For the first time since 1986, Illinois has dramatically revamped its notary laws.
New language in Illinois law, which became effective in June 2023, has made sweeping changes to rules for notarizations. Here’s what you need to know.
Illinois Notary Law Now Allows for Three Options.
From now on, Illinois has three legal ways to notarize documents. There’s the traditional, face-to-face notary you meet in an office. Then there’s remote notarization. And there’s electronic notarization.
Let’s break the two non-traditional notary styles down.
- Remote notarization depends on audio-visual technology that lets the signer(s) and witnesses — the notary and others, if required — communicate in real time by voice and vision. Yet the Illinois remote notary is still using a physical stamp for the notary seal. Think of the electronically witnessed ink notarizations on paper, which notaries temporarily adopted when Covid-19 first hit the United States. This method has since become acceptable on a lasting basis.
- Electronic notarization, under Illinois law, means that the notary works with electronic documents, using digital signatures and seals. This can happen when people meet in the same room, distinguishing it from remote notarization. In Illinois, an electronic notarization happens through a digital notary platform which is approved by the Secretary of State. The only rule for location is that the notary has to be in Illinois when the document is signed. To learn how to perform Illinois electronic notarizations correctly, consult the state’s newly published Notary Public Act and accompanying rules.
Remote online notarization is, officially, a proven and publicly accepted method. It took some time to adapt. But Illinois knew that its law had to step up — to accommodate, safeguard, and guide new processes.
This Notary Law Overhaul Was Six Years in the Making.
Even before Covid, states were starting to test electronic and remote notarizations. In 2017, back when only Virginia and Montana had remote notarization laws, and Texas and then Nevada were just about to enact theirs, Illinois launched an electronic notarization task force to decide whether to follow suit.
In 2019, the Illinois task force sent its report to the state’s lawmakers. The result became a new state law in July 2021. That’s when Gov. Pritzker signed Public Act 102-0160 to amend the Illinois Notary Public Act, pending a public comment and rulemaking period.
There was a rich debate, and a restart.
But the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office ultimately adopted the necessary rules. These went through intensive vetting with the Illinois General Assembly.
Finally, Illinois set June 5, 2023 as the effective date for its revamped Notary Act.
And here we are.
Not Just Any Tech Will Do.
Importantly, Illinois is making sure the accepted technology includes important safeguards. So, performing an electronic notarization means working with a notary website approved by the Secretary of State.
An approved platform will store the documents for at least 7 years. (Remote notaries record the signings and hold the record for at least 3 years.)
The digital notary platforms verify people’s identities by scouring public data and asking people to answer a series of questions. They also have the ability to verify government-issued IDs.
The notary public (the human) also checks the ID, providing an added layer of verification.
“What about my personal data?” you might ask. The new Illinois provisions bar notaries from recording a signer’s personally identifiable information. And they require redaction of the data if such details are mistakenly recorded.
Plus, of course, you still have the old-fashioned option: setting up an appointment, and meeting with a notary in person.
Illinois Law Now Authorizes Notaries From a Distance—And Shines a Spotlight on the Notary Journal.
The new provisions establish quite a few new requirements for the notary’s journal, and restate some old rules while they’re at it. The law says that for every notarization:
- The document is titled, and its purpose set forth in writing.
- A person signs a document and the witnessing notary signs and stamps the notary seal on the same document. The document also names any necessary credible witnesses who attest to the signer’s identity.
- The notarization is dated.
- The document states whether notarization occurred in person, electronically, or remotely. The notary’s and signer’s physical location during the notarization is stated.
- Any fee charged is stated.
The new provisions create penalties for misuse of notarizations that didn’t exist before. And, as explained by the National Notary Association, the law also:
- Revamps the requirements for Illinois notary commissions. Applicants have to take courses. (You can look up the state-approved course providers on the Illinois Secretary of State’s website.)
- Establishes the mandatory bond for notary applicants: $5,000 to perform in-person notarizations; $30,000 to perform electronic or remote notarizations.
- Makes keeping a journal mandatory. (Illinois does exempt notaries who work for lawyers or law firms from keeping a journal of notarizations made in the course of their employment, as long as the employing law firm or lawyer keeps copies of the notarized documents. But a notary who leaves the firm is required to keep and maintain the records.) Journals can be actual books, or they can be done in a digital format that produces PDF files.
- Allows notaries to charge higher fees than they previously could.
The new law also lays out certification rules for test providers and online platform companies. Above all, it guides notaries through most every aspect of electronic and remote notarization, storage, and dispute resolution.
Why All the Attention on the Notary’s Journal?
You might be surprised at the way a journal entry can safeguard your transaction. Well-kept journals can:
- Make would-be deed fraudsters and undue influencers back away from their manipulative ideas.
- Guard the transaction from lawsuits or unfair claims, by showing that reasonable care was taken in the notarization.
- Prove a disputed fact when a notarized document gets lost, or is tampered with.
- Help hold criminal actors accountable.
For all of these reasons, notaries must report a lost, damaged, or stolen journals within one business day. Who benefits from these rules? We all do.
What a Difference Three Years Make!
Just three years ago, using technology at a distance (the “remote notarization” option) to sign home purchase documents seemed risky and unproven. It was done in emergency circumstances to keep the economy from falling apart.
Today, it’s considered convenient, sensible, and safe. And it’s becoming a legal norm.
☛ With the SECURE Notarization Act, remote online notarization will become a national standard, equal to in-person, paper notarizations. This will change the way people buy homes. It has the full backing of the National Association of REALTORS®. Read more: The House of Representatives Said Yes to Remote Online Notaries. Senate Next, NAR Urges!
Supporting References
Bill Anderson, Vice President of Government Affairs, National Notary Association, The National Notary Bulletin: How Illinois Enacted Its Sweeping New Notary Laws (Jun. 20, 2023); and An Overview of the New Illinois Notary Journal Requirements (Jun. 27, 2023).
Vicki Munson, Illinois REALTORS® (Springfield, IL): Changes to the Illinois Notary Public Act Are Now in Effect.
And as linked.
Photo credits: 12019, via Pixabay; Capitol of Illinois in Springfield, Allen & Ginter Cigarettes (1889), accession number 633502011435 (public domain – CC0 1.0; via the Metropolitan Museum of Art).