7.2 Becoming a Remote Notary

The Prerequisite: A Traditional Commission First

RON authority is not a standalone license — it is an add-on certification layered onto an active Utah notary commission. Before you can apply, you must already hold a commissioned Notary Public credential in good standing (no pending suspension or disciplinary action). Because the two are linked, you must reapply for remote authority each time you renew the underlying four-year commission. If the base commission lapses, is suspended, or is revoked, your RON certification automatically falls with it.

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1 — Contract with an Approved Vendor

Utah requires that you be hired or contracted by an approved RON technology provider before applying. You cannot self-build a platform. The vendor supplies the audio-visual session, identity proofing, recording storage, and your electronic seal and signature. Examples of providers that have operated in Utah include:

Always confirm the current approved list at notary.utah.gov; vendor approvals change.

Step 2 — Increase Your Bond to $10,000

The traditional commission requires a $5,000 four-year surety bond. RON requires total coverage of $10,000. You have two routes:

1. Bond rider (recommended): add a $5,000 rider that raises your existing bond to $10,000.
2. Separate bond: purchase an additional standalone $5,000 bond stacked on the original $5,000.

The bond protects the public, not the notary. A $10,000 bond does not cap your personal liability — you can still be sued for the full amount of any damage you cause.

Step 3 — Obtain the Electronic Seal and Signature

Through the vendor you receive an electronic seal and electronic signature, which must include a timestamp or digital tracking method. These are tamper-evident: any change to the document after sealing must be detectable.

Step 4 — Submit the Application Package

File with the Lieutenant Governor's Office:

Step 5 — Pay the $50 Fee

After the office reviews and accepts your documents, it emails payment instructions for the $50.00 application fee — separate from any traditional-commission fees. Once paid, you receive confirmation designating you an active remote notary.

Cost Summary

Common Traps

• Thinking you can get a RON-only credential. There is no such thing — RON always rides on a traditional commission.
• Forgetting to renew RON authority at commission renewal. RON does not auto-carry forward; you reapply.
• Confusing the $50 RON fee with the $95 initial notary package ($55 application + $40 exam) that applies to the base commission.
• Carrying only a $5,000 bond and assuming it covers remote acts. RON requires the full $10,000.

What the Vendor Does vs. What the Notary Owns

A frequent exam and practice confusion is which duties the platform handles and which remain the notary's personal, non-delegable responsibility. The vendor supplies the pipes; the notary still owns the legal act.

No matter how automated the platform is, the notary alone makes the willingness, awareness, and identity determinations. If the technology clears a signer but the notary senses coercion or confusion on the video, the notary must refuse — the vendor cannot override that judgment.

Changing Vendors and Keeping Records

If you switch RON providers, treat it as a controlled migration:

1. Notify the Lieutenant Governor's Office and submit the new vendor's electronic seal sample.
2. Deactivate the old seal/signature so it can never be reused.
3. Preserve access to old recordings and journals — the five-year recording retention follows you even after you leave a platform. Confirm in writing how the former vendor will hand off or continue hosting your historical records.

A notary who lets a former vendor purge recordings before the retention window closes remains personally liable for the gap.

Why the Layering Design Matters

Utah deliberately built RON as a layer on the existing commission rather than a separate license so that one disciplinary system governs both. A complaint about a remote act flows through the same Lieutenant Governor process as an in-person complaint, and the same grounds for revocation apply. This is why losing the base commission instantly ends remote authority — there is only one commission, with an added capability, not two parallel credentials.