Becoming a remote online notary in Pennsylvania

Electronic and remote notarization are different things

Electronic notarization means the document is electronic, but the signer still stands in front of you. Remote notarization means the signer appears by audio-video instead.

With eNotarization, you and the signer both sign electronically. Your seal information is attached to the electronic record. Every other rule of a paper act still applies, including physical presence.

With remote online notarization, the personal appearance requirement is met by approved audio-visual technology. The signer can be somewhere else entirely. Pennsylvania has allowed electronic notarization since January 30, 2006. Act 97 of 2020 made remote notarization permanent from October 29, 2020.

October 29, 2020Pennsylvania's electronic notarization program began on January 30, 2006, and Act 97 of 2020 made remote online notarization permanent effective October 29, 2020. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Notifying the Department before your first remote act

Before your first remote act, notify the Department and name the technology you will use. The notice is an online form, with no added fee and no added training.

That surprises people who expect a second licence. There is none. Your existing commission is the authority. The notification simply tells the Department you will perform remote acts and with which tools.

You will not show as "e-notary capable" in the public database until your vendor confirms your authorization to the Department. Signing services may check that flag before sending remote work.

That flag covers electronic and remote tools alike. It means you are authorized to use at least one approved solution, not that every lender's platform will accept you. Many remote closings run on the lender's or title agent's chosen platform, so ask which one before you sign a vendor contract of your own.

$0The Department of State says notice of remote notarization is given on an online form and does not require any additional fees or training. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Approved technology and identity proofing

Use a technology from the Department's approved list. An ordinary Skype, Zoom or FaceTime call does not meet the standard on its own.

The technology must let you and the signer see and hear each other at the same time. It must identify the record being signed. And it must confirm the signer's identity in one of three ways: your personal knowledge, a credible witness, or at least two identity-proofing methods.

Identity proofing can mean knowledge-based questions, biometric checks, or analysis of an ID credential. Vendors differ. Some focus on lenders and eClosings, and others on general documents. Pick one that the signing services you work with accept.

Skype, Zoom and FaceTime alone are not acceptable in Pennsylvania, and remote technology must confirm identity by personal knowledge, a credible witness or two identity-proofing methods. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Where you and the remote signer may be

You must be in Pennsylvania for every remote act. The signer may be in another state, a U.S. territory, or abroad, within set limits.

Your certificate names the county you are physically in at the time. If the signer is outside the United States, the record must relate to a U.S. court or agency, U.S. property, or a transaction substantially tied to the U.S. The act must also not be barred by that country's law.

This is the one way to serve a borrower across a state line. It still depends on the lender and title agent accepting a remote closing. Confirm that before you book it.

A Pennsylvania notary must be physically in Pennsylvania during a remote notarial act, while the remotely located individual may be in another state, a U.S. territory or a foreign country. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

The certificate wording and the ten-year recording

Every remote certificate must say communication technology was used. The session must be recorded, and the recording kept for at least ten years.

The standard wording is: "This notarial act involved the use of communication technology." Add it to every remote certificate you complete.

The recording covers the whole interaction between you and the signer. You, or someone acting for you, must keep it for ten years. Many vendors store it. Confirm how long, and what happens if you change vendors or the vendor closes.

Ten years outlasts two full commission terms. Write the retention arrangement into your records, including where each recording lives and how to get it back. If a borrower disputes a remote closing years later, the recording is your best evidence of what happened.

10 yearsA Pennsylvania remote notarization must be recorded audio-visually, and the recording retained by the notary or someone acting for the notary for at least ten years. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Pricing a remote act in Pennsylvania

For a remote or electronic act, you may add a fee of up to $20 on top of the standard notarial fee. It goes on the itemized receipt like any other.

The added amount is per notarial act, not per session. Vendor charges are a business cost, not a notarial fee. If you pass any of them on, treat them as service fees: reasonable, disclosed first, and itemized.

Update your posted fee schedule before you take remote work. The fees and journal page has the full table.

$20Pennsylvania electronic and remote notaries may charge up to $20 per notarial act performed on electronic records or using communication technology, in addition to the standard fees. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Before your first remote signing

Before your first remote signing, set up a tamper-evident electronic journal, check your E&O policy, and confirm the signing service accepts your vendor.

An electronic journal must meet 4 Pa. Code §167.34. Ask your E&O insurer whether remote acts are covered on the same terms. The bond and E&O page explains why that cover matters. Then run a test session with a colleague before a paying borrower. The commission basics still apply to every remote act.

4 Pa. Code §167.34An electronic notary journal in Pennsylvania must be kept in a tamper-evident format that complies with 4 Pa. Code §167.34. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Questions