Does Missouri Allow Remote Online Notarization?

Yes. Missouri law authorizes remote online notarization, commonly called RON. A properly registered Missouri remote online notary can meet a signer using live audio-video communication instead of requiring the signer to be physically in the same room.

Missouri's remote online notarization laws are primarily found in Sections 486.1100 through 486.1205 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri.

There is an important distinction: becoming a regular Missouri notary does not automatically authorize you to perform remote online notarizations. You must complete the additional state RON registration requirements before performing your first remote session.

Step 1: Meet Missouri's Basic Notary Qualifications

Your first step toward becoming a Missouri online notary is qualifying for a regular Missouri notary public commission.

Under Missouri law, an applicant generally must:

• Be at least 18 years old;
• Reside in Missouri or have a regular place of work or business in Missouri;
• Reside legally in the United States;
• Be able to read and write English; and
• Pass the examination required for a Missouri notary commission.

Missouri can also commission certain nonresidents who work in Missouri and will use their notary commission in connection with their employment in the state.

Step 2: Complete Missouri Notary Training and Pass the Exam

The Missouri Secretary of State instructs new applicants to read the Missouri Notary Public Handbook and complete the state's notary training before applying.

Applicants must receive a score of 80% or better on the examination administered by the Secretary of State before a commission can be issued.

This is the training for your underlying Missouri notary commission. There is an additional training requirement when you register to perform remote online notarizations.

Step 3: Apply for Your Missouri Notary Commission

After completing the required training, submit your application to the Missouri Secretary of State. Missouri allows applicants to apply online or by mail.

The state application fee for a Missouri notary commission is $25.

Carefully review your legal name, address, county and other application information before submitting it. Your official notary name will need to be used consistently on your commission, signature and notary seal.

Step 4: Purchase Your $10,000 Missouri Notary Bond and Qualify

Missouri requires every commissioned notary to obtain a $10,000 notary surety bond from a licensed Missouri surety. The bond covers the four-year commission term.

After your commission is issued, you must complete the qualification process with the appropriate county clerk. This includes presenting your bond, taking your oath of office and completing the required commission paperwork.

Missouri notary commissions are issued for a four-year term.

Step 5: Register to Perform Remote Online Notarizations

Once you are a Missouri commissioned notary, the next stage is becoming authorized to perform remote online notarizations.

Missouri requires a notary to register the capability to perform RON with the Secretary of State before performing remote online notarial acts.

The Missouri Secretary of State's current electronic-notary registration process includes an online registration form and additional online training. Missouri law requires initial RON applicants to complete a Secretary-approved course of instruction and pass an examination based on that course.

The RON course covers laws, procedures and ethical requirements specifically related to remote online notarization.

Step 6: Choose a Missouri-Approved RON Platform

Missouri does not allow a remote online notary to simply use any video conferencing application or electronic signature service.

Before remote online notarization software can be used by Missouri notaries, the software must be approved by the Missouri Secretary of State. As part of the registration process, the notary identifies the approved technology that will be used for remote notarizations.

Using an approved RON platform is important because the technology must support Missouri's requirements for identity verification, credential analysis, live audio-video communication, electronic documents and secure recordkeeping.

Step 7: Set Up Your Electronic Signature and Electronic Notary Seal

Remote online notarization takes place on electronic documents, so you will also need the electronic tools required to properly complete a Missouri remote online notarial certificate.

Missouri requires a remote online notarial certificate to contain a registered electronic signature and registered electronic notary seal. The electronic seal must include information such as the notary's official name, jurisdiction, commission or registration number and commission expiration date.

The electronic signature and seal must be secured against unauthorized use and attached to the electronic document in a way that makes later alterations detectable.

Step 8: Understand Missouri's Remote Notarization Rules

The Notary Must Be Physically in Missouri

This is one of Missouri's most important RON rules. When you perform a remote online notarization under your Missouri commission, you must physically be located in Missouri.

You cannot perform a Missouri RON session while vacationing, traveling or temporarily working from another state.

The Signer Can Be Somewhere Else

The remotely located signer can generally be located in Missouri, elsewhere in the United States or, under certain circumstances, outside the United States.

For a person located outside the United States, the notarization must not be prohibited by the jurisdiction where that person is located.

Live Audio-Video Communication Is Required

The signer must appear before the notary using live communication technology that allows the parties to see and hear one another during the notarization.

Identity Must Be Verified

When the signer is not personally known to the notary, Missouri's RON process includes identity-verification measures such as remote presentation of qualifying identification, credential analysis and identity proofing through approved technology.

Missouri Limits the Types of Remote Acts

Missouri specifically authorizes the following acts to be performed as remote online notarizations:

• Acknowledgments; and
• Jurats.

Step 9: Keep Missouri's Required Journals and Video Recordings

Recordkeeping is an especially important part of becoming a Missouri remote online notary.

Missouri requires a remote online notary to maintain an electronic journal of remote online notarial acts. Missouri also requires the remote online notary to maintain a record of the RON acts in a permanently bound journal.

Electronic journal entries must be kept for at least 10 years.

Missouri also requires the remote online notary to create an audio-video recording of the performance of the remote notarial act. That recording must be retained for at least 10 years after the transaction.

Step 10: Start Performing Online Notarizations in Missouri

Once your regular Missouri commission is active, your RON registration is complete and you are properly set up with approved technology, you can begin performing authorized Missouri remote online notarizations.

Before every session, remember the fundamentals:

• You must be physically located in Missouri;
• The signer must appear through compliant live audio-video communication;
• The signer's identity must be established as Missouri law requires;
• The document must be properly completed and electronically notarized;
• The transaction must be entered in the required journals; and
• The audio-video recording must be securely retained.

How Much Can a Missouri Online Notary Charge?

Missouri law allows an electronic notary to charge up to $5 per signature for an acknowledgment or jurat.

A Missouri remote online notary may also charge a separate remote online transaction fee when the notary and principal agree to that fee in advance. The notary must explain that the RON transaction fee is separate from the statutory notarial fee and is not mandated by Missouri law.

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