Remote Notarization for an Out-of-State Borrower
Maria holds a New Mexico notary commission that expires August 31, 2026. She is registered with the Secretary of State to perform remote online notarization and is working from her home office in Bernalillo County. A title company asks her to notarize a deed of trust for Daniel, a borrower who is physically in Denver, Colorado. Daniel joins the approved RON platform from Denver, presents a Colorado driver’s license, and completes credential analysis and knowledge-based authentication. The title company’s certificate reads “State of Colorado, County of Denver” and includes Maria’s New Mexico stamp showing her name, “Notary Public,” “State of New Mexico,” and the August 31, 2026 expiration. Daniel signs with an electronic signature. Maria notices the venue before she completes the journal entry. The title company says the venue should be Colorado because that is where Daniel is located.
1. May Maria perform this remote notarization, and what venue should the certificate show? Explain your reasoning.
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Maria may perform the remote notarization only if she is currently commissioned, registered for RON, physically located in New Mexico at the time of the act, and using an approved platform. The notarial act occurs where the notary is located, not where the signer is located. Daniel’s physical presence in Denver does not make this a Colorado notarial act. Maria is a New Mexico notary acting from Bernalillo County, so the certificate should show State of New Mexico, County of Bernalillo. The title company’s Colorado venue is wrong: Maria has no Colorado commission, and her New Mexico stamp cannot convert the act into a Colorado act. A false venue statement can cause the recorder or lender to reject the document and can undermine the reliability of the certificate. Maria should correct the certificate before completing the act, using the New Mexico venue and her correct stamp.
2. What identity-verification facts must Maria document, and what must she do with the audio-video recording?
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For RON, Maria must verify identity through the approved platform’s identity-proofing process, typically credential analysis of a government-issued photo ID plus remote presentation and knowledge-based authentication or another approved method. In her journal she should record the date and time, type of act, document title, signer’s name and address, the ID type and issuing state, the last four digits or other identifier, the verification method used, the result, and any fee. She should also record the recording identifier or other reference that links the journal entry to the session. The audio-video recording is part of the notarial record and must be retained for the required retention period, generally at least 10 years under Article 14A. It should be stored securely and be retrievable if the act is challenged. Maria should not rely on the title company’s notes as a substitute for her own journal and recording.
3. The next week Maria is vacationing in Arizona and is asked to notarize another deed remotely for a signer in Texas. May she do so?
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No. A New Mexico remote notary must be physically located in New Mexico when performing the notarial act. If Maria performs the act from Arizona, she is not acting with New Mexico authority at the required location, even though she holds a New Mexico commission and the signer is in Texas. The resulting certificate would be defective and could be rejected. She should decline and refer the signer to a notary who is physically located in the appropriate state at the time of the act. This is a common RON trap: the signer’s location matters for the signer’s own circumstances, but the notary’s physical location determines which state’s notarial law and venue apply.