II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1212 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 19, 2023 

Mr. CRAMER (for himself and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

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 

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’’. 

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 and a remotely located individual to communicate 

14 with each other simultaneously by sight and sound 

15 during the notarization. 

16 (2) ELECTRONIC; ELECTRONIC RECORD; ELEC17 TRONIC SIGNATURE; INFORMATION; PERSON; 

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

19 record’’, ‘‘electronic signature’’, ‘‘information’’, ‘‘per20 son’’, and ‘‘record’’ have the meanings given those 

21 terms in section 106 of the Electronic Signatures in 

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

23 7006). 

24 (3) LAW.—The term ‘‘law’’ includes any stat25 ute, regulation, rule, or rule of law. 


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

2 officer’’ means— 

3 (A) a notary public; or 

4 (B) any other individual authorized to per5 form a notarization under the laws of a State 

6 without a commission or appointment as a no7 tary public. 

8 (5) NOTARIAL OFFICER’S STATE; NOTARY PUB9 LIC’S STATE.—The term ‘‘notarial officer’s State’’ or 

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

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

12 authorized to perform a notarization. 

13 (6) NOTARIZATION.—The term ‘‘notariza14 tion’’— 

15 (A) means any act that a notarial officer 

16 may perform under— 

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

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

19 State; and 

20 (B) includes any act described in subpara21 graph (A) and performed by a notarial officer— 

22 (i) with respect to— 

23 (I) a tangible record; or 

24 (II) an electronic record; and 

25 (ii) for— 


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1 (I) an individual in the physical 

2 presence of the notarial officer; or 

3 (II) a remotely located individual. 

4 (7) NOTARY PUBLIC.—The term ‘‘notary pub5 lic’’ means an individual commissioned or appointed 

6 as a notary public to perform a notarization under 

7 the laws of a State. 

8 (8) PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE.—The term ‘‘per9 sonal knowledge’’, with respect to the identity of an 

10 individual, means knowledge of the identity of the 

11 individual through dealings sufficient to provide rea12 sonable certainty that the individual has the identity 

13 claimed. 

14 (9) REMOTELY LOCATED INDIVIDUAL.—The 

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

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

17 physical presence of the notarial officer performing 

18 the notarization. 

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

20 includes a duty, a standard of care, and a prohibi21 tion. 

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

23 means— 

24 (A) an electronic signature; or 


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1 (B) a tangible symbol executed or adopted 

2 by a person and evidencing the present intent 

3 to authenticate or adopt a record. 

4 (12) SIMULTANEOUSLY.—The term ‘‘simulta5 neously’’, with respect to a communication between 

6 parties— 

7 (A) means that each party communicates 

8 substantially simultaneously and without unrea9 sonable interruption or disconnection; and 

10 (B) includes any reasonably short delay 

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

12 the method used for the communication. 

13 (13) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’— 

14 (A) means— 

15 (i) any State of the United States; 

16 (ii) the District of Columbia; 

17 (iii) the Commonwealth of Puerto 

18 Rico; 

19 (iv) any territory or possession of the 

20 United States; and 

21 (v) any federally recognized Indian 

22 Tribe; and 

23 (B) includes any executive, legislative, or 

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1 sion, authority, institution, instrumentality, 

2 county, municipality, or other political subdivi3 sion of an entity described in any of clauses (i) 

4 through (v) of subparagraph (A). 

5 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION TO PERFORM AND MINIMUM 

6 STANDARDS FOR ELECTRONIC NOTARIZA7 TION. 

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Unless prohibited under sec9 tion 10, and subject to subsection (b), a notary public may 

10 perform a notarization that occurs in or affects interstate 

11 commerce with respect to an electronic record. 

12 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF ELECTRONIC NOTARIZA13 TION.—If a notary public performs a notarization under 

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

15 respect to the notarization: 

16 (1) The electronic signature of the notary pub17 lic, and all other information required to be included 

18 under other applicable law, shall be attached to or 

19 logically associated with the electronic record. 

20 (2) The electronic signature and other informa21 tion described in paragraph (1) shall be bound to 

22 the electronic record in a manner that renders any 

23 subsequent change or modification to the electronic 

24 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 under clause (i) 

19 or subclause (I) of this clause; 

20 (B) either directly or through an agent— 

21 (i) create an audio and visual record22 ing of the performance of the notarization; 

23 and 

24 (ii) notwithstanding any resignation 

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1 nation of, the notary public’s commission 

2 or appointment, retain the recording cre3 ated under clause (i) as a notarial 

4 record— 

5 (I) for a period of not less 

6 than— 

7 (aa) if an applicable law of 

8 the notary public’s State specifies 

9 a period of retention, the greater 

10 of— 

11 (AA) that specified pe12 riod; or 

13 (BB) 5 years after the 

14 date on which the recording 

15 is created; or 

16 (bb) if no applicable law of 

17 the notary public’s State specifies 

18 a period of retention, 10 years 

19 after the date on which the re20 cording is created; and 

21 (II) if any applicable law of the 

22 notary public’s State govern the con23 tent, manner or place of retention, se24 curity, use, effect, or disclosure of 

25 such recording or any information 


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1 contained in the recording, in accord2 ance with those laws; and 

3 (C) if the notarization is performed with 

4 respect to a tangible or electronic record, take 

5 reasonable steps to confirm that the record be6 fore the notary public is the same record with 

7 respect to which the remotely located individual 

8 made a statement or on which the individual ex9 ecuted a signature. 

10 (3) If a guardian, conservator, executor, per11 sonal representative, administrator, or similar fidu12 ciary or successor is appointed for or on behalf of 

13 a notary public or a deceased notary public under 

14 applicable law, that person shall retain the recording 

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

16 (A) another person is obligated to retain 

17 the recording under applicable law of the notary 

18 public’s State; or 

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

20 public’s State, that person may transmit the re21 cording to an office, archive, or repository ap22 proved or designated by the State; and 

23 (ii) that person transmits the recording to 

24 the office, archive, or repository described in 


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1 clause (i) in accordance with applicable law of 

2 the notary public’s State. 

3 (4) If the remotely located individual is phys4 ically located outside the geographic boundaries of a 

5 State, or is otherwise physically located in a location 

6 that is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

7 States, at the time of the notarization— 

8 (A) the record shall— 

9 (i) be intended for filing with, or re10 late to a matter before, a court, govern11 mental entity, public official, or other enti12 ty that is subject to the jurisdiction of the 

13 United States; or 

14 (ii) involve property located in the ter15 ritorial jurisdiction of the United States or 

16 a transaction substantially connected to 

17 the United States; and 

18 (B) the act of making the statement or 

19 signing the record may not be prohibited by a 

20 law of the jurisdiction in which the individual is 

21 physically located. 

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

23 or Federal law requires an individual to appear personally 

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


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

2 considered to be satisfied if— 

3 (1) the individual— 

4 (A) is a remotely located individual; and 

5 (B) appears personally before the notary 

6 public at the time of the notarization by using 

7 communication technology; and 

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

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

10 of the notary public’s State; or 

11 (B) the notarization occurs in or affects inter12 state commerce. 

13 SEC. 5. RECOGNITION OF NOTARIZATIONS IN FEDERAL 

14 COURT. 

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

16 United States shall recognize as valid under the State or 

17 Federal law applicable in a judicial proceeding before the 

18 court any notarization performed by a notarial officer of 

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

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

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

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

24 applicable in the applicable judicial proceeding as if that 

25 notarization was validly performed— 


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

2 of which is applicable in the proceeding; or 

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

4 (2) without regard to whether the notarization 

5 was performed— 

6 (A) with respect to— 

7 (i) a tangible record; or 

8 (ii) an electronic record; or 

9 (B) for— 

10 (i) an individual in the physical pres11 ence of the notarial officer; or 

12 (ii) a remotely located individual. 

13 (c) PRESUMPTION OF GENUINENESS.—In a deter14 mination of the validity of a notarization for the purposes 

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

16 performing the notarization shall be prima facie evidence 

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

18 the individual is genuine and that the individual holds the 

19 designated title. 

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

21 determination of the validity of a notarization for the pur22 poses of subsection (a), the signature and title of the fol23 lowing notarial officers of a State shall conclusively estab24 lish the authority of the officer to perform the notariza25 tion: 


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1 (1) A notary public of that State. 

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

3 of that State. 

4 SEC. 6. RECOGNITION BY STATE OF NOTARIZATIONS PER5 FORMED UNDER AUTHORITY OF ANOTHER 

6 STATE. 

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

8 recognize as valid under the laws of that State any notari9 zation performed by a notarial officer of any other State 

10 if— 

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

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

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

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

15 of the notarial officer’s State; or 

16 (B) the notarization occurs in or affects inter17 state commerce. 

18 (b) LEGAL EFFECT OF RECOGNIZED NOTARIZA19 TION.—A notarization recognized under subsection (a) 

20 shall have the same effect under the laws of the recog21 nizing State as if that notarization was validly performed 

22 by a notarial officer of the recognizing State, without re23 gard to whether the notarization was performed— 

24 (1) with respect to— 

25 (A) a tangible record; or 


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1 (B) an electronic record; or 

2 (2) for— 

3 (A) an individual in the physical presence 

4 of the notarial officer; or 

5 (B) a remotely located individual. 

6 (c) PRESUMPTION OF GENUINENESS.—In a deter7 mination of the validity of a notarization for the purposes 

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

9 performing a notarization shall be prima facie evidence in 

10 any State court or judicial proceeding that the signature 

11 is genuine and that the individual holds the designated 

12 title. 

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

14 determination of the validity of a notarization for the pur15 poses of subsection (a), the signature and title of the fol16 lowing notarial officers of a State conclusively establish 

17 the authority of the officer to perform the notarization: 

18 (1) A notary public of that State. 

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

20 of that State. 

21 SEC. 7. ELECTRONIC AND REMOTE NOTARIZATION NOT RE22 QUIRED. 

23 Nothing in this Act may be construed to require a 

24 notary public to perform a notarization— 

25 (1) with respect to an electronic record; 


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1 (2) for a remotely located individual; or 

2 (3) using a technology that the notary public 

3 has not selected. 

4 SEC. 8. VALIDITY OF NOTARIZATIONS; RIGHTS OF AG5 GRIEVED PERSONS NOT AFFECTED; STATE 

6 LAWS ON THE PRACTICE OF LAW NOT AF7 FECTED. 

8 (a) VALIDITY NOT AFFECTED.—The failure of a no9 tary public to meet a requirement under section 3 or 4 

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

11 notarization to conform to a requirement under section 3 

12 or 4, shall not invalidate or impair the recognition of the 

13 notarization. 

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

15 and recognition of a notarization under this Act may not 

16 be construed to prevent an aggrieved person from seeking 

17 to invalidate a record or transaction that is the subject 

18 of a notarization or from seeking other remedies based on 

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

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

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

22 to authenticate or adopt a record, execute a signa23 ture on the record; 

24 (2) that an individual was incompetent, lacked 

25 authority or capacity to authenticate or adopt a 


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1 record, or did not knowingly and voluntarily authen2 ticate or adopt a record; or 

3 (3) of fraud, forgery, mistake, misrepresenta4 tion, impersonation, duress, undue influence, or 

5 other invalidating cause. 

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

7 may be construed to affect a State law governing, author8 izing, or prohibiting the practice of law. 

9 SEC. 9. EXCEPTION TO PREEMPTION. 

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

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

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

13 law— 

14 (1) either— 

15 (A) constitutes an enactment or adoption 

16 of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, 

17 as approved and recommended for enactment in 

18 all the States by the National Conference of 

19 Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 

20 2018, except that a modification to such Law 

21 enacted or adopted by a State shall be pre22 empted to the extent such modification— 

23 (i) is inconsistent with a provision of 

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

25 4, as applicable; or 


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1 (ii) would not be permitted under sub2 paragraph (B); or 

3 (B) specifies additional or alternative pro4 cedures or requirements for the performance of 

5 notarizations with respect to electronic records 

6 or for remotely located individuals, if those ad7 ditional or alternative procedures or require8 ments— 

9 (i) are consistent with section 3 and 

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

11 (ii) do not accord greater legal effect 

12 to the implementation or application of a 

13 specific technology or technical specifica14 tion for performing those notarizations; 

15 and 

16 (2) requires the retention of an audio and vis17 ual recording of the performance of a notarization 

18 for a remotely located individual for a period of not 

19 less than 5 years after the recording is created. 

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

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

22 notarization under applicable State law, regardless of 

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


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1 SEC. 10. STANDARD OF CARE; SPECIAL NOTARIAL COMMIS2 SIONS. 

3 (a) STATE STANDARDS OF CARE; AUTHORITY OF

4 STATE REGULATORY OFFICIALS.—Nothing in this Act 

5 may be construed to prevent a State, or a notarial regu6 latory official of a State, from— 

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

8 duty or standard of care under the laws of that 

9 State or sanctioning a notary public for breach of 

10 such a duty or standard of care; 

11 (2) establishing requirements and qualifications 

12 for, or denying, refusing to renew, revoking, sus13 pending, or imposing a condition on, a commission 

14 or appointment as a notary public; 

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

16 commission or appointment, or requiring an endorse17 ment or other authorization to be received by a no18 tary public, as a condition on the authority to per19 form notarizations with respect to electronic records 

20 or for remotely located individuals; or 

21 (4) prohibiting a notary public from performing 

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

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

24 misconduct. 

25 (b) SPECIAL COMMISSIONS OR AUTHORIZATIONS

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1 CIAL MISCONDUCT.—A notary public may not perform a 

2 notarization under section 3 or 4 if— 

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

4 law that creates or designates a class or type of 

5 commission or appointment, or requires an endorse6 ment or other authorization to be received by a no7 tary public, as a condition on the authority to per8 form notarizations with respect to electronic records 

9 or for remotely located individuals; and 

10 (B) the commission or appointment of the no11 tary public is not of the class or type or the notary 

12 public has not received the endorsement or other au13 thorization; or 

14 (2) the notarial regulatory official of the notary 

15 public’s State has prohibited the notary public from 

16 performing the notarization as a sanction for a 

17 breach of duty or standard of care or for official 

18 misconduct. 

19 SEC. 11. SEVERABILITY. 

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

21 provision to any person or circumstance is held to be in22 valid or unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and 

23 the application of the provisions thereof to other persons 

24 or circumstances shall not be affected by that holding. 

Æ 


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