Remote Notarization Legislation
LOUISIANA REALTORS • March 27, 2020
(MARCH 28, 2020) REMOTE NOTARIZATION
Governor Edwards issued an executive order authorizing remote notarization
Thursday, March 26th. The order does not allow authentic acts to be completed by remote notarization. Authentic acts are used to close real estate transactions with financing so lenders can foreclose by executory process. This means that most closings are done by authentic act and cannot be completed with remote notarization even with the order. The Louisiana Notary Association questions Governor Edwards’ authority to authorize this by executive order.
Louisiana REALTORS® is in communication with the Louisiana Bankers Association, the Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin’s office and Governor Edwards’ office to try to get this changed if the order remains in place. At this time, please defer to your title company and lender on this subject.
FEDERAL LEGISLATION FILED TO AUTHORIZE REMOTE NOTARIZATION
On May 19, 2020, legislation was filed in the U.S. Congress to permit immediate nationwide use of Remote Online Notarizations (RONs), a type of electronic notarization where the notary and signer are in different physical locations. The bill is called the “Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic (SECURE) Notarization Act of 2020.”
If passed, the SECURE Notarization Act would authorize every notary in the United States to perform RONs, require tamper-evident technology in electronic notarizations, and require fraud prevention through use of multifactor authentication.
The Louisiana Legislature has considered this type of legislation at the state level for several years now and it has not passed. However, should the federal legislation pass as introduced it would allow your real estate transactions in Louisiana to be completed remotely thereby protecting you and your clients from the Coronavirus.
The legislation is endorsed by the American Land Title Association (ALTA), Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
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