I am approved for RON through PA and each platform has an electronic journal attached to the software. Should I still record these into my paper journal since in PA you have to keep records until you decide to retire as a notary, the state can request your journal at any time, and if you use an electronic journal then you have to return it in a platform that is accepted by the Deed of Recorders? I don’t really like the idea of having to rely on backing up multiple platforms to my computer over the years and hoping that the data does not get corrupted or lost over time but I also don’t know if it’s appropriate to put RON into a paper journal either. I have done quite a few RON sessions so far but only one in person. I feel like 20+ years down the line a electronic journal will at the very least get corrupted and at worst the original signings would be in a form that isn’t in use 20 years from now. I can’t really find much information about it online, seems like everything online is saying to use an electronic journal for RON.
PS: Glad to be here, I just got my commission in September and I’ve been stalking this forum since the moment I decided to get my education so very glad to join you all.
I am in Washington and we must note all notarizations in a tangible bound notary journal. If we do electronic or RON notarizations, we may supplement with an electronic notary journal, but everything must be documented in our bound notary journal.
Pennsylvania notary rules say “Each journal of a notary public,whether maintained on a tangible medium or in an electronic format …” so I think as a precaution and for your piece of mind, it would not hurt to capture ALL notarizations in your bound notary journal and supplement with that electronic journal when you do RON. If in doubt, you could go to the source and ask the PA notary commission what it recommends:
210 North Office Building, Harrisburg, PA 17120
Hours: Mon-Fri 8.00am to 5.00pm
Phone: (717) 787-5280
Email: ST-NOTARIES@pa.gov
(a) Maintenance.–A notary public shall maintain a journal in which the notary public records in chronological order all notarial acts that the notary public performs.
And also
(b) Format.–A journal may be created on a tangible medium or in an electronic format. A notary public may maintain a separate journal for tangible records and for electronic records. If the journal is maintained on a tangible medium, it shall be a bound register with numbered pages. If the journal is maintained in an electronic format, it shall be in a tamper-evident electronic format complying with the regulations of the department.
I can’t find the rules saying what formats are approved.
It seems this is saying that at any one time, you can have one paper journal and one electronic journal. But if you rely on multiple platforms for RON and each has it’s own journal, you don’t have ONE electronic journal, you have several. So it seems to me you should just regard the “journals” from the platform as just extra stuff, and you have just the paper journal as your real journal. Or, find an electronic journal that meets your state’s rules and put all your RON transactions, from all the platforms, in there (while also having a paper journal for paper transactions).
Yes, this is what I was confused by, the first states to list all notarial acts in a journal and the second paragraph reads to me like the paper should be for paper notarial acts and the electronic should be for electronic notarial acts. I would prefer to just put everything in one paper journal if I can.
The law says in part “A notary public may maintain a separate journal for tangible records and for electronic records”. The key word is may. I take that to mean having separate tangible and electronic journals is an option, but you don’t have to. You can have only a tangible journal and put everything in it. Or you can have only an electronic journal and put everything in it.
Does your state require the signer to sign the journal entry for the notarization? If so, how can you do an RON notarization and have them sign a paper journal?
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