7.1 Remote Online Notarization Overview

What Remote Online Notarization Is

Remote Online Notarization (RON) is a notarial act performed for a remotely located individual who appears before the notary using live, two-way audio-visual communication technology rather than appearing in the same physical room. RULONA — the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts — normally requires that a person "personally appear" before the notary. RON satisfies that personal-appearance requirement electronically: the signer is treated as appearing before the notary when the notary can both see and hear the signer in real time and the signer can see and hear the notary.

Pennsylvania authorized RON permanently through Act 97 of 2020, which amended RULONA and took effect October 29, 2020. Before Act 97, RON was available only under temporary COVID-19 emergency waivers; Act 97 converted that emergency authority into permanent statute. Because RON is anchored in RULONA, every ordinary notarial duty — confirming identity, confirming willingness and awareness, completing an accurate certificate, journaling, and applying the seal — still applies. RON changes how appearance happens, not whether the core safeguards apply.

RON Compared to Other Notarization Types

Pennsylvania recognizes three distinct delivery methods. Confusing them is a classic exam trap, because two of them are "electronic" but only one is "remote."

The critical distinction: in an electronic (in-person) notarization the signer still stands in front of the notary — only the document and signatures are electronic. In a RON, the signer is not physically present at all; communication technology replaces physical appearance. A notary who notarizes an electronic record for someone in the same room is performing electronic notarization, not RON.

Location Rules

The notary's authority is grounded in the Commonwealth, so the notary cannot perform a Pennsylvania RON while sitting in another state. The signer, by contrast, has no location limit other than the foreign-record conditions described below.

Remotely Located Individuals Abroad

A remotely located individual may appear from outside the United States, but two conditions protect against using a Pennsylvania notarization to evade another country's law:

• The record must relate to a matter before a U.S. court, governmental entity, or other U.S. authority, or must involve property located in, or a transaction substantially connected to, the United States; and
• The act of making the statement or signing the record must not be prohibited by the foreign country where the individual is located.

These conditions matter on the exam because they explain why a Pennsylvania notary may serve a signer in London or Tokyo, yet may not knowingly notarize a record the foreign jurisdiction forbids.

What RON Authorizes — and Common Limits

RON can be used for the same notarial acts as traditional notarization: acknowledgments, jurats (verifications on oath or affirmation), oaths and affirmations, signature witnessing, and copy certifications of electronic records. Pennsylvania later expanded the categories of records eligible for RON, but certain instruments remain off-limits.

Why RON Was Made Permanent

Understanding the history clarifies several exam points. When the COVID-19 emergency began in 2020, Pennsylvania issued temporary waivers that let notaries use audio-visual technology so that essential transactions — mortgage closings, powers of attorney, estate documents — could continue without physical contact. Those waivers were time-limited and tied to the disaster declaration. Act 97 of 2020 replaced that fragile emergency footing with durable statutory authority embedded in RULONA, so RON no longer depends on any emergency order remaining in effect.

The practical consequence is that RON is now an ordinary, permanent option a properly authorized Pennsylvania notary may offer year-round, governed by RULONA and the Department of State's standards rather than by a disaster proclamation.

A related point that students miss: making RON permanent did not lower the bar for notarial duties. The notary still must determine that the signer is competent, aware of the act, and acting of their own free will. Over video, that means watching for hesitation, coercion off-camera, or confusion — and refusing to proceed if the signer does not appear to understand or is not acting freely. The remote format raises the diligence required, not lowers it.

Exam Focus

• Act 97 of 2020, effective October 29, 2020, amended RULONA to make RON permanent.
• RON satisfies personal appearance through two-way audio-visual technology.
• Notary in Pennsylvania; signer anywhere (foreign signers only under U.S.-matter and not-prohibited conditions).
• Electronic in-person notarization is not RON — the signer is still physically present.
• Permanent RON authority does not relax the duty to confirm competence, awareness, and willingness.