Florida We're Going Techie: Electronic and Remote Notarization

Revised 03/17/25

Florida law allows any document requiring notarization to be notarized electronically, by any currently commissioned Florida notary. This means that all the steps and formalities required when notarizing paper documents are performed, but the document, signatures and notarial act are all electronic.

In the more traditional method of electronic notarization, the person whose electronic signature will be electronically notarized must be physically present before the notary public while all the steps of the electronic notarization are being performed.

More recently, Florida enacted a law authorizing remote online notarization, performed only by a duly authorized, Florida remote online notary who has satisfied additional state requirements. In this form of electronic notarization, the person for whom the remote online notary is notarizing may personally appear by means of audio-video communication technology that meets the requirements of applicable state law and administrative rules.

The same fundamental steps and formalities of traditional “paper” notarizations apply to electronic and remote online notarization:

The person (“principal”) whose signature is being notarized must be present—in the manner specified by the law—before the notary.
This principal must be personally known to the notary, or identified by the notary using a form of identification specified in Florida law.
The notary and principal must be able to communicate directly with each other, in a language or means of communication that both understand.
The document containing the signature to be notarized must be “complete” at the time of notarization (no substantive blanks that should be filled in at the time of notarization, and not missing any pages).
The document must contain either notarial wording (the notarial “certificate”) to inform the notary which official act shall be performed; or the person or party relying on the notarized document must be able to choose the desired notarial act.
The notarial act must be one that a Florida notary is allowed by law to perform.
The notary must feel assured that the individual whose signature is being notarized demonstrates reasonable understanding of the document and its effects, and that they are acting of their own free will (not being improperly pressured to sign).
The notary must complete a notarial certificate that complies with the formats specified in Florida law, and includes the information that would be displayed if the notary were signing a paper notarial certificate in ink and then stamping with an official ink-stamp: the notary’s full name as commissioned; the words “Notary Public State of Florida”; the notary’s commission expiration date; and the notary’s commission number.

Finally, while Florida does not mandate use of a record book (journal) for paper or electronic notarizations performed for a physically present person, it does require a record to be kept of every remote notarization performed by a duly registered online notary public for a remotely located person. The journal of remote notarizations must be electronic—not paper—and “secure.”

Notary Public Underwriters strongly urges all notaries to keep a record of every notarial act performed in a record book specifically designed for that purpose.

Clearly, while the means and/or manner of performing notarizations in Florida differ between traditional (paper) notarizations, electronic notarizations and remote online notarizations, the core requirements are the same. This helps ensure that the public will continue to put its faith in the effects of a notarization performed by a Florida notary, regardless of the authorized tools or methods used to perform the act.

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