New Name, New County, New E-Seal

Ana must notify the Secretary of State of her name change and her address change using the required forms or procedures and within the applicable deadline. She should not keep using a stamp in a new name while her commission still reads “Ana M. Ruiz.” A notary’s official name must match the commission, and a name change generally requires the commission record to be updated or a new commission to be issued before she uses the new name. Her address change also must be reported so the Secretary of State can reach her about renewals, complaints, and service of process. She should stop using the new-name stamp until the commission record is corrected, then obtain a stamp that matches the corrected commission.

Ana must be registered as an electronic notary with the Secretary of State and use an approved electronic notarization system. Her electronic seal and signature must include the required notary information, including her commissioned name, “Notary Public,” “State of Idaho,” and the commission expiration date. The tamper-evident code is useful, but it does not replace registration or the required seal elements. She must also keep her eNotary registration current when her name, address, commission, or technology changes. Before performing any electronic act, she should confirm that her commission record and eNotary registration both match her current legal name.

No, not on these facts. Idaho’s eNotary framework authorizes electronic notarial acts, but it does not generally authorize remote online notarization of a signer who is located outside the notary’s physical presence. Ana should not perform a video-only notarization for an out-of-state cousin unless Idaho law specifically authorizes that remote procedure and her vendor and registration comply with it. The fact that the vendor is on a state list does not by itself create remote authority. Ana should decline the remote act and refer her cousin to a notary or remote provider authorized in the cousin’s location.