We Americans always took pride in our advancements in the field of science and technology. But over the course of last one year that pride has been hurt if not shattered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Few would have imagined the most powerful nation in the world with advanced health care infrastructure to be the global hotspot of this viral infection.
Highest number of cases, highest number of deaths and a curve that refuses to flatten, we have seen it all. Blame it on the policy lapses in the initial days of the pandemic, our apathy towards health protocols or simply bad luck, without an iota of doubt we are the worst place to be on earth as far as this viral pandemic is concerned.
The way we go about our daily routines has changed. Though many of us had rested our faith on the initial lockdowns and restriction of movement, this virus is here to stay and it would take months and perhaps even years for it to run its complete course and the population to be vaccinated. Till then life must go on with social distancing restrictions in place.
We have to live with this virus as we go about with our daily business and make use of technology to avoid physical contact with people. These measures may not stop the spread of this virus but it will definitely halt its trajectory. We must avoid our usual trips to service providers as much as possible and this includes the offices of our notary public. Thanks to online notary service we can now get our documents and signatures notarized without physical contact.
What Is An Online Notary Service?
As you already know notary public play a very important role when it comes signing of documents and verifying the identities of the signatories. In short they act as an impartial witness when documents are being signed and ensure that people signing these documents are doing so under their own will and they are mentally sound enough to understand the significance and the implications of the document where they are putting in their signature. In the past you would have been used to visiting the office of a notary public or meeting them in person when your documents were being notarized.
Online Notary Service offer similar service without the need for any physical interaction between the notary and their clients. While RON or Remote Online Notarization has been in place for many years it wasn’t being used by the masses as they went about with the good old way of getting their documents notarized by physically interacting with the notary. The Covid-19 enforced social distancing protocols and restrictions on movement of people has shown the benefits in this service and the number of people seeking remote notary services has touched the roof in the last few months.
Till about a couple of years back remote online notarization was valid in only handful states and most of the states didn’t see the urgency to implement this new change. But the pandemic has changed it all and today 29 states have passed bills to legalize RON and documents notarized online are more or less being accepted even in states that are yet to formally give nod to this service.
How Can You Get Your Documents Notarized Remotely?
Let’s state a fact there are still thousands of naysayers as far as using online notary service is concerned. This apprehension is more to do with fear of technology than anything else. Those in doubt about using these services often live with the myth of this requiring high level of technical expertise.
The fact of the matter is that it is as easy as booking a flight or making reservations for a hotel room online. The process is fast and you can get documents notarized in as little as five minutes. Let us take you through a step wise guide on how you can get your documents notarized remotely –
Step 1 – Find Remote Notary Service
The growing demand for online notary service has led to several new service providers opening shop. As you’d know many of them don’t have theinfrastructure or team to offer satisfactory service. Hence, you must be choosy while zeroing on a service provider and make sure they have a proven track record. As a rule you can seek services from pre-Covid remote notary service providers.
Step 2 – Register with Remote Notary
Once you have selected a remote notary service you will need to register with them. It requires you to fill up a simple form offering your name, email and other contact information. This would offer you access to a secured account that you can use for your current notarization requirements and also in the future.
Step 3 – Upload Your Document
In this step you will need to upload a scanned copy of the documents that have to be notarized. Bear in mind that photograph of documents using smartphones doesn’t always offer the public notary all the information they need to notarize the documents and it is advisable that you make use of a scanner.
Step 4 – Verify Identity
You will have to verify your identity after you have uploaded the documents. You can use your Passport or any other identity documents that offers proof of your identity to the notary.
Step 5 – Connect with the Notary
Once your identity has been verified you will be connected live to a notary either over video call or telephone call. The notary would have a quick word with you and explain all the modalities of online notarization and answer any queries that you may have regarding this process.
Step 6 – Sign Documents
In this step you and the public notary would sign the document electronically. The UETA (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act) of 1999 offers the same weightage to electronic signatures as is the case with signatures with ink on paper. Once the document has been signed electronically at both ends the notary would put a digital seal and you can print copies of this save it in electronic format for future use.
Online notary service is easy, fast and efficient and most importantly it is here to stay after the pandemic has run its course.
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