Effective May 4, 2020 through August 1, 2020, Notaries Public are permitted to notarize documents via video conferencing so as not to impede crucial business transactions, real estate transactions, estate planning necessities, medical documents, court documents, and most other important notarizations.
In order to be valid, video notarizations must:
- Be conducted during a real time interaction between the principal signer and the notary;
- Involve audio-video technology quality that allow for clear video observation of the face of the signer and any acceptable form of identification; and
- The signer must indicate which county in North Carolina they are in when signing the documents, identify the documents they are singing, and allow the notary to observe their execution.
The notarial certificate is also slightly different in that it must contain the following language: “I signed this notarial certificate on ______(Date) according to the emergency video notarization requirements contained in G.S. 10B-25” and specify the counties where the signer and notary were during the execution and notarization.
Notaries must also follow all their other, standard duties and obligations and a comprehensive explanation from the North Carolina Secretary of State can be found here. Additionally, if original signature pages are not necessary or required, notarization of a fax or other electronic transmission is proper. If original signatures are required, the notary must notarize the original document (delivered by mail or otherwise) and compare it to a document transmitted by fax or other means after the video conference to confirm they are the same.
Notaries may decline to perform a notarial act if the principal signer’s identity is not sufficiently confirmed via the video conference.
If you any questions regarding what documents may be notarized during the pandemic or need any other legal or notarial services, please call us at (704) 457-1010 to schedule a consultation. For more information regarding our firm, attorneys, and practice areas, please visit https://lindleylawoffice.com/.
