colorado secretary of state
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Steve Hurlbert
303-860-6903 steve.hurlbert@sos.state.co.us
March 28, 2020
Colorado Secretary of State’s Office To Implement Remote Notarization
After working closely with the Governor’s office, stakeholders, and the legal community, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office will implement a remote notarization process. Remote notarization will assist Coloradans and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are committed to maintaining important services for Coloradans during this national health crisis,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold. “Remote notarization will enable Coloradans and businesses continued access to notary services while observing the social distancing guidelines that keep us all safe.”
Governor Polis issued an Executive Order today, which states in part: “Pursuant to the authority vested in the Governor of the State of Colorado and, in particular, pursuant to Article IV, Section 2 of the Colorado Constitution and the relevant portions of the Colorado Disaster Emergency Act, C.R.S. § 24-33.5-701 et seq. (Act), I, Jared Polis, Governor of the State of Colorado, hereby issue this Executive Order ordering the temporary suspension of the personal appearance requirement before notarial officers to perform notarizations due to the presence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Colorado.”
Secretary Griswold will issue emergency rules on Monday, setting forth the procedures and requirements for remote notarization in Colorado during this state of emergency. These rules will address implementation of the remote notarization process while including protections against identity theft and fraud.
Yikes! Yikes! Yikes!
I just sent an email to the people I am working with to let them know that I can do Remote Online Notarization NOW! They just need to add me to their Portal? I’m already Approved and Certified as E-Notary. Yikes!
Hello Colorado, The Governor’s executive order was step 1. Step 2: the SOS set the requirements for RON. As I understand the guidelines the entire transaction has to be recorded in a secure manner and stored for 10 years.
eNotary and Ron are not the same thing. eNotary still requires personal presence but allows the use of an electronic journal instead of or in addition to a paper journal. If I’m wrong please advise. Respectfully,
You will have to charge whatever your state says you can charge - if you’re doing remote notarizations of only the security instrument (for example) and your state limits your fee to $25 per remote notarization - that’s all you’re going to be able to charge.
And agree with “notary” - this is not e-notarization - RON is a whole different ball of wax requiring more conditions such as higher bond, higher E&O, video storage, e-seal, etc etc. Also, the expense of setting oneself up for these.
Further, is this a “temporary” order? I know some states have approved it until April 28 - would hate to see you spend $500 to get going for only 2-3 weeks.
Good luck. I won’t touch these…wouldn’t touch RON before as I feel it’s a petri dish for fraud - throw a law together overnight and IMO it’s just more problems.
I agree with you, LindaH. Our Oklahoma Governor (who by the way owns a mortgage company) approved RON last year, but the SOS still has no information on how to implement it on their website. I haven’t taken the time to inquire as to time frame as I have no desire to pay for and be involved in trying to secure all the data and be responsible for it for 10 years or more.
Why are RON signings so dangerous, regarding fraud? I thought that there is some facial recognition technology and questions that the borrower has to answer. Wouldn’t the platform that hosts the signing be responsible for verification and maintaining the transaction in the cloud?
I’m not certified, but just doing research. Also, I’m wondering what a “day in the life” of a RON signing agent would entail. I’m imagining being strapped to the computer like a person at a call center. Ugh! Or will it be “by appointment only?” Thanks for any info you can share
I’ve done quite a bit of research. I do eNotary signings now (hybrids only up to this point, as WA did not allow RON).
Check if your state requires additional credentials. For my state, I had to add two endorsements to my notary license - an electronic records endorsement first, then a remote online notary endorsement.
You have to establish an electronic signature and seal. For those, you have to choose a provider. Many have chosen Docusign, which is fine for electronic document signings completed in-person. However, Docusign tells me they do not certify RON. I stayed with Pavaso, which certifies and maintains your seal for both eNotary and RON.
The fee is $99 per year for eNotary. For RON, there is an additional monthly fee. I am not certain whether it is $59 or $69 - it takes 30 days for their accounting department to bill.
To use my seal, docs have to be presented to me via Pavaso’s platform.
I had done electronic signings for over a decade as a real estate broker; we all hated it when the MLS first set it up, but it’s the norm now. While I agree that nothing is as secure as a face-to-face verification, this is the way things are moving along. I worked hard to build my business, and I have no intention of losing it because I was too scared or set in my ways to embrace something new.
Thank you to VIPnotaryCO, Notary, LindaH, KanDoNotary, katynotary, and judikidd for your feedback. Colorado’s executive order is a temporary order and I am not particularly interested in investing a lot of time and money into something that is possibly going to go away in a few weeks. I will continue to watch for updates and feedback from those who are doing RON’s during this time. Thank you, all, again! I appreciate you all.
Sorry for the delay Katy - was out trying to get my pantry stocked…
The notary is always responsible for maintenance of their journal and their seal; and in the case of RON, yes you’ll pay a provider to do it but, ultimately, the storage of the video is your responsibility. You are responsible for everything you do as a notary, including keeping and maintaining records.
As for the fraud - one example: how can you positively state that person is not under duress…you can’t even get a one on one with the person via video as you have no idea who’s off to the side; You have to be sure that person is who they say they are and you’re relying in databases populated by some unknown third party - who says that info is reliable? or accurate?
Wait 6-7 months down the road when we get back to some semblance of normal - and start watching for the foreclosure boom - by folks who said “I didn’t sign that!”…
I know KY passed legislation last year (2020) allowing non commissioned RON work, but not eSignings. This was actual legislation, not an order by the governor, but it was still due to covid, and didn’t state that it was permanent. Seems like shaky ground to me. Know anyone with success jumping in?
