I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3962 
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 
JUNE 17, 2021 
Ms. DEAN (for herself, Mr. ARMSTRONG, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. 
GOTTHEIMER, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. NORCROSS, Mrs. KIM of California, 
Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. KUSTOFF, Mrs. AXNE, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. 
PERLMUTTER, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, Mr. 
GOODEN of Texas, Mr. SWALWELL, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. HERRERA 
BEUTLER, Mr. BANKS, Mr. BUDD, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. 
MOONEY, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. BARR, Mr. STEIL, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. GON-
ZALEZ of Ohio, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Ms. SLOTKIN, Ms. WEXTON, and 
Mr. GUEST) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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 juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize notaries public to perform, and to establish 
minimum standards for, electronic notarizations and re-
mote notarizations that occur in or affect interstate com-
merce, to require any Federal court to recognize 
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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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing and Enabling 
Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization Act 
of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY.—The term 
‘‘communication technology’’, with respect to a nota-
rization, means an electronic device or process that 
allows the notary public performing the notarization 
and a remotely located individual to communicate 
with each other simultaneously by sight and sound 
during the notarization. 
(2) ELECTRONIC; ELECTRONIC RECORD; ELEC-
TRONIC
SIGNATURE; 
INFORMATION; 
PERSON; 
RECORD.—The 
terms 
‘‘electronic’’, 
‘‘electronic 
record’’, ‘‘electronic signature’’, ‘‘information’’, ‘‘per-
son’’, and ‘‘record’’ have the meanings given those 
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terms in section 106 of the Electronic Signatures in 
Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. 
7006). 
(3) LAW.—The term ‘‘law’’ includes any stat-
ute, regulation, rule, or rule of law. 
(4) NOTARIAL OFFICER.—The term ‘‘notarial 
officer’’ means— 
(A) a notary public; or 
(B) any other individual authorized to per-
form a notarization under the laws of a State 
without a commission or appointment as a no-
tary public. 
(5) NOTARIAL OFFICER’S STATE; NOTARY PUB-
LIC’S STATE.—The term ‘‘notarial officer’s State’’ or 
‘‘notary public’s State’’ means the State in which a 
notarial officer, or a notary public, as applicable, is 
authorized to perform a notarization. 
(6) 
NOTARIZATION.—The 
term 
‘‘notariza-
tion’’— 
(A) means any act that a notarial officer 
may perform under— 
(i) Federal law, including this Act; or 
(ii) the laws of the notarial officer’s 
State; and 
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(B) includes any act described in subpara-
graph (A) and performed by a notarial officer— 
(i) with respect to— 
(I) a tangible record; or 
(II) an electronic record; and 
(ii) for— 
(I) an individual in the physical 
presence of the notarial officer; or 
(II) a remotely located individual. 
(7) NOTARY PUBLIC.—The term ‘‘notary pub-
lic’’ means an individual commissioned or appointed 
as a notary public to perform a notarization under 
the laws of a State. 
(8) PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE.—The term ‘‘per-
sonal knowledge’’, with respect to the identity of an 
individual, means knowledge of the identity of the 
individual through dealings sufficient to provide rea-
sonable certainty that the individual has the identity 
claimed. 
(9) REMOTELY
LOCATED
INDIVIDUAL.—The 
term ‘‘remotely located individual’’, with respect to 
a notarization, means an individual who is not in the 
physical presence of the notarial officer performing 
the notarization. 
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(10) REQUIREMENT.—The term ‘‘requirement’’ 
includes a duty, a standard of care, and a prohibi-
tion. 
(11) 
SIGNATURE.—The 
term 
‘‘signature’’ 
means— 
(A) an electronic signature; or 
(B) a tangible symbol executed or adopted 
by a person and evidencing the present intent 
to authenticate or adopt a record. 
(12) SIMULTANEOUSLY.—The term ‘‘simulta-
neously’’, with respect to a communication between 
parties— 
(A) means that each party communicates 
substantially simultaneously and without unrea-
sonable interruption or disconnection; and 
(B) includes any reasonably short delay 
that is inherent in, or common with respect to, 
the method used for the communication. 
(13) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’— 
(A) means— 
(i) any State of the United States; 
(ii) the District of Columbia; 
(iii) the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico; 
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(iv) any territory or possession of the 
United States; and 
(v) any federally recognized Indian 
Tribe; and 
(B) includes any executive, legislative, or 
judicial agency, court, department, board, of-
fice, clerk, recorder, register, registrar, commis-
sion, authority, institution, instrumentality, 
county, municipality, or other political subdivi-
sion of an entity described in any of clauses (i) 
through (v) of subparagraph (A). 
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION TO PERFORM AND MINIMUM 
STANDARDS FOR ELECTRONIC NOTARIZA-
TION. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—Unless prohibited under sec-
tion 10, and subject to subsection (b), a notary public may 
perform a notarization that occurs in or affects interstate 
commerce with respect to an electronic record. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS
OF ELECTRONIC NOTARIZA-
TION.—If a notary public performs a notarization under 
subsection (a), the following requirements shall apply with 
respect to the notarization: 
(1) The electronic signature of the notary pub-
lic, and all other information required to be included 
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under other applicable law, shall be attached to or 
logically associated with the electronic record. 
(2) The electronic signature and other informa-
tion described in paragraph (1) shall be bound to 
the electronic record in a manner that renders any 
subsequent change or modification to the electronic 
record evident. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION TO PERFORM AND MINIMUM 
STANDARDS FOR REMOTE NOTARIZATION. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—Unless prohibited under sec-
tion 10, and subject to subsection (b), a notary public may 
perform a notarization that occurs in or affects interstate 
commerce for a remotely located individual. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS OF REMOTE NOTARIZATION.—If 
a notary public performs a notarization under subsection 
(a), the following requirements shall apply with respect to 
the notarization: 
(1) The remotely located individual shall appear 
personally before the notary public at the time of the 
notarization by using communication technology. 
(2) The notary public shall— 
(A) reasonably identify the remotely lo-
cated individual— 
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(i) through personal knowledge of the 
identity of the remotely located individual; 
or 
(ii) by obtaining satisfactory evidence 
of the identity of the remotely located indi-
vidual by— 
(I) using not fewer than 2 dis-
tinct types of processes or services 
through which a third person provides 
a means to verify the identity of the 
remotely located individual through a 
review of public or private data 
sources; or 
(II) oath or affirmation of a 
credible witness who— 
(aa)(AA) is in the physical 
presence of the notary public or 
the remotely located individual; 
or 
(BB) appears personally be-
fore the notary public and the re-
motely 
located 
individual 
by 
using communication technology; 
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(bb) has personal knowledge 
of the identity of the remotely lo-
cated individual; and 
(cc) has been identified by 
the notary public under clause (i) 
or subclause (I) of this clause; 
(B) either directly or through an agent— 
(i) create an audio and visual record-
ing of the performance of the notarization; 
and 
(ii) notwithstanding any resignation 
from, or revocation, suspension, or termi-
nation of, the notary public’s commission 
or appointment, retain the recording cre-
ated under clause (i) as a notarial 
record— 
(I) for a period of not less 
than— 
(aa) if an applicable law of 
the notary public’s State specifies 
a period of retention, the greater 
of— 
(AA) that specified pe-
riod; or 
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