N.Y. Governor Signs Bill Amending RON Law
March 22, 2022
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill 7780, which makes significant updates to the prior remote online notarization (RON) bill that was signed in late 2021. New York became the 39th state to allow RON.
Here are key takeaways from the amendment:
- Starting Feb. 24, 2022, the bill temporarily authorizes notaries to perform notarial acts using a video conference notarization process, known as remote ink-signed notarization (RIN), until the full RON law becomes effective.
- The bill changes the effective date of the full RON law from June 20, 2022, to Jan. 31, 2023. This will provide the state additional time to fully implement a regulatory scheme to support RON.
- The bill requires signers to undergo a multi-step identity verification process before completing a RON.
- The bill clarifies that signers can execute documents using RON if they are outside of New York, but inside the U.S., or outside the U.S., provided that the executing notary be physically located in New York at the time of the notarization;
- The bill requires a recording, containing both audio and video, of the RON to be retained for at least 10 years. The notary must also take reasonable steps to ensure a backup recording of the RON exists and is secured from unauthorized use.
- The bill provides the language that must be included in the notary blocks for RON to help identify that the document was remotely notarized: “This remote notarial act involved the use of communication technology.”
- The bill requires recording officers to accept RON documents for recording when a Certification of Authenticity is included in the document.
- The bill allows any New York commissioned notary to act as a traditional or RON notary. However, starting on Jan. 31, 2023, any notary wishing to provide RON, must complete an additional registration process to perform RON.
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