National remote online notary bill reintroduced in Congress

A bill that would permit immediate nationwide use of remote online notarization was reintroduced in the current session of Congress, after failing to gain traction last year.

A number of states have had RON available for several years. Then as the pandemic made physical real estate transaction closings difficult, several jurisdictions permitted it on a temporary basis as they looked to keep commerce going when face-to-face contact was discouraged. Further expansion and movement from a transitory fix to permanent status may take a back burner now that large numbers of Americans have been vaccinated and the pandemic is subsiding.

With over 1.25 billion notarizations completed annually across the globe, Remote Online Notarization saw 547% growth in 2020 according to a new survey from the American Land Title Association and is set to increase adoption through 2021.