The Problem This Solves
You live in Oregon. Your father lived in Georgia. The estate needs a sworn petition, an affidavit, waivers from two siblings who live in different states, a deed, and a stack of institution forms -- and nearly every one of them says notary public at the bottom.
The old answer was a plane ticket, or a slow loop of overnight mail. The newer answer is remote online notarization: a notary appears with you over live audio and video, verifies who you are, and applies an electronic seal, without anyone leaving home.
It works well, and it covers most of what an executor signs. But there are two things people consistently get wrong about it -- which state's law governs, and which documents are carved out -- and both are the kind of mistake you discover only when something gets rejected. This guide covers both, plus what a session actually involves and what to confirm before you book one.
What Remote Online Notarization Is (and What It Is Not)
Remote online notarization, usually shortened to RON, is a notarial act performed over two-way audio-video technology, on an approved platform, by a notary specifically commissioned to do it.
The Texas Secretary of State defines an online notary public as "a public servant who is commissioned as a traditional notary public, and who is also commissioned and authorized to perform online notarizations by using two-way video and audio conference technology."
Three things are commonly confused with it, and the distinction matters because a substitute can get your document bounced:
Electronic notarization (eNotarization) means the document and seal are electronic, but the signer still appears in person. Electronic format, physical presence.
Remote ink-signed notarization (RIN) means you sign on paper while the notary watches over video, then mail the wet-signed original to the notary to complete. Several states permitted this, frequently as a temporary measure, and it is legally distinct from RON.
A video call with a notary you happen to know is not a notarial act at all in most places. Without the statutory framework -- commissioned authority, an approved platform, identity proofing, tamper-evident seal, retained recording -- it is just a call.
If you need a remote notarization, make sure you are getting the real thing and keep the certificate the platform produces.
The Rule That Surprises Almost Everyone
Here is the most practically useful fact in this entire article, and it is the opposite of what most people assume.
The state that governs is the state where the notary is commissioned -- not the state where you are sitting.
A notarial act is governed by the law of the jurisdiction that commissioned the notary performing it. A remote online notary commissioned in a state that authorizes RON can generally notarize for a signer located anywhere -- another state, or another country.
That reframes the question entirely. You are almost never blocked because your state has not authorized RON. Most states now authorize remote online notarization in some form -- your Secretary of State or notary commissioning authority publishes the current status, and it is worth checking there rather than in an article, since these statutes keep changing -- so finding a commissioned online notary is rarely the constraint.
The real question is the one on the receiving end: will the court, bank, recorder, or transfer agent accept a document notarized this way? That is a separate decision made by a separate party, and it is where remote notarization actually fails when it fails. More on that below.
The Big Carve-Out: Wills
This is the exception that matters most in an estate context, and it is broad.
Many states explicitly exclude wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts from their electronic transactions and remote notarization frameworks. Two examples, both from primary sources:
- Texas. The Secretary of State's guidance is direct: wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts "cannot be signed electronically or notarized online with an appearance before a notary public via videoconference when executing these documents."
- New Jersey. N.J.A.C. 17:50-1.16 leads with the exception: "With the exception of wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts, a notarial officer located in this State may perform a notarial act using a tamper-evident technology."
Other states have taken the same approach, usually by excluding testamentary documents from the state's version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, which then flows through to what can be notarized online. A handful of states have separately built dedicated electronic will regimes -- but those are their own statutory systems with their own witnessing, custody, and storage requirements, not ordinary RON.
Now the part that most articles on this topic blur, and that matters for anyone reading this as an executor:
This carve-out is about creating a will. That is estate planning -- something the person does while alive. It is not about administering an estate after a death.
If you are settling an estate, you are not signing a will. You are signing petitions, affidavits, waivers, deeds, and institutional forms. Those are ordinary documents, and the wills carve-out does not touch them. Do not let a headline about wills convince you that remote notarization is unavailable for probate work. In the great majority of cases, it is available.
The one place this does reach into probate is the self-proving affidavit attached to a will -- the sworn statement by the witnesses that speeds up admitting the will to probate. That affidavit is part of the will's execution, so it is generally subject to the same restrictions. If a will was signed without one, curing that after the fact usually means locating the witnesses for a sworn statement under your state's procedure, not a remote notarization.
What Executors Can Usually Get Notarized Online
With wills set aside, here is the paperwork that routinely goes through remote notarization in an estate:
- Petitions and applications to open the estate, where the jurisdiction requires them sworn or verified
- Affidavits and verifications of all kinds, including affidavits of heirship where the state uses them
- Waivers, consents, and notices signed by heirs and beneficiaries -- often the biggest win, because these are the signatures scattered across the most addresses
- Renunciations by someone with priority who is declining to serve. Our guide to renouncing the right to serve covers when that comes up
- Inventories and accountings, where they must be sworn
- Deeds transferring estate real property -- with a caution below about county recorders
- Institution forms: bank and brokerage account closures, transfer agent paperwork, motor vehicle title transfers, insurance claims
Two documents deserve their own note.
Deeds. A deed has to be recorded to be effective against the world, and recording is handled by a county recorder or clerk, each of which sets its own requirements for electronic documents. Some record electronically without trouble; others want a paper original with a wet signature and an embossed seal. Confirm with the specific county before the session, not after.
Anything needing a medallion signature guarantee. A medallion guarantee is not a notarization and a notary cannot provide one. It is a separate stamp issued by a participating financial institution that guarantees your signature for securities transfers, and it generally requires showing up in person. If a transfer agent asks for a medallion, remote notarization will not satisfy it -- see our guide to the medallion signature guarantee for how to get one.
The Second Gate: Will They Accept It?
Authority to perform a remote notarization and willingness to accept one are two different things, and the second is where executors actually get stuck.
Each party you submit to decides independently:
The probate court. Rules vary by state and, very often, by county. Many courts accept remotely notarized filings without comment. Some require certain documents in original form with an original signature -- a requirement that predates RON and exists regardless of how the notarization was performed. Court e-filing systems frequently list which document types are excluded from electronic filing. Check your court's local rules or call the clerk before you build a plan around it.
The county recorder, for deeds, as described above.
Banks, brokerages, and transfer agents. These set internal policy, and policy varies by institution and sometimes by department. Some accept remote notarization routinely; others have not updated their procedures.
Motor vehicle agencies, for title transfers, which are often the most paper-bound of the group.
The efficient move is a single phone call per recipient, asked plainly: Do you accept a document notarized by a remote online notary commissioned in another state, and do you need a physical original? Two answers, and you know exactly what to do. Getting them in advance costs a few minutes; getting them after a rejection costs weeks.
How a Session Actually Works
A RON session includes verification steps that a walk-in notarization does not, which is worth knowing so nothing catches you off guard.
1. Upload the document. Unsigned. You sign during the session, not before -- a document already signed can usually only be acknowledged, not sworn.
2. Identity proofing. Texas defines this as "the process by which the identity of an individual is affirmed by a third party through review of public and proprietary data sources." In practice: multiple-choice questions generated from public records about your history -- former addresses, past vehicles, old lenders. There is typically a time limit and a cap on attempts. Stale or thin credit history can cause failures, so if the questions do not look familiar, that is a known limitation rather than something you did wrong.
3. Credential analysis. Texas describes this as a process by which "the validity of a government-issued identification credential is affirmed by a third party through review of public and proprietary data sources." You photograph your ID and software authenticates its security features. Have an unexpired ID, and expect glare on a laminated card to be the most common practical problem.
4. The audio-video session. You and the notary connect live. They confirm your identity, verify you are signing willingly, and administer an oath if the document requires one.
5. Electronic seal and signature. Applied in a tamper-evident format, so later alteration is detectable.
6. Recording and retention. The session is recorded and kept. Texas requires online notaries to retain records including "a recording of any video and audio conference that is the basis for satisfactory evidence of identity," for five years from the date of the notarization. That record is a genuine advantage if a signature is ever questioned.
Expect fifteen minutes for a straightforward document. Platforms typically charge a per-notarization fee, with per-signature or per-seal add-ons. Many states set a maximum fee a notary may charge for an online notarial act, so if a quote looks high it is worth checking your notary's commissioning state's published fee schedule.
California, Specifically
California is the notable holdout, and the reason is timing rather than opposition.
SB 696, enacted in 2023, builds the whole framework: registration for notaries who want to perform online notarizations, registration of platforms and depositories with the Secretary of State, electronic journals, audio-video recordings, electronic seals, security and encryption standards, and civil liability for platforms that violate the law.
What it does not do is switch on immediately. The authority is tied to the Secretary of State completing a technology project -- the restriction lifts at the earlier of certification that the project is complete, or January 1, 2030, subject to a reporting provision if it will not be finished by then. The bill separately addresses remote notarial acts performed by out-of-state notaries, with an operative date of January 1, 2025.
For a Californian settling an estate right now, the general rule is what matters: the notary's commissioning state governs, so an online notary commissioned elsewhere is typically available to you. Your remaining work is confirming acceptance with the court or institution on the other end.
What About a Federal Rule?
Legislation to require nationwide recognition of remote notarizations has been introduced in Congress repeatedly, most recently as the SECURE Notarization Act of 2025 (H.R. 1777 and S. 1561). The concept is to authorize notaries to perform notarizations for remotely located individuals and to require federal courts and states to recognize those acts where interstate commerce is involved.
Check the current status on congress.gov before relying on it. What governs your document today is state law and the policy of whoever is receiving it.
Before You Book: A Checklist
- Identify every document in the estate that needs a notary, and who signs each one.
- Set aside anything that is part of a will's execution -- the will itself, a codicil, a self-proving affidavit. Those follow different rules.
- For each remaining document, ask the receiving party two questions: do you accept remote online notarization, and do you need a physical original?
- For deeds, ask the county recorder specifically. Do not generalize from what the court said.
- Confirm that anything requiring a medallion signature guarantee is routed to a bank, not a notary.
- Check whether your state has its own RON-commissioned notaries; if not, use a platform whose notaries are commissioned in a state that does.
- Make sure every signer has an unexpired government photo ID and can pass knowledge-based questions. Flag anyone with thin credit history in advance.
- Do not pre-sign. Bring the document unsigned.
- Have all signers available at the same time if a document needs more than one signature, or book separate sessions deliberately.
- Save the completed document, the certificate, and the platform's transaction record with your estate files.
Mistakes Worth Avoiding
Assuming it is unavailable because your state has not authorized its own notaries. The commissioning state governs. This is the most common unnecessary dead end.
Assuming acceptance follows authority. A perfectly valid remote notarization can still be refused by a court that wants an original, or a bank that has not updated its procedures. Ask first.
Trying to remotely notarize a will. Broadly carved out, and the consequence is not a rejected form -- it is a document that may not be valid when it matters most. Will signings belong in person, under your state's execution requirements.
Signing before the session. A notary generally cannot administer an oath on a document you already signed out of view. Bring it unsigned.
Treating a medallion guarantee as a notarization. Different instrument, different provider, in-person.
Not saving the output. The completed document, the notarial certificate, and the transaction record are the proof that the act occurred. Store them with the estate's records.
Getting Help
Remote notarization is a logistics tool, not a legal strategy, and using it does not change what a document has to say or whether it is the right document to file. If the estate involves a contested matter, an unclear will execution, real property in a state you are unfamiliar with, or a court that is refusing filings you believe are proper, talk to a probate attorney. That is an informed decision to make once you can see the specific obstacle, and our guide to handling probate remotely covers the broader question of managing an out-of-state estate.
How SwiftProbate Helps
SwiftProbate is probate task management software. It helps you understand what needs to happen in an estate, organize the documents in one place, and keep track of what is done and what is still open.
Remote notarization is a good illustration of why the organizing matters more than it sounds. The hard part is not the fifteen-minute video session -- it is knowing which of two dozen documents need a notary, which need a wet-signed original instead, which heir still has not returned a waiver, and which county recorder gave you a different answer than the probate clerk did. That is a tracking problem, and it is where remote estates lose weeks.
SwiftProbate keeps that visible: the documents an estate needs, who has to sign each one, what is outstanding, and the completed paperwork stored with the estate rather than scattered across email. If you are earlier in the process, the step-by-step probate checklist lays out the overall sequence, and how to sign documents as an executor covers the signature format itself -- which matters just as much as where the notarization happened.
SwiftProbate provides software to help navigate the probate process. SwiftProbate is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and is not a substitute for the advice of a licensed attorney. No attorney-client relationship is created by using this service. Probate laws vary by state and county.