This publication provides general information concerning your rights and responsibilities. It is not intended as a substitute for specific
Legal advice. This information is current as of July 1, 2018. Page 14
Electronic Notarial Acts
As of July 1, 2018, notaries with an electronic records notary public endorsement will be permitted
to perform notarial acts on electronic documents. In doing so, you will affix an electronic copy of
your seal or stamp and your digital signature to an electronic document, usually in a .pdf format, and
have the signing parties affix digital signatures to the document concurrently. This endorsement will
allow for quicker transmission of documents, particularly in industries where large numbers of
documents are transferred regularly, such as in the real estate industry.
How to apply for an electronic records endorsement was covered in an earlier section. This section
will discuss how to notarize electronic documents, and limitations on the endorsement.
How to notarize electronic documents
RCW 42.45.190; WAC 308-30-120– -180; WAC 308-30-200
Once you have an electronic records notary public endorsement, you can notarize electronic
documents using appropriate software from a third party notary technology provider. As noted above,
you must report each technology provider you intend to use to the Department before using that
technology. One way to think about this software is as the analog for your physical seal or stamp; it
is what you use to apply your seal or stamp image (and your signature), and you can only get it once
you have your endorsement. Any technology you use must be “tamper-evident” and meet the
minimum requirements of WAC 308-30-130. There are several companies that are offering these
services, which you can find by searching online. The Department of Licensing does not endorse any
particular notary technology at this time.
The basic requirements of electronic notarization are the same as they are for any notarization, as all
requirements of chapter 42.45 RCW and chapter 308-30 WAC apply to both types of notarial acts.
The specifics of how to notarize electronic documents, once you have secured your endorsement, vary
based on the company and service that you choose, which makes giving specific information difficult.
You should speak to your technology provider if you need more assistance about how to perform
notarial acts with this software. Limitations on electronic notarization
RCW 42.45.180; WAC 308-30-110(3); WAC 308-30-200
While the incoming laws and rules allow notaries with electronic records endorsements to perform
notarizations on electronic documents, there are two major limitations that you should keep in mind.
The first major limitation is that every party to the notarial act must still be physically present with
you during the notarization. This means that even though the documents are electronic, the signing
parties must still be signing these electronic documents on a computer in front of you. This is in
contrast to another notary topic, known as remote notarization, where notaries may notarize
documents over online communications software such as Skype, Facetime, or Google Hangouts.
Washington law does not authorize notaries to perform remote notarizations.