I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1059 

To authorize notaries public to perform, and to establish minimum standards 

for, electronic notarizations and remote notarizations that occur in or 

affect interstate commerce, to require any Federal court to recognize 

notarizations performed by a notarial officer of any State, to require 

any State to recognize notarizations performed by a notarial officer 

of any other State when the notarization was performed under or relates 

to a public Act, record, or judicial proceeding of the notarial officer’s 

State or when the notarization occurs in or affects interstate commerce, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 17, 2023 

Mr. ARMSTRONG (for himself, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

RESCHENTHALER, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. EVANS, Mr. 

QUIGLEY, Mrs. KIM of California, Mrs. WAGNER, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. KILMER, Ms. TITUS, Mr. GARBARINO, Ms. WEXTON, and Ms. ESCOBAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To authorize notaries public to perform, and to establish 

minimum standards for, electronic notarizations and remote notarizations that occur in or affect interstate commerce, to require any Federal court to recognize 

notarizations performed by a notarial officer of any 

State, to require any State to recognize notarizations 

performed by a notarial officer of any other State when 


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the notarization was performed under or relates to a 

public Act, record, or judicial proceeding of the notarial 

officer’s State or when the notarization occurs in or 

affects interstate commerce, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing and Enabling 

5 Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization Act 

6 of 2023’’ or the ‘‘SECURE Notarization Act of 2023’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

10 ‘‘communication technology’’, with respect to a nota11 rization, means an electronic device or process that 

12 allows the notary public performing the notarization, 

13 a remotely located individual, and (if applicable) a 

14 credible witness to communicate with each other si15 multaneously by sight and sound during the notari16 zation. 

17 (2) ELECTRONIC; ELECTRONIC RECORD; ELEC18 TRONIC SIGNATURE; INFORMATION; PERSON; 

19 RECORD.—The terms ‘‘electronic’’, ‘‘electronic 

20 record’’, ‘‘electronic signature’’, ‘‘information’’, ‘‘per21 son’’, and ‘‘record’’ have the meanings given those 

22 terms in section 106 of the Electronic Signatures in 


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1 Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. 

2 7006). 

3 (3) LAW.—The term ‘‘law’’ includes any stat4 ute, regulation, rule, or rule of law. 

5 (4) NOTARIAL OFFICER.—The term ‘‘notarial 

6 officer’’ means— 

7 (A) a notary public; or 

8 (B) any other individual authorized to per9 form a notarization under the laws of a State 

10 without a commission or appointment as a no11 tary public. 

12 (5) NOTARIAL OFFICER’S STATE; NOTARY PUB13 LIC’S STATE.—The term ‘‘notarial officer’s State’’ or 

14 ‘‘notary public’s State’’ means the State in which a 

15 notarial officer, or a notary public, as applicable, is 

16 authorized to perform a notarization. 

17 (6) NOTARIZATION.—The term ‘‘notariza18 tion’’— 

19 (A) means any act that a notarial officer 

20 may perform under— 

21 (i) Federal law, including this Act; or 

22 (ii) the laws of the notarial officer’s 

23 State; and 

24 (B) includes any act described in subpara25 graph (A) and performed by a notarial officer— 


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1 (i) with respect to— 

2 (I) a tangible record; or 

3 (II) an electronic record; and 

4 (ii) for— 

5 (I) an individual in the physical 

6 presence of the notarial officer; or 

7 (II) a remotely located individual. 

8 (7) NOTARY PUBLIC.—The term ‘‘notary pub9 lic’’ means an individual commissioned or appointed 

10 as a notary public to perform a notarization under 

11 the laws of a State. 

12 (8) PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE.—The term ‘‘per13 sonal knowledge’’, with respect to the identity of an 

14 individual, means knowledge of the identity of the 

15 individual through dealings sufficient to provide rea16 sonable certainty that the individual has the identity 

17 claimed. 

18 (9) REMOTELY LOCATED INDIVIDUAL.—The 

19 term ‘‘remotely located individual’’, with respect to 

20 a notarization, means an individual who is not in the 

21 physical presence of the notarial officer performing 

22 the notarization. 

23 (10) REQUIREMENT.—The term ‘‘requirement’’ 

24 includes a duty, a standard of care, and a prohibi25 tion. 


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1 (11) SIGNATURE.—The term ‘‘signature’’ 

2 means— 

3 (A) an electronic signature; or 

4 (B) a tangible symbol executed or adopted 

5 by a person and evidencing the present intent 

6 to authenticate or adopt a record. 

7 (12) SIMULTANEOUSLY.—The term ‘‘simulta8 neously’’, with respect to a communication between 

9 parties— 

10 (A) means that each party communicates 

11 substantially simultaneously and without unrea12 sonable interruption or disconnection; and 

13 (B) includes any reasonably short delay 

14 that is inherent in, or common with respect to, 

15 the method used for the communication. 

16 (13) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’— 

17 (A) means— 

18 (i) any State of the United States; 

19 (ii) the District of Columbia; 

20 (iii) the Commonwealth of Puerto 

21 Rico; 

22 (iv) any territory or possession of the 

23 United States; and 

24 (v) any federally recognized Indian 

25 Tribe; and 


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1 (B) includes any executive, legislative, or 

2 judicial agency, court, department, board, of3 fice, clerk, recorder, register, registrar, commis4 sion, authority, institution, instrumentality, 

5 county, municipality, or other political subdivi6 sion of an entity described in any of clauses (i) 

7 through (v) of subparagraph (A). 

8 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION TO PERFORM AND MINIMUM 

9 STANDARDS FOR ELECTRONIC NOTARIZA10 TION. 

11 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Unless prohibited under sec12 tion 10, and subject to subsection (b), a notary public may 

13 perform a notarization that occurs in or affects interstate 

14 commerce with respect to an electronic record. 

15 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF ELECTRONIC NOTARIZA16 TION.—If a notary public performs a notarization under 

17 subsection (a), the following requirements shall apply with 

18 respect to the notarization: 

19 (1) The electronic signature of the notary pub20 lic, and all other information required to be included 

21 under other applicable law, shall be attached to or 

22 logically associated with the electronic record. 

23 (2) The electronic signature and other informa24 tion described in paragraph (1) shall be bound to 

25 the electronic record in a manner that renders any 


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1 subsequent change or modification to the electronic 

2 record evident. 

3 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION TO PERFORM AND MINIMUM 

4 STANDARDS FOR REMOTE NOTARIZATION. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Unless prohibited under sec6 tion 10, and subject to subsection (b), a notary public may 

7 perform a notarization that occurs in or affects interstate 

8 commerce for a remotely located individual. 

9 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF REMOTE NOTARIZATION.—If 

10 a notary public performs a notarization under subsection 

11 (a), the following requirements shall apply with respect to 

12 the notarization: 

13 (1) The remotely located individual shall appear 

14 personally before the notary public at the time of the 

15 notarization by using communication technology. 

16 (2) The notary public shall— 

17 (A) reasonably identify the remotely lo18 cated individual— 

19 (i) through personal knowledge of the 

20 identity of the remotely located individual; 

21 or 

22 (ii) by obtaining satisfactory evidence 

23 of the identity of the remotely located indi24 vidual by— 


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1 (I) using not fewer than 2 dis2 tinct types of processes or services 

3 through which a third person provides 

4 a means to verify the identity of the 

5 remotely located individual through a 

6 review of public or private data 

7 sources; or 

8 (II) oath or affirmation of a 

9 credible witness who— 

10 (aa)(AA) is in the physical 

11 presence of the notary public or 

12 the remotely located individual; 

13 or 

14 (BB) appears personally be15 fore the notary public and the re16 motely located individual by 

17 using communication technology; 

18 (bb) has personal knowledge 

19 of the identity of the remotely lo20 cated individual; and 

21 (cc) has been identified by 

22 the notary public in the same 

23 manner as specified for identi24 fication of a remotely located inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Feb 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1059.IH H1059

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1 dividual under clause (i) or sub2 clause (I) of this clause; 

3 (B) either directly or through an agent— 

4 (i) create an audio and visual record5 ing of the performance of the notarization; 

6 and 

7 (ii) notwithstanding any resignation 

8 from, or revocation, suspension, or termi9 nation of, the notary public’s commission 

10 or appointment, retain the recording cre11 ated under clause (i) as a notarial 

12 record— 

13 (I) for a period of not less 

14 than— 

15 (aa) if an applicable law of 

16 the notary public’s State specifies 

17 a period of retention, the greater 

18 of— 

19 (AA) that specified pe20 riod; or 

21 (BB) 5 years after the 

22 date on which the recording 

23 is created; or 

24 (bb) if no applicable law of 

25 the notary public’s State specifies 


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1 a period of retention, 10 years 

2 after the date on which the re3 cording is created; and 

4 (II) if any applicable law of the 

5 notary public’s State governs the con6 tent, manner or place of retention, se7 curity, use, effect, or disclosure of the 

8 recording or any information con9 tained in the recording, in accordance 

10 with that law; and 

11 (C) if the notarization is performed with 

12 respect to a tangible or electronic record, take 

13 reasonable steps to confirm that the record be14 fore the notary public is the same record with 

15 respect to which the remotely located individual 

16 made a statement or on which the individual ex17 ecuted a signature. 

18 (3) If a guardian, conservator, executor, per19 sonal representative, administrator, or similar fidu20 ciary or successor is appointed for or on behalf of 

21 a notary public or a deceased notary public under 

22 applicable law, that person shall retain the recording 

23 under paragraph (2)(B)(ii), unless— 


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1 (A) another person is obligated to retain 

2 the recording under applicable law of the notary 

3 public’s State; or 

4 (B)(i) under applicable law of the notary 

5 public’s State, that person may transmit the re6 cording to an office, archive, or repository ap7 proved or designated by the State; and 

8 (ii) that person transmits the recording to 

9 the office, archive, or repository described in 

10 clause (i) in accordance with applicable law of 

11 the notary public’s State. 

12 (4) If the remotely located individual is phys13 ically located outside the geographic boundaries of a 

14 State, or is otherwise physically located in a location 

15 that is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

16 States, at the time of the notarization— 

17 (A) the record shall— 

18 (i) be intended for filing with, or re19 late to a matter before, a court, govern20 mental entity, public official, or other enti21 ty that is subject to the jurisdiction of the 

22 United States; or 

23 (ii) involve property located in the ter24 ritorial jurisdiction of the United States or 


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1 a transaction substantially connected to 

2 the United States; and 

3 (B) the act of making the statement or 

4 signing the record may not be prohibited by a 

5 law of the jurisdiction in which the individual is 

6 physically located. 

7 (c) PERSONAL APPEARANCE SATISFIED.—If a State 

8 or Federal law requires an individual to appear personally 

9 before or be in the physical presence of a notary public 

10 at the time of a notarization, that requirement shall be 

11 considered to be satisfied if— 

12 (1) the individual— 

13 (A) is a remotely located individual; and 

14 (B) appears personally before the notary 

15 public at the time of the notarization by using 

16 communication technology; and 

17 (2)(A) the notarization was performed under or 

18 relates to a public act, record, or judicial proceeding 

19 of the notary public’s State; or 

20 (B) the notarization occurs in or affects inter21 state commerce. 

22 SEC. 5. RECOGNITION OF NOTARIZATIONS IN FEDERAL 

23 COURT. 

24 (a) RECOGNITION OF VALIDITY.—Each court of the 

25 United States shall recognize as valid under the State or 


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1 Federal law applicable in a judicial proceeding before the 

2 court any notarization performed by a notarial officer of 

3 any State if the notarization is valid under the laws of 

4 the notarial officer’s State or under this Act. 

5 (b) LEGAL EFFECT OF RECOGNIZED NOTARIZA6 TION.—A notarization recognized under subsection (a) 

7 shall have the same effect under the State or Federal law 

8 applicable in the applicable judicial proceeding as if that 

9 notarization was validly performed— 

10 (1)(A) by a notarial officer of the State, the law 

11 of which is applicable in the proceeding; or 

12 (B) under this Act or other Federal law; and 

13 (2) without regard to whether the notarization 

14 was performed— 

15 (A) with respect to— 

16 (i) a tangible record; or 

17 (ii) an electronic record; or 

18 (B) for— 

19 (i) an individual in the physical pres20 ence of the notarial officer; or 

21 (ii) a remotely located individual. 

22 (c) PRESUMPTION OF GENUINENESS.—In a deter23 mination of the validity of a notarization for the purposes 

24 of subsection (a), the signature and title of an individual 

25 performing the notarization shall be prima facie evidence 


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1 in any court of the United States that the signature of 

2 the individual is genuine and that the individual holds the 

3 designated title. 

4 (d) CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE OF AUTHORITY.—In a 

5 determination of the validity of a notarization for the pur6 poses of subsection (a), the signature and title of the fol7 lowing notarial officers of a State shall conclusively estab8 lish the authority of the officer to perform the notariza9 tion: 

10 (1) A notary public of that State. 

11 (2) A judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court 

12 of that State. 

13 SEC. 6. RECOGNITION BY STATE OF NOTARIZATIONS PER14 FORMED UNDER AUTHORITY OF ANOTHER 

15 STATE. 

16 (a) RECOGNITION OF VALIDITY.—Each State shall 

17 recognize as valid under the laws of that State any notari18 zation performed by a notarial officer of any other State 

19 if— 

20 (1) the notarization is valid under the laws of 

21 the notarial officer’s State or under this Act; and 

22 (2)(A) the notarization was performed under or 

23 relates to a public act, record, or judicial proceeding 

24 of the notarial officer’s State; or 


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1 (B) the notarization occurs in or affects inter2 state commerce. 

3 (b) LEGAL EFFECT OF RECOGNIZED NOTARIZA4 TION.—A notarization recognized under subsection (a) 

5 shall have the same effect under the laws of the recog6 nizing State as if that notarization was validly performed 

7 by a notarial officer of the recognizing State, without re8 gard to whether the notarization was performed— 

9 (1) with respect to— 

10 (A) a tangible record; or 

11 (B) an electronic record; or 

12 (2) for— 

13 (A) an individual in the physical presence 

14 of the notarial officer; or 

15 (B) a remotely located individual. 

16 (c) PRESUMPTION OF GENUINENESS.—In a deter17 mination of the validity of a notarization for the purposes 

18 of subsection (a), the signature and title of an individual 

19 performing a notarization shall be prima facie evidence in 

20 any State court or judicial proceeding that the signature 

21 is genuine and that the individual holds the designated 

22 title. 

23 (d) CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE OF AUTHORITY.—In a 

24 determination of the validity of a notarization for the pur25 poses of subsection (a), the signature and title of the folVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Feb 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1059.IH H1059

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1 lowing notarial officers of a State shall conclusively estab2 lish the authority of the officer to perform the notariza3 tion: 

4 (1) A notary public of that State. 

5 (2) A judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court 

6 of that State. 

7 SEC. 7. ELECTRONIC AND REMOTE NOTARIZATION NOT RE8 QUIRED. 

9 Nothing in this Act may be construed to require a 

10 notary public to perform a notarization— 

11 (1) with respect to an electronic record; 

12 (2) for a remotely located individual; or 

13 (3) using a technology that the notary public 

14 has not selected. 

15 SEC. 8. VALIDITY OF NOTARIZATIONS; RIGHTS OF AG16 GRIEVED PERSONS NOT AFFECTED; STATE 

17 LAWS ON THE PRACTICE OF LAW NOT AF18 FECTED. 

19 (a) VALIDITY NOT AFFECTED.—The failure of a no20 tary public to meet a requirement under section 3 or 4 

21 in the performance of a notarization, or the failure of a 

22 notarization to conform to a requirement under section 3 

23 or 4, shall not invalidate or impair the validity or recogni24 tion of the notarization. 


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1 (b) RIGHTS OF AGGRIEVED PERSONS.—The validity 

2 and recognition of a notarization under this Act may not 

3 be construed to prevent an aggrieved person from seeking 

4 to invalidate a record or transaction that is the subject 

5 of a notarization or from seeking other remedies based on 

6 State or Federal law other than this Act for any reason 

7 not specified in this Act, including on the basis— 

8 (1) that a person did not, with present intent 

9 to authenticate or adopt a record, execute a signa10 ture on the record; 

11 (2) that an individual was incompetent, lacked 

12 authority or capacity to authenticate or adopt a 

13 record, or did not knowingly and voluntarily authen14 ticate or adopt a record; or 

15 (3) of fraud, forgery, mistake, misrepresenta16 tion, impersonation, duress, undue influence, or 

17 other invalidating cause. 

18 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

19 may be construed to affect a State law governing, author20 izing, or prohibiting the practice of law. 

21 SEC. 9. EXCEPTION TO PREEMPTION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State law may modify, limit, or 

23 supersede the provisions of section 3, or subsection (a) or 

24 (b) of section 4, with respect to State law only if that State 

25 law— 


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1 (1) either— 

2 (A) constitutes an enactment or adoption 

3 of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, 

4 as approved and recommended for enactment in 

5 all the States by the National Conference of 

6 Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2018 

7 or the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, 

8 as approved and recommended for enactment in 

9 all the States by the National Conference of 

10 Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 

11 2021, except that a modification to such Law 

12 enacted or adopted by a State shall be pre13 empted to the extent such modification— 

14 (i) is inconsistent with a provision of 

15 section 3 or subsection (a) or (b) of section 

16 4, as applicable; or 

17 (ii) would not be permitted under sub18 paragraph (B); or 

19 (B) specifies additional or alternative pro20 cedures or requirements for the performance of 

21 notarizations with respect to electronic records 

22 or for remotely located individuals, if those ad23 ditional or alternative procedures or require24 ments— 


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1 (i) are consistent with section 3 and 

2 subsections (a) and (b) of section 4; and 

3 (ii) do not accord greater legal effect 

4 to the implementation or application of a 

5 specific technology or technical specifica6 tion for performing those notarizations; 

7 and 

8 (2) requires the retention of an audio and vis9 ual recording of the performance of a notarization 

10 for a remotely located individual for a period of not 

11 less than 5 years after the recording is created. 

12 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in section 5 

13 or 6 may be construed to preclude the recognition of a 

14 notarization under applicable State law, regardless of 

15 whether such State law is consistent with section 5 or 6. 

16 SEC. 10. STANDARD OF CARE; SPECIAL NOTARIAL COMMIS17 SIONS. 

18 (a) STATE STANDARDS OF CARE; AUTHORITY OF

19 STATE REGULATORY OFFICIALS.—Nothing in this Act 

20 may be construed to prevent a State, or a notarial regu21 latory official of a State, from— 

22 (1) adopting a requirement in this Act as a 

23 duty or standard of care under the laws of that 

24 State or sanctioning a notary public for breach of 

25 such a duty or standard of care; 


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1 (2) establishing requirements and qualifications 

2 for, or denying, refusing to renew, revoking, sus3 pending, or imposing a condition on, a commission 

4 or appointment as a notary public; 

5 (3) creating or designating a class or type of 

6 commission or appointment, or requiring an endorse7 ment or other authorization to be received by a no8 tary public, as a condition on the authority to per9 form notarizations with respect to electronic records 

10 or for remotely located individuals; or 

11 (4) prohibiting a notary public from performing 

12 a notarization under section 3 or 4 as a sanction for 

13 a breach of duty or standard of care or for official 

14 misconduct. 

15 (b) SPECIAL COMMISSIONS OR AUTHORIZATIONS

16 CREATED BY A STATE; SANCTION FOR BREACH OR OFFI17 CIAL MISCONDUCT.—A notary public may not perform a 

18 notarization under section 3 or 4 if— 

19 (1)(A) the notary public’s State has enacted a 

20 law that creates or designates a class or type of 

21 commission or appointment, or requires an endorse22 ment or other authorization to be received by a no23 tary public, as a condition on the authority to per24 form notarizations with respect to electronic records 

25 or for remotely located individuals; and 


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1 (B) the commission or appointment of the no2 tary public is not of the class or type or the notary 

3 public has not received the endorsement or other au4 thorization; or 

5 (2) the notarial regulatory official of the notary 

6 public’s State has prohibited the notary public from 

7 performing the notarization as a sanction for a 

8 breach of duty or standard of care or for official 

9 misconduct. 

10 SEC. 11. SEVERABILITY. 

11 If any provision of this Act or the application of such 

12 provision to any person or circumstance is held to be in13 valid or unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and 

14 the application of the provisions thereof to other persons 

15 or circumstances shall not be affected by that holding. 

Æ 


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