Remote Online Notarization (RON) and Authorized Vendors
This domain tests Maryland RON eligibility, platform approval, identity proofing, and recording retention. RON questions are procedural: which vendor may be used, what the notary must verify, and what must be kept after the session.
Authorization and vendors
A Maryland notary may perform remote online notarization only if the notary is commissioned, registered for RON with the Secretary of State as required, and uses a RON vendor or platform approved by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State maintains the list of authorized vendors. Using an unapproved platform is a compliance failure even if the notary otherwise follows good practice.
Session requirements
Before the act, the notary must verify the signer’s identity through the platform’s approved identity-proofing methods, confirm the signer’s willingness and competence, and confirm that the signer is in a location where the notary may perform the act. The session must be audio-video recorded. The notary completes the electronic notarial certificate, applies the official stamp or electronic seal, and keeps the journal entry. Maryland requires the recording and journal to be retained for the required period-commonly ten years-and produced to the Secretary of State on lawful request.
Worked example
A signer in another state asks for a Maryland RON acknowledgment. The notary confirms the signer’s identity through the approved platform, confirms the signer’s location is not prohibited, conducts the audio-video session, completes the certificate, applies the electronic stamp, and records the act in the journal. The notary retains the recording and journal entry for the required period.
Traps
The common failures are using a video-conferencing app that is not an approved RON vendor, skipping identity proofing because the notary “knows” the signer, failing to record the session, and discarding the recording too early. RON does not eliminate the journal, the certificate, or the stamp.