Thank you, and good luck to you, also!
Thanks! I totally agree that consistency would be a good thing.
Great question, you have to make sure your state accepts RON, you can call NNA RON Dept and asked them which platforms are in your state, they’ll email you a list, great luck, let us know if you gain any luck. Thanks!
Hey Pam1, great question. This is the area I have been learning about over the last year. I will share what I have found out. I have used DocuSign. I believe their signing format is considered a digital signature different than electronic signature. In any case research both electronic and digital signing. However the company that needs the documents might accept electronic and digital signatures same way under the e signature umbrella. If you meet the signer and it is something you are independently helping them with, I would have them sign a separate consent to sign electronically.
In my state you can get an electronic endorsement to do e-docs but they still have to be physically present for any notary work during the e signing. For RON it is another endorsement, you can be fully remote with this. For e-signature only I don’t think it matters to have your electronic endorsement unless your state has specific rules for electronically signed documents.
Thank you, Irina, I’ve been sitting here this afternoon reading more about the differences in e-signatures and digital signatures. (Silly me, I thought they were the same thing. 
) A perfect example of learning something new each day. I really just want to be prepared to do whichever signature involves having the signer sign in person, even though it may be done electronically. I’m not ready for RON, yet; I think that would make me nervous. I’ve used DocuSign multiple time with my real estate, but have never signed using their notary feature. I’m trying to find out how much more it will cost to add the notary feature to my membership.
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DocuSign notary feature might be something to look into and whether a notary can offer this. A few RON providers I connected with extremely under pay the notary. One offered me $5 for the seal when my state fee is $25 for the electronic seals. I wonder if you can use docusign notary for your own business without a middleman? And if it needs states RON requirements, my state still is pretty new to all this too.
I think the docusign notary might be something interesting and more options for notary work.
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I’m in Texas and on the SOS website, it describes RON requirements. I haven’t spent too much time researching it, as I’m still very unclear about the process of verifying signers.
I’ve been reading about e-signatures, that could be needed at an in-person signing. To quote someone who often posts in these forums, I feel like I’ve been “reading til my eyes bleed.” (No offense to anyone with eye problems; it was just an expression.) There is truly so much to learn, and I’m ready to know it all, right now. 
Irina, You made me think of a question. Is there a fee every time we use an electronic seal, or just the one time fee to get the seal?
B, That is a good suggestion to look up which electronic platforms are allowed to be used in my state, which is Texas. I’m just trying to get ready for e-signings, or hybrids (not that I thoroughly understand what a hybrid is). I’m not ready to take the plunge into RON, yet.
In WA a notary can charge $25 per each electronic seal provided to the customer.
To get the digital seal there’s a one time fee until it is expired. NNA offers one but I have no idea if it’s DocuSign compatible and acceptable.
I am not sure how DocuSign charged for this.
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Looks like DocuSign is RON approved. If you have your RON credentials as a notary and your state allows it, seems like a good option.
It seems more simple to use than some of the other RON (more newer) programs I’ve looked into. DocuSign is a long time signing software, probably will have less issues than some of the new RON signing software out there.
irina you are so correct on all your comments. I see some classes online in WA State to walk us through all the hoops. Still waiting until next year to go through hoops because my gut guess it will change. I also have DocuSign and their stock market rating is up but there is comments in the stock market world they need to lock down their security in a better format.
pam1 you are doing all the right things researching information. I did the same thing for a while and now taking a break. People that work for Title companies are also confused and some of them have been in the business for decades. When I recently did an in person drop at a local title company we chatted about RON, electronic signatures, Hybrid signings, etc. Since Bremerton WA is a military town a lot of multi-state signings so when that is thrown into the mix different states different laws. As you know, Lenders and Title may have multiple states involved with signing packages hence different laws. Cluster !!
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Different authors and different laws/rules use “electronic signature” and “digital signature” differently. Black’s Law Dictionary (10th ed.) as sub-definitions under signature indicate an electronic signature is not necessarily secure, and may include a name typed at the end of a document. According to Black’s, a digital signature is secure.
On the other hand, the Vermont law concerning notaries only uses “electronic signature”, not “digital signature”. It says the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) may create rules to insure electronic signatures used by notaries are tamper-evident. (Electronic notarization of any kind may not yet be performed by Vermont Notaries because OPR hasn’t passed any rules yet.)
So the bottom line is there is no way to know what “electronic signature” or “digital signature” mean unless you identify a particular situation in a particular state, and read the relevant laws and rules.
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I only have experience with hybrid closings where you print some of the docs (usually those needing a notarization) and the balance of the docs are on the signing providers website and they will be signed by their platform of choice. I have only had requests for Pavaso and the provider set me up with access to their Pavaso app and enough online training to do a hybrid which did not have docs requiring notarization. This is a typical hybrid and it is an excellent way to progress into RON’s since the principals are the same except in a RON you do notarize documents and their is no hard copy. Hope this helps.
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The provider setting the notary up with access seems like the best way, at least in my opinion. That definitely removes the uncertainty. I appreciate the information.
Sorry for the late delay. I am in Pennsylvania. I got most of my info from my state’s website, but was confused along the way, which is why I signed up with Notarize 24/7 in the first place. I’ll tell you what, this thing is so strange to me I’m just going to let it go for now. Maybe revisit it in another year. Thanks for your input.
You are not kidding! There is so much to learn. It seems like I’m finding out new information daily; sometimes when I’m searching for one topic, I learn about something I wasn’t even looking for. Best wishes for you!
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Hello everyone. I have transitioned my business over to RON transactions and closings. Here is the difference. A RON transaction is the one that requires the notary to have a digital platform that provides the capability to electronically handle the entire process of signer identification, document signing and notarization, and storage of the documents and the signing session, along with an electronic journal. It also puts security marks on the documents to prevent tampering and the Note in a closing has additional features that ensures it is the original Note and not a copy. RON also requires additional licensing and currently only 38 states permit their notaries to do RON transactions. If you try to do this via Zoom, FaceTime, or other social media applications, it is not considered RON nor is it considered secure. Hybrid closings, where the notary witnesses the signer signing the documents electronically and then wet signs the documents requiring notarization, might be permitted by a notary who is not commissioned as a RON notary, but you might want to check to see if that is allowed in your state. Finally, Notarize has a good demo of the RON transaction on YouTube if you want to see the process in action. I have posted it on other RON forum conversations.
As to platforms, there are a number of them out there that will pay a cut of the fee collected by the platform up front so you will see lower fees than what you get using paper as a notary. That is because they bear all of the costs involved in doing RON. DocVerify was mentioned as expensive, and it can be if you don’t have much RON work, but it is designed for the individual notary running their own business. You are collecting the entire fee (Virginia allows notaries to charge $25.00) so you can make money using that platform, but you will also need to provide your own customers and pay them the fees for using their technology. I use it with title companies who have used me as their preferred notary and who are slowly moving to RON so it has been profitable for me. In light of the fact that you do not have all of the expenses of printing and traveling, along with the time scanning and then shipping the documents. not to mention that the time with the signer is almost cut in half so you get more notary work done, it is workable. You have to evaluate it for yourself.
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Correction to my last post on RON and DocuSign. RON is still in beta stage with DocuSign. I spoke with DocuSign today and RON DocuSign is expected to be released by end of this year.
In other news, I received an email from my state notary office that I can now permanently add RON endorsement to my commission.
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