Each year more than a billion documents are notarized in the United States. Online notarization brings the benefits of notarization into the digital age. Here's how it works, and how your information is kept safe and secured. We begin by opening Notarize and online notarization tool. To get started, we tap the plus to upload our document. You're able to fill out your document using tools directly within Notarize. Before meeting with an online notary, signers must go through three stages of identity verification. We begin by typing in the last four digits of your social security number. Notarize securely queries third party databases to generate identity challenge questions that only you can answer. You must answer five questions within two minutes. If you fail to get at least four answers correct, you'll have to try again with a new set of questions. If you fail a second time, you'll be locked out of the app. Next, you simply snap a photo of the front and back of the ID. Behind the Scenes Notarize performs a software based forensic analysis on the image to inspect and validate the ID. This entire process typically takes less than one minute. Now it's time for the main event connecting with a live notary. The remote notary sees the incoming video call and search the session from their end by accepting. Hi, welcome to Notarize. I'm Amy Dunn. I'm a commission notary public in the state of Texas, and I'm authorized to notarize documents online for use nationwide. Before we proceed, do you understand and consent to having me conduct a remote notarization in Texas today? Yes, I understand. And do you understand that this notarization will be recorded? Yes, I do. And finally, Mike, are you participating in today's notarization of your own free will? Yes, I am. Do you have any questions before we get started? No, all set. Thanks! During the conversation, the notary completes the third and final step of the identity verification process, by visually inspecting the customer's ID and comparing it to the person on the call. If the notary has any concerns, they're able to terminate the notarization with a single click. The notary also talks with the signer to generally assess their mental state. Do you know the content so the document you're about to sign? Yes, I do. I see we're notarizing a minor consent to travel. Do you have a fun trip planned? Yeah. My wife is taking our son to London to visit his grandparents. Great!. Let's get started. Please tap where it says signature to create your signature. If this document required witnesses, like many real estate transactions, the additional signers could have joined the video meeting as well. Now the notary completes the notarization by adding their official signature and seal. On average, this entire process takes less than six minutes. Online notarization also comes with greater security and more thorough record-keeping than a traditional in-person notarization. Every video call is recorded and securely saved as well as the customers ID and other details that validate the transaction. An X.509 digital certificate is attached to the document digitally encrypting the file so any tampering, no matter how small, will be evident. An audit trail is also created for every document showing the date and time it was signed and notarized. Through the entire process, cybersecurity is a top priority. All customer information is encrypted during the notary session and in post-meeting data records. And of course, Notarize provides users with full disclosure and maximum control over how their data is used. The signer can now send the notarized documents to its intended recipient, a transaction which would previously have taken hours has been completed in minutes.
