I only agree in cases involving bundled notarial acts; for simple activities, however, RON is highly efficient and boosts earnings for professionals in the sector.
This is a timely comment that fits the current reality well 
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Even though we might face some challenges with “tech culture” | especially given that many here come from generations and eras when such things didn’t exist | adapting and keeping up with new practices, market updates, and evolving dynamics is the right formula for staying relevant and ensuring longevity in the sector.
One thing I always advocate to new generations is the value of the experience and seriousness with which the previous generation built things | achieved through great sweat and sacrifice | as these embody solid principles that need to be carried over into modern practices. MP
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I had been a mobile since 2008 before becoming a RON. I was on DocVerify initially and started doing electronic notary work when COVID hit. Then, Notarize put the word out through the NNA that they needed on demand notaries. I was able to get set up on their platform. When Notarize opened their platform for independent norltaries, I was able to add on some of my former mobile notary clients. I was able build up that side where I could reap the full fees while continuing as an on demand notary. It progressed to where I now only do independent notary work. I am still registered as an on demand notary so that when things start slowing down in the real estate transactions, like they have recently, I still have the option of that route of income if I need it.
I hope this helps
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My biggest objection to RON: “fraud reduction via KBA + facial/ID scan” sounds solid on paper, but it verifies the wrong thing. KBA (knowledge-based authentication) confirms that the person answering questions knows facts about the signer — not that the person signing is physically who they claim, of sound mind, and free from pressure. Those facts can be known by someone impersonating the signer: a family member, an abuser, a scammer with access to that person’s financial history. Facial and ID scans confirm identity, not capacity or coercion.
A skilled notary doing an in-person signing is reading things no algorithm can: body language, hesitation, confusion, fear.
I was once called to a hospital to notarize a POA for a senior. The charge nurse pulled me aside privately and told me the senior seemed afraid of her daughter and the daughter’s fiancé. Every time I tried to speak with the senior directly, the daughter or fiancé answered for her. I finally asked them to step out of the room so I could speak with the senior alone. I told her I wasn’t there to make her do anything she didn’t want to do, and asked if she wanted to sign. She said no. I relayed that to the daughter and her fiancé, and I left.
None of that would have been possible through a screen. There’s no charge nurse pulling you aside on a video call. There’s no clearing the room when someone might be standing just off-camera. KBA would have confirmed that senior “was who she said she was” — it does nothing to detect that she was being spoken over and pressured by the people in the room with her.
That’s the gap RON can’t close, no matter how good the identification technology gets.
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So, if I understand you correctly, you’re saying that you relied on a third-party “Nurse” to determine that you should not proceed with the signing, rather than making that judgment based on your own observations?
I’m sorry, but in the RON world, a notary can still make those determinations independently based on what they observe during the session. I’m looking directly at the signer on my screen. I can observe their behavior, eye movement, facial expressions, body language, whether they are looking off-camera, sweating, appearing confused, or displaying other signs that something may not be right.
I can also zoom in and carefully observe what is happening. If something doesn’t appear appropriate, I can ask the signer to move the camera around the room and identify everyone present. I can ask additional questions and take whatever reasonable steps are necessary to determine whether I am comfortable proceeding.
Ultimately, I am the notary, and I am responsible for making the decision to proceed or refuse the notarization. If I determine that something is not right, I can end the session immediately—literally in less than a second—without having to say another word.
That brings me to my concern with relying on a third party: What happens when that third party isn’t there to assist you? At that point, the responsibility falls back on you as the notary to recognize what is happening and make the appropriate decision based on your own observations and professional judgment.
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To clarify: back then, doing signings for GNW, I dressed more business-like and had a rolling briefcase, so I stood out. The charge nurse saw me before I even got to the patient’s room, asked if I was the notary, and asked to speak privately. The nurse just gave me a heads up. That’s not the same as relying on her input. My decision to stop was because the senior told me directly that she did not want to sign.
It’s never one factor. It’s the totality of factors, and my notarial duties and the law governing them trump any extra or extraneous input every time. Outside information — a comment from a nurse, a family member, anyone — is never the deciding factor on its own. It’s context that gets weighed alongside everything I’m required to observe myself. The judgment call is always mine, and it’s always grounded in what my notarial duty requires.
And here’s the thing: even if the charge nurse had said nothing to me, the outcome doesn’t change. The dominant red flag wasn’t her comment — it was that the signer could not speak for herself. Every time I tried to address her directly, someone else answered for her. That alone is disqualifying. I need to hear from the signer, period. That’s not optional and it’s not something a tip from a third party creates — it’s a baseline requirement of the job.
For what it’s worth, this comes up more than people realize — plenty of hospital patients can’t speak at all due to intubation or breathing support. In those cases, it’s a clipboard, a pen, and paper. The signer still has to communicate directly, whatever form that takes. If I can’t get that, I don’t proceed. RON doesn’t change that standard — it just removes some of the tools I’d otherwise have to meet it.
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I’m going to leave it at that. Most people simply don’t understand RON and try to play it down because they’ve never actually done it.
You had a notepad and a pen. I have a computer, a complete electronic process, and a text messaging system that is also recorded. The technology and documentation available to me are very different from what you had.
Just because someone doesn’t understand the process—or has never actually performed RON—doesn’t mean they can accurately judge what a RON notary can or cannot observe and accomplish.
And as far as professional appearance, I completely understand the point. I agree that many RON notaries don’t dress appropriately for a professional notarization. Personally, I still wear a shirt and tie for my sessions. On Fridays, I add a vest while still wearing the shirt and tie. For me, being online doesn’t change the importance of presenting myself professionally.
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A few things, then I’ll leave it too. Pointing out I’ve never done RON isn’t a response to my point — it’s a comment on my resume. You don’t need to have done a procedure to see a structural gap in it. An engineer doesn’t need to have been on a collapsed bridge to know why it failed.
On the camera pan — a person can just as easily dodge being in frame, and asking additional questions does nothing to stop someone off-camera from coaching the signer in real time. That’s not the same as an in-person notary clearing the room to speak to the signer one-on-one. You can ask everyone to show themselves. You can’t ask someone to actually leave.
You’ve told me what your technology lets you see. You still haven’t told me how it gets you what mine got me: an empty room, and a senior who could finally answer for herself.
There’ll be other threads on this, and I may or may not jump into them. Anyone’s free to respond. But my stance on RON isn’t changing — not because I’m not listening, but because nothing I’ve seen in any RON discussion anywhere so far has touched the actual gap I described. We agree to disagree.
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@monikap You may already know . . .
Some Professional Signing Agents [PSAs] will perform Remote Online [RON] Signing Appointments SOLELY for Title/Escrow Companies [T/ECs], lenders, etc.
Some PSAs will only perform RON Signing Appointments for ONLY 1 T/EC & NOT for GNW.
Some PSAs will perform their services for those types of clients AS WELL AS performing General Notary Work [GNW].
Still yet, there are other Notaries & PSAs who opt for not providing RON Services whatsoever.
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Some individuals are technophobes, while others embrace new technology. Which one are you?
If this ever goes to court, you will be placed under oath and can only testify based on what you personally observed. In my case, if I ever need to appear in court—which is probably unlikely—I can simply point to the recorded session and say, “Please press the button and review the video.” The recording provides a documented account of exactly what occurred during the notarization.
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Actually, the requirement is that the document has to be used in the U.S. I’m in FL and I did RON for 1 year. I had a customer in Pakistan with a valid nation passport (no requirement for a U.S. Customs stamp) who needed a document notarized for business in the U.S.
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Well, according to Chapter 117 Section 05 - 2024 Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate under identifying number: in section c. A passport issued by a foreign government if the document is stamped by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services;
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I agree that is the rule when validating IDs when the signer is in person or in the U. S. The rules for RON are different.
117.201 (6) “Government-issued identification credential” means any approved credential for verifying identity under s. 117.05(5)(b)2. However, for an online notarization of a principal not located within the United States, a passport issued by a foreign government not including the stamp of the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services may be used as a government-issued identification credential to verify the principal’s identity.
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Technophobe or not, my point has always been about what a notary in-person can do in the moment to protect a vulnerable signer, something that can be bypassed out-of-frame. The recording documents what’s in frame; it doesn’t detect coaching or coercion happening outside it. That’s not a gap it closes. Unless that gap gets addressed directly, we’re just going in circles, no point wasting more of either of our time.
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I sincerely appreciate everyone’s comments; these are valuable points that I will review carefully, allowing me to upgrade my platform to deliver even greater value and results 
!!!
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Notary requirements are governed by the state in which the notary is commissioned. That means the rules that apply to a New York notary may differ significantly from those that apply to a notary in Florida or any other state.
Although notarized documents are generally recognized nationwide, each notary must perform notarial acts in compliance with the laws, procedures, and limitations of their commissioning state. In short, always look to the laws of the state where the notary is licensed | not the state where the signer, document, or recipient is located. MP
Potentially, the requirements could also be affected by the laws of the country where the signer is located. That country might have a law against a person who isn’t a notary of that country performing a notarization for a person located in that country. But I am not familiar with the laws of other countries, and I haven’t heard of a case where this caused an issue.
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Exactly!!! a very timely supplementary comment, as this type of situation must be considered or taken into account depending on the type of document to be notarized.
Agreed! Our replies were based on Florida Statutes only.
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Stand corrected thank you for bringing that up
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