The Zoom Notarization in Cheyenne
Dana has held a Utah notary commission since 2022 and has never registered for remote notarization; she works out of a title office in Provo. Marisol lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and needs her signature notarized on a Utah special warranty deed for a cabin she is selling. Marisol cannot travel to Utah before the closing. A paralegal suggests a video call: during a 14-minute Zoom session Dana watches Marisol sign the paper deed at her kitchen table, has Marisol hold her Wyoming driver license up to the camera, then completes the acknowledgment certificate, dates it that day, stamps it, and mails the deed back to Marisol, who overnights it to the title company.
1. May Dana lawfully notarize Marisol's signature this way? Analyze the appearance requirement and identify every defect.
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No. The controlling requirement is personal appearance: the signer must appear before the notary. Utah permits appearance by communication technology only for a notary who holds the state's remote-notarization authorization and uses a system meeting the state's technical standards, and the certificate must disclose that the act was performed remotely.
Dana has none of those elements:
- She is not authorized as a remote notary.
- She is using an ordinary consumer video service, not an approved system.
- Her certificate says nothing about remote performance, so it falsely implies a face-to-face appearance.
- Practically, the act is incoherent: the signer signed paper in Wyoming, the notary watched on camera, and the paper original was mailed - none of the controls that make remote notarization reliable are present.
Note what is not the problem: the signer's out-of-state location. A Utah notary may notarize a document that will be used in another state or country; the notarial act occurs where the notary is located. The problem is that Marisol never appeared before Dana.
2. What should Dana have told Marisol, and what is Dana's exposure for the certificate she already completed?
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Options Dana should have presented:
- Marisol travels to Utah and appears personally before Dana.
- Marisol uses a Wyoming notary where she is physically located (provided that notary is properly commissioned and the certificate recites the correct state and county of performance).
- Dana becomes a properly authorized remote notary and performs the act through an approved system, with a certificate that states the act was performed by communication technology.
Exposure:
- Document risk: The certificate is defective and a careful title company or recorder should reject it; the closing is delayed and the deed may need re-execution.
- Civil and bond exposure: A person harmed by an improper notarial act can seek recovery, and the surety bond exists to protect the public, not the notary.
- Administrative exposure: Performing notarial acts outside the scope of her commission, and certifying a personal appearance that did not occur, are grounds for discipline by the Lieutenant Governor's office, up to revocation.
Dana should flag the problem to the title company herself rather than hope it passes review.