A Step-by-Step Guide: How to Become an Online Notary in Kentucky

Want to become an online notary in Kentucky? Kentucky allows qualified commissioned notaries to perform Remote Online Notarizations (RON) using approved-by-law electronic documents, identity-verification tools, and secure audio-video communication.

Becoming a Kentucky online notary involves more than simply setting up a video call. You must first hold an active Kentucky notary public commission, maintain the state's required surety bond, select compliant notary technology, obtain the appropriate digital certificate, and register with the Kentucky Secretary of State before performing your first online notarization.

Step 1: Make Sure You Qualify as a Kentucky Notary Public

Before you can become an online notary in Kentucky, you must first qualify for a traditional Kentucky notary public commission.

Kentucky applicants must generally:

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Be a citizen or permanent legal resident of the United States.
• Reside in, or have a place of employment or practice in, the Kentucky county where the application is made.
• Be able to read and write English.
• Not be disqualified from receiving a notary commission under Kentucky law.

A Kentucky notary commission is issued for a four-year term.

Step 2: Apply for Your Kentucky Notary Commission

If you are not already commissioned, submit your notary application to the Kentucky Secretary of State. Kentucky allows applications to be submitted using the state's notary application process, including its online services.

The application includes information such as your legal name, contact information, county of application, eligibility statements, and information about the surety provider you intend to use.

Step 3: Obtain Your $1,000 Surety Bond and Complete the County Filing

Kentucky requires every commissioned notary public to maintain a $1,000 surety bond.

After receiving your commission, you must complete the county-level portion of the commissioning process. Within 30 days of receiving your commission, you must appear before the county clerk identified in your application to:

• Take your oath of office.
• Submit the required $1,000 surety bond.
• File your notary commission.
• Pay the applicable county clerk fees.

Does Kentucky Require E&O Insurance for Online Notaries?

No state-required E&O insurance amount currently applies to Kentucky online-notary registration.

Kentucky's notary statute and online-notary regulation require the $1,000 surety bond described above, but they do not establish a mandatory Errors and Omissions insurance coverage amount for becoming a Kentucky online notary.

Step 4: Choose a Registered Kentucky RON Technology Provider

Kentucky requires technology providers that supply technology for electronic or online notarizations to register with the Kentucky Secretary of State.

When registering as an online notary, you will identify the notary technology and provider you intend to use. Your platform should support Kentucky's requirements for:

• Real-time audio-video communication.
• Electronic documents and electronic signatures.
• Credential analysis.
• Identity proofing.
• Tamper-evident electronic records.
• Electronic journal creation and storage.
• Audio-video recording of remote notarial acts.
• Secure record retention and backups.

This is an important distinction when choosing a RON platform: Kentucky requires technology providers to register with the Secretary of State before providing notary technology in the Commonwealth.

Step 5: Obtain Your Electronic Signature and Digital Certificate

Kentucky requires technology used for electronic notarizations to make the notarized electronic record tamper-evident.

The state's administrative regulations provide for a digital certificate that complies with the X.509 standard or similar industry-standard technology.

Your electronic signature must be attached or logically associated with the electronic record using the digital certificate so that changes to the notarized document can be detected.

Step 6: Register as an Online Notary with the Kentucky Secretary of State

Before performing your first online notarial act, you must register electronically with the Kentucky Secretary of State.

Kentucky's registration process asks for information including:

• Your full legal name.
• Your Kentucky county.
• Your date of birth.
• Your notary commission number.
• Your commission expiration date.
• Your email and mailing address.
• Whether you are registering for electronic in-person notarizations, online notarizations, or both.
• A description of the notary technology you will use.
• Your electronic signature and digital certificate.
• The technology provider or providers you plan to use.
• Information about your identity-proofing and credential-analysis technology.
• Your electronic journal and storage method.
• A copy of your required $1,000 surety bond.

Your authority to perform online notarizations begins after the registration requirements have been satisfied and your registration becomes effective with the Kentucky Secretary of State.

Step 7: Understand Kentucky's Identity Verification Rules

Properly identifying a remotely located signer is one of the most important parts of a Kentucky Remote Online Notarization.

If you personally know the remotely located individual well enough to establish identity under Kentucky law, personal knowledge may satisfy the identity requirement.

When you do not have personal knowledge of the signer, Kentucky's online-notary rules require identity verification through compliant identity-proofing processes.

The process generally includes:

1. Remote presentation of an appropriate government-issued identification credential containing the signer's photograph and signature.
2. Credential analysis that checks the authenticity and validity of the identification.
3. Identity proofing, including the applicable dynamic knowledge-based authentication process or other method permitted under Kentucky's rules.

Kentucky Knowledge-Based Authentication Requirements

Kentucky's regulations contain specific standards for dynamic knowledge-based authentication (KBA). The assessment requires at least five questions drawn from the signer's personal history or identity, with at least five possible answers for each question.

The signer must correctly answer at least 80% of the questions within two minutes. Kentucky also limits repeat attempts and requires replacement of a portion of the questions if a second attempt is made.

Step 8: Be Physically Located in Kentucky During the RON Session

The signer does not necessarily need to be physically located in Kentucky. For an electronic notarization, Kentucky law permits the signer to be elsewhere within the geographic boundaries of a U.S. state.

Kentucky also permits certain online notarizations for signers located outside the United States when additional statutory conditions are met. These generally involve documents connected to a U.S. court, governmental matter, property, or a transaction substantially connected with the United States, and the signing must not be prohibited where the signer is located.

Step 9: Use Compliant Live Audio-Video Communication

Kentucky requires communication technology that provides synchronous audio and video of sufficient quality for the notary and remotely located signer to see and speak with each other in real time.

The technology must also allow the notary to reasonably confirm that the electronic record being notarized is the same record on which the remotely located signer makes a statement or executes a signature.

The platform must use reasonable security measures designed to prevent unauthorized access to the live audio-video feed, identity-verification process, and electronic record.

Record the Online Notarization

Kentucky requires notarial acts performed using communication technology to be electronically recorded.

The recording must include a statement that the notary has informed the participants that the notarial act will be electronically recorded.

Identify the Use of Communication Technology

The notarial certificate for a remote notarization must indicate that communication technology was used.

Step 10: Maintain Your Kentucky Electronic Notary Journal

Kentucky online notaries must maintain one or more journals in a permanent, tamper-evident electronic format.

A journal entry must be created at the time of the notarial act and generally includes:

• The date and time of the notarial act.
• A brief description of the record.
• The type of notarial act performed.
• The full name and address of each individual involved.
• How the individual's identity was established.
• Information about identification credentials presented.
• The fee charged, if any.
• For remote acts, the required audio-video recording or a link to it.

Kentucky also prohibits the journal from recording certain sensitive information, including identification numbers assigned by a government agency and biometric identifiers.

How Long Must Kentucky RON Records Be Kept?

Kentucky additionally requires reasonable steps to ensure that a secure backup exists for the electronic journal and required audio-video recordings.

Your RON technology provider can therefore play an important role in helping you maintain secure electronic records and meet long-term retention requirements.

How Much Can a Kentucky Online Notary Charge?

Kentucky law permits a notary to charge a fee for a notarial act, including an electronic notarization, as long as the fee complies with applicable law and is clearly disclosed to the person requesting the service in advance.

Kentucky does not currently establish a general maximum dollar amount for ordinary notarial acts in KRS 423.430. However, Kentucky law prohibits charging a notary fee for certain documents supporting claims for federal benefits involving qualifying members or former members of the U.S. Armed Forces, National Guard, or reserve components.

Charges for services that are not themselves notarial acts are treated separately under Kentucky law.

How Long Does Kentucky Online Notary Registration Last?

Your authority as an online notary depends on maintaining your underlying Kentucky notary commission.

If your notary commission expires, is revoked, or is suspended, your online-notary registration is also suspended by operation of law.

Kentucky's current regulation provides that renewal of the commission of a notary who was previously registered for electronic or online notarizations also renews that registration without requiring a new electronic registration.

Kentucky Online Notary Requirements: Quick Checklist

Frequently Asked Questions About Becoming an Online Notary in Kentucky

Official Kentucky Online Notary Resources

Kentucky notary laws, regulations, forms, and technology requirements can change. Review the latest official information before applying or performing an online notarization.