Is Online Notarization Legal?

Authority comes from the notary's state

A notary's power comes from the state that commissioned them. When that state authorizes electronic and remote notarization, its notaries may perform notarial acts that way under the conditions the state sets — identity verification standards, recording and journaling, technology requirements, and the form of the electronic certificate.

Virginia has authorized electronic notarization for years and maintains published requirements for electronic notaries. For the current rules, the authoritative sources are the Code of Virginia, the Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth, and the current Virginia notary handbook — not third-party blog posts.

Why the signer's location is not the controlling question

People often assume they need a notary licensed in their own state. For a remote notarization, the notary acts under their commissioning state's authority. Your location still matters — the notary records it, and some documents raise state-specific issues — but you generally do not need to be in the notary's state.

Legality and acceptance are two different things

A notarization can be perfectly lawful and still be refused by an office that only accepts paper originals, or by a county recorder that has not adopted electronic recording. That is not a legal defect; it is a policy of the recipient.

So ask the receiving organization two questions: do you accept an electronically notarized document, and do you accept it electronically or do you need paper? We do not guarantee acceptance by any court, recorder, lender, title company, agency, embassy, or foreign authority.

What we will not tell you

We will not tell you whether your document satisfies a legal requirement, whether the form you chose is the right one, or what the document will accomplish. Notaries are not acting as attorneys and cannot provide legal advice. For those questions, speak with a licensed attorney.