IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1059 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

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. 


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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 

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

24 7006). 


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1 (3) LAW.—The term ‘‘law’’ includes any stat2 ute, regulation, rule, or rule of law. 

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

4 officer’’ means— 

5 (A) a notary public; or 

6 (B) any other individual authorized to per7 form a notarization under the laws of a State 

8 without a commission or appointment as a no9 tary public. 

10 (5) NOTARIAL OFFICER’S STATE; NOTARY PUB11 LIC’S STATE.—The term ‘‘notarial officer’s State’’ or 

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

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

14 authorized to perform a notarization. 

15 (6) NOTARIZATION.—The term ‘‘notariza16 tion’’— 

17 (A) means any act that a notarial officer 

18 may perform under— 

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

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

21 State; and 

22 (B) includes any act described in subpara23 graph (A) and performed by a notarial officer— 

24 (i) with respect to— 

25 (I) a tangible record; or 


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1 (II) an electronic record; and 

2 (ii) for— 

3 (I) an individual in the physical 

4 presence of the notarial officer; or 

5 (II) a remotely located individual. 

6 (7) NOTARY PUBLIC.—The term ‘‘notary pub7 lic’’ means an individual commissioned or appointed 

8 as a notary public to perform a notarization under 

9 the laws of a State. 

10 (8) PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE.—The term ‘‘per11 sonal knowledge’’, with respect to the identity of an 

12 individual, means knowledge of the identity of the 

13 individual through dealings sufficient to provide rea14 sonable certainty that the individual has the identity 

15 claimed. 

16 (9) REMOTELY LOCATED INDIVIDUAL.—The 

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

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

19 physical presence of the notarial officer performing 

20 the notarization. 

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

22 includes a duty, a standard of care, and a prohibi23 tion. 

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

25 means— 


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1 (A) an electronic signature; or 

2 (B) a tangible symbol executed or adopted 

3 by a person and evidencing the present intent 

4 to authenticate or adopt a record. 

5 (12) SIMULTANEOUSLY.—The term ‘‘simulta6 neously’’, with respect to a communication between 

7 parties— 

8 (A) means that each party communicates 

9 substantially simultaneously and without unrea10 sonable interruption or disconnection; and 

11 (B) includes any reasonably short delay 

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

13 the method used for the communication. 

14 (13) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’— 

15 (A) means— 

16 (i) any State of the United States; 

17 (ii) the District of Columbia; 

18 (iii) the Commonwealth of Puerto 

19 Rico; 

20 (iv) any territory or possession of the 

21 United States; and 

22 (v) any federally recognized Indian 

23 Tribe; and 

24 (B) includes any executive, legislative, or 

25 judicial agency, court, department, board, ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1059.RFS H1059

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1 fice, clerk, recorder, register, registrar, commis2 sion, authority, institution, instrumentality, 

3 county, municipality, or other political subdivi4 sion of an entity described in any of clauses (i) 

5 through (v) of subparagraph (A). 

6 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION TO PERFORM AND MINIMUM 

7 STANDARDS FOR ELECTRONIC NOTARIZA8 TION. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Unless prohibited under sec10 tion 10, and subject to subsection (b), a notary public may 

11 perform a notarization that occurs in or affects interstate 

12 commerce with respect to an electronic record. 

13 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF ELECTRONIC NOTARIZA14 TION.—If a notary public performs a notarization under 

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

16 respect to the notarization: 

17 (1) The electronic signature of the notary pub18 lic, and all other information required to be included 

19 under other applicable law, shall be attached to or 

20 logically associated with the electronic record. 

21 (2) The electronic signature and other informa22 tion described in paragraph (1) shall be bound to 

23 the electronic record in a manner that renders any 

24 subsequent change or modification to the electronic 

25 record evident. 


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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION TO PERFORM AND MINIMUM 

2 STANDARDS FOR REMOTE NOTARIZATION. 

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Unless prohibited under sec4 tion 10, and subject to subsection (b), a notary public may 

5 perform a notarization that occurs in or affects interstate 

6 commerce for a remotely located individual. 

7 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF REMOTE NOTARIZATION.—If 

8 a notary public performs a notarization under subsection 

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

10 the notarization: 

11 (1) The remotely located individual shall appear 

12 personally before the notary public at the time of the 

13 notarization by using communication technology. 

14 (2) The notary public shall— 

15 (A) reasonably identify the remotely lo16 cated individual— 

17 (i) through personal knowledge of the 

18 identity of the remotely located individual; 

19 or 

20 (ii) by obtaining satisfactory evidence 

21 of the identity of the remotely located indi22 vidual by— 

23 (I) using not fewer than 2 dis24 tinct types of processes or services 

25 through which a third person provides 

26 a means to verify the identity of the 


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1 remotely located individual through a 

2 review of public or private data 

3 sources; or 

4 (II) oath or affirmation of a 

5 credible witness who— 

6 (aa)(AA) is in the physical 

7 presence of the notary public or 

8 the remotely located individual; 

9 or 

10 (BB) appears personally be11 fore the notary public and the re12 motely located individual by 

13 using communication technology; 

14 (bb) has personal knowledge 

15 of the identity of the remotely lo16 cated individual; and 

17 (cc) has been identified by 

18 the notary public in the same 

19 manner as specified for identi20 fication of a remotely located in21 dividual under clause (i) or sub22 clause (I) of this clause; 

23 (B) either directly or through an agent— 


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1 (i) create an audio and visual record2 ing of the performance of the notarization; 

3 and 

4 (ii) notwithstanding any resignation 

5 from, or revocation, suspension, or termi6 nation of, the notary public’s commission 

7 or appointment, retain the recording cre8 ated under clause (i) as a notarial 

9 record— 

10 (I) for a period of not less 

11 than— 

12 (aa) if an applicable law of 

13 the notary public’s State specifies 

14 a period of retention, the greater 

15 of— 

16 (AA) that specified pe17 riod; or 

18 (BB) 5 years after the 

19 date on which the recording 

20 is created; or 

21 (bb) if no applicable law of 

22 the notary public’s State specifies 

23 a period of retention, 10 years 

24 after the date on which the re25 cording is created; and 


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1 (II) if any applicable law of the 

2 notary public’s State governs the con3 tent, manner or place of retention, se4 curity, use, effect, or disclosure of the 

5 recording or any information con6 tained in the recording, in accordance 

7 with that law; and 

8 (C) if the notarization is performed with 

9 respect to a tangible or electronic record, take 

10 reasonable steps to confirm that the record be11 fore the notary public is the same record with 

12 respect to which the remotely located individual 

13 made a statement or on which the individual ex14 ecuted a signature. 

15 (3) If a guardian, conservator, executor, per16 sonal representative, administrator, or similar fidu17 ciary or successor is appointed for or on behalf of 

18 a notary public or a deceased notary public under 

19 applicable law, that person shall retain the recording 

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

21 (A) another person is obligated to retain 

22 the recording under applicable law of the notary 

23 public’s State; or 

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

25 public’s State, that person may transmit the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1059.RFS H1059

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1 cording to an office, archive, or repository ap2 proved or designated by the State; and 

3 (ii) that person transmits the recording to 

4 the office, archive, or repository described in 

5 clause (i) in accordance with applicable law of 

6 the notary public’s State. 

7 (4) If the remotely located individual is phys8 ically located outside the geographic boundaries of a 

9 State, or is otherwise physically located in a location 

10 that is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

11 States, at the time of the notarization— 

12 (A) the record shall— 

13 (i) be intended for filing with, or re14 late to a matter before, a court, govern15 mental entity, public official, or other enti16 ty that is subject to the jurisdiction of the 

17 United States; or 

18 (ii) involve property located in the ter19 ritorial jurisdiction of the United States or 

20 a transaction substantially connected to 

21 the United States; and 

22 (B) the act of making the statement or 

23 signing the record may not be prohibited by a 

24 law of the jurisdiction in which the individual is 

25 physically located. 


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

2 or Federal law requires an individual to appear personally 

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

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

5 considered to be satisfied if— 

6 (1) the individual— 

7 (A) is a remotely located individual; and 

8 (B) appears personally before the notary 

9 public at the time of the notarization by using 

10 communication technology; and 

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

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

13 of the notary public’s State; or 

14 (B) the notarization occurs in or affects inter15 state commerce. 

16 SEC. 5. RECOGNITION OF NOTARIZATIONS IN FEDERAL 

17 COURT. 

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

19 United States shall recognize as valid under the State or 

20 Federal law applicable in a judicial proceeding before the 

21 court any notarization performed by a notarial officer of 

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

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

24 (b) LEGAL EFFECT OF RECOGNIZED NOTARIZA25 TION.—A notarization recognized under subsection (a) 


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

2 applicable in the applicable judicial proceeding as if that 

3 notarization was validly performed— 

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

5 of which is applicable in the proceeding; or 

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

7 (2) without regard to whether the notarization 

8 was performed— 

9 (A) with respect to— 

10 (i) a tangible record; or 

11 (ii) an electronic record; or 

12 (B) for— 

13 (i) an individual in the physical pres14 ence of the notarial officer; or 

15 (ii) 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 the notarization shall be prima facie evidence 

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

21 the individual is genuine and that the individual holds the 

22 designated 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 22:52 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1059.RFS 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. 6. RECOGNITION BY STATE OF NOTARIZATIONS PER8 FORMED UNDER AUTHORITY OF ANOTHER 

9 STATE. 

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

11 recognize as valid under the laws of that State any notari12 zation performed by a notarial officer of any other State 

13 if— 

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

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

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

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

18 of the notarial officer’s State; or 

19 (B) the notarization occurs in or affects inter20 state commerce. 

21 (b) LEGAL EFFECT OF RECOGNIZED NOTARIZA22 TION.—A notarization recognized under subsection (a) 

23 shall have the same effect under the laws of the recog24 nizing State as if that notarization was validly performed 


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1 by a notarial officer of the recognizing State, without re2 gard to whether the notarization was performed— 

3 (1) with respect to— 

4 (A) a tangible record; or 

5 (B) an electronic record; or 

6 (2) for— 

7 (A) an individual in the physical presence 

8 of the notarial officer; or 

9 (B) a remotely located individual. 

10 (c) PRESUMPTION OF GENUINENESS.—In a deter11 mination of the validity of a notarization for the purposes 

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

13 performing a notarization shall be prima facie evidence in 

14 any State court or judicial proceeding that the signature 

15 is genuine and that the individual holds the designated 

16 title. 

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

18 determination of the validity of a notarization for the pur19 poses of subsection (a), the signature and title of the fol20 lowing notarial officers of a State shall conclusively estab21 lish the authority of the officer to perform the notariza22 tion: 

23 (1) A notary public of that State. 

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

25 of that State. 


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1 SEC. 7. ELECTRONIC AND REMOTE NOTARIZATION NOT RE2 QUIRED. 

3 Nothing in this Act may be construed to require a 

4 notary public to perform a notarization— 

5 (1) with respect to an electronic record; 

6 (2) for a remotely located individual; or 

7 (3) using a technology that the notary public 

8 has not selected. 

9 SEC. 8. VALIDITY OF NOTARIZATIONS; RIGHTS OF AG10 GRIEVED PERSONS NOT AFFECTED; STATE 

11 LAWS ON THE PRACTICE OF LAW NOT AF12 FECTED. 

13 (a) VALIDITY NOT AFFECTED.—The failure of a no14 tary public to meet a requirement under section 3 or 4 

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

16 notarization to conform to a requirement under section 3 

17 or 4, shall not invalidate or impair the validity or recogni18 tion of the notarization. 

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

20 and recognition of a notarization under this Act may not 

21 be construed to prevent an aggrieved person from seeking 

22 to invalidate a record or transaction that is the subject 

23 of a notarization or from seeking other remedies based on 

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

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


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

2 to authenticate or adopt a record, execute a signa3 ture on the record; 

4 (2) that an individual was incompetent, lacked 

5 authority or capacity to authenticate or adopt a 

6 record, or did not knowingly and voluntarily authen7 ticate or adopt a record; or 

8 (3) of fraud, forgery, mistake, misrepresenta9 tion, impersonation, duress, undue influence, or 

10 other invalidating cause. 

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

12 may be construed to affect a State law governing, author13 izing, or prohibiting the practice of law. 

14 SEC. 9. EXCEPTION TO PREEMPTION. 

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

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

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

18 law— 

19 (1) either— 

20 (A) constitutes an enactment or adoption 

21 of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, 

22 as approved and recommended for enactment in 

23 all the States by the National Conference of 

24 Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2018 

25 or the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, 


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1 as approved and recommended for enactment in 

2 all the States by the National Conference of 

3 Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 

4 2021, except that a modification to such Law 

5 enacted or adopted by a State shall be pre6 empted to the extent such modification— 

7 (i) is inconsistent with a provision of 

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

9 4, as applicable; or 

10 (ii) would not be permitted under sub11 paragraph (B); or 

12 (B) specifies additional or alternative pro13 cedures or requirements for the performance of 

14 notarizations with respect to electronic records 

15 or for remotely located individuals, if those ad16 ditional or alternative procedures or require17 ments— 

18 (i) are consistent with section 3 and 

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

20 (ii) do not accord greater legal effect 

21 to the implementation or application of a 

22 specific technology or technical specifica23 tion for performing those notarizations; 

24 and 


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1 (2) requires the retention of an audio and vis2 ual recording of the performance of a notarization 

3 for a remotely located individual for a period of not 

4 less than 5 years after the recording is created. 

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

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

7 notarization under applicable State law, regardless of 

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

9 SEC. 10. STANDARD OF CARE; SPECIAL NOTARIAL COMMIS10 SIONS. 

11 (a) STATE STANDARDS OF CARE; AUTHORITY OF

12 STATE REGULATORY OFFICIALS.—Nothing in this Act 

13 may be construed to prevent a State, or a notarial regu14 latory official of a State, from— 

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

16 duty or standard of care under the laws of that 

17 State or sanctioning a notary public for breach of 

18 such a duty or standard of care; 

19 (2) establishing requirements and qualifications 

20 for, or denying, refusing to renew, revoking, sus21 pending, or imposing a condition on, a commission 

22 or appointment as a notary public; 

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

24 commission or appointment, or requiring an endorse25 ment or other authorization to be received by a noVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1059.RFS H1059

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1 tary public, as a condition on the authority to per2 form notarizations with respect to electronic records 

3 or for remotely located individuals; or 

4 (4) prohibiting a notary public from performing 

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

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

7 misconduct. 

8 (b) SPECIAL COMMISSIONS OR AUTHORIZATIONS

9 CREATED BY A STATE; SANCTION FOR BREACH OR OFFI10 CIAL MISCONDUCT.—A notary public may not perform a 

11 notarization under section 3 or 4 if— 

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

13 law that creates or designates a class or type of 

14 commission or appointment, or requires an endorse15 ment or other authorization to be received by a no16 tary public, as a condition on the authority to per17 form notarizations with respect to electronic records 

18 or for remotely located individuals; and 

19 (B) the commission or appointment of the no20 tary public is not of the class or type or the notary 

21 public has not received the endorsement or other au22 thorization; or 

23 (2) the notarial regulatory official of the notary 

24 public’s State has prohibited the notary public from 

25 performing the notarization as a sanction for a 


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1 breach of duty or standard of care or for official 

2 misconduct. 

3 SEC. 11. SEVERABILITY. 

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

5 provision to any person or circumstance is held to be in6 valid or unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and 

7 the application of the provisions thereof to other persons 

8 or circumstances shall not be affected by that holding. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 27, 

2023. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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