel in Texas. Over live audio-video, she confirms his identity, watches him apply his electronic signature, and completes the electronic acknowledgment, which states that communication technology was used. The act is valid because the notary is in New York and all RON requirements are met.

Verifying the Remote Signer's Identity

When the signer is personally known to the notary, personal knowledge suffices. When the signer is not personally known, New York requires a heightened standard built from two or more processes:

• Credential analysis software examines the signer's government-issued ID to confirm the credential itself is authentic and unaltered (it validates the document).
• Identity proofing typically a dynamic knowledge-based authentication or comparable third-party process that confirms the person is who they claim to be (it validates the human).

A useful memory hook: credential analysis validates the ID; identity proofing validates the person. Older study materials sometimes call identity proofing 'knowledge-based authentication,' but the safer current term is identity proofing.

Recording and Retention

RON adds a recordkeeping layer absent from traditional acts. The notary must:

1. Keep the standard journal entry for the act.
2. Create an audio-video recording capturing the entire notarial session, including the identity-verification steps.
3. Retain that recording for at least 10 years from the date of the transaction.
4. Take reasonable steps to keep a secure backup of the recording.

This 10-year recording rule parallels the 10-year journal-retention rule that applies to all New York notaries since January 25, 2023.

RON vs. Traditional In-Person Notarization

Signers Outside the United States

New York permits a signer to be outside the U.S. only under added conditions, for example, when the record will be filed with or relates to a matter before a U.S. court or official, involves property in U.S. jurisdiction, or concerns a transaction substantially connected to the United States. The notary remains in New York throughout.

The takeaway for the exam is that the signer's location is flexible within limits, while the notary's location is not: the notary is always in New York. A signer in another U.S. state is generally fine; a signer abroad is allowed only when the record ties back to a U.S. court, official, property, or transaction. Watch for stems that flip these rules, claiming the notary may be abroad, or that any foreign signer is automatically acceptable, because both are wrong.