Getting Started
How Long Does Online Notarization Take?
Where the time actually goes
People expect the video session to be the slow part. It rarely is. Time goes into confirming the document can be handled remotely, resolving missing pages or missing notarial wording, verifying identity, and finding a slot that works for everyone who must sign.
- Intake: a few minutes
- Review: depends on document complexity and completeness
- Identity verification: minutes when your ID and records are current
- Scheduling: driven by signer availability and time zones
- Session: usually brief for a single document
What slows things down
Pre-signed documents, partial uploads, unexpired-ID problems, witness requirements discovered late, a recipient that turns out to require paper, and multiple signers in distant time zones.
How to move faster
State your deadline in the request. Upload every page. Ask the recipient about electronic acceptance before you submit. Confirm witness availability in advance. Keep your phone nearby so follow-up questions do not sit unanswered for a day.
A note on legal advice
This article is educational. Notaries are not acting as attorneys and cannot provide legal advice, select legal documents for you, or advise you on a document's legal effect. We also cannot guarantee that any court, recorder, lender, title company, agency, embassy, consulate, or foreign authority will accept a specific electronically notarized document — confirm that with the organization receiving it.
FAQ
Related questions
Where to go next
Online notary by state
Working against a deadline?
Skip the drive. Start your online notarization request from wherever you are.