The Free Video App and the Mexican Power of Attorney
Marcus is a commissioned Iowa notary who works from his home in Ames. A client in Mexico City asks him to notarize a power of attorney for use in Mexico. Marcus has never performed a remote notarization. He plans to use a free video-conferencing app, ask the client to hold her passport up to the camera, and record the session on his phone. He has not registered with the Secretary of State as a remote notary and has not taken any remote-notarization training. He will be physically in Ames during the call. The client will sign electronically and send the file back. Marcus asks whether this plan complies with Iowa law and what he must change. He also wants to know whether the signed document can later receive an apostille.
1. Identify each compliance problem in Marcus's plan under Iowa's remote online notarization rules.
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Several problems stand out. Marcus has not registered as a remote notary with the Secretary of State, and Iowa requires registration before performing remote notarial acts. He has not completed the required remote-notarization training. A free video-conferencing app and a phone recording do not by themselves satisfy the technical requirements for a compliant remote notarization system, which must provide audio-video communication, identity proofing, recording, and retention features. Asking the client to hold up a passport on camera is not necessarily an approved identity-verification process. Marcus also has not established the journal and certificate language required for remote acts. His physical location in Ames is correct, because the notary must be physically in Iowa, but that single fact does not make the rest of the plan lawful.
2. What steps must Marcus complete before he performs his first RON act, and what should he tell the client about timing?
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Marcus must first confirm that his regular commission is active. He must register with the Secretary of State as a remote notary, complete the required training, and arrange to use a remote notarization system that meets Iowa's standards. He should learn the identity-proofing method, the recording and retention rules, and the required certificate language before scheduling the act. He should also set up his journal and test the system. He should tell the client that the notarization cannot be done on the free app today. The client should wait until Marcus is registered and using a compliant system. If the client needs the document urgently, the safer alternative is an in-person notarization before an Iowa notary or a properly commissioned notary where the client is located.
3. If Marcus completes the RON properly, what is the path to an apostille for Mexico, and what could still cause rejection?
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Mexico is a Hague Apostille Convention country, so the document would need an apostille, not a consular certification. After the remote notarization is completed with a proper certificate and stamp, the original or acceptable electronic document would be submitted to the Iowa Secretary of State with the apostille fee. The Secretary of State authenticates the notary's signature and commission. Rejection could occur if Marcus's commission was not active at the time of the act, if the certificate misdescribes a remote act as an in-person appearance, if the stamp is missing required elements, or if the document is not in a form the office can authenticate. Marcus should keep the remote records and tell the client to confirm whether Mexico wants a paper apostille or accepts an electronic one.