Late Night Notary is happy to announce we’ve been approved as a Pennsylvania online notary! Our notaries can perform both e-notary (in person) and remote online notarization (RON). You no longer need to find a notary working on your schedule because we can meet with you online anytime!
Initially, we are offering RON through Notarize, OneNotary, and BlueNotary, all authorized vendors by the Pennsylvania Department of State. The platform used does not affect the quality or validity of the notarization. It carries the same weight as a traditional notary seal.
Scheduling of RON appointments is currently same-day only. See our online scheduler for notary availability.
We want to thank you for helping us evaluate our selected RON platforms! We are offering RON starting at just $25 during our initial testing. See our fee schedule for fees charged for online notarization.
Is RON hard to use?
No! While your first experience with RON may be a little intimidating, it’s a simple process. You supply the RON platform with electronic documents you want notarized, preferably in PDF form. After verifying your identity using government-issued photo identification, we’ll meet you in a chatroom and walk you through getting your document notarized online.
There are some questions to answer and other information we’ll provide at the beginning of the call, but you’ll have your document notarized within minutes without ever having to leave your home.
Do I need to be in the Commonwealth to use a Pennsylvania online notary?
According to the Department of State, you are not required to be in the Commonwealth to use a Pennsylvania online notary.
“The notary public must be in Pennsylvania at the time of the notarial act. The notarial certificate will reflect the county where the notary is physically located at the time of the notarization. The remotely located individual may be in Pennsylvania, another state or U.S. territory or possession, or in a foreign country.”
Additional requirements apply for foreign nationals to receive electronic notarization from a Pennsylvania online notary.
“If the individual is not within the United States, the notarial act must relate to a record that will be used before a U.S. court or agency or will relate to property located in the U.S. or to a transaction substantially connected with the U.S.”
How do you ensure the security of the RON session and my privacy?
A remote online notary in Pennsylvania must notify the Department of State of the RON platforms it plans to use. A platform must be pre-approved for use by the DoS, and notaries are required to prove their identity and supply a digital certificate and notary seal to sign documents electronically.
These technologies use military-grade encryption to ensure RON sessions are secure. While notary law requires that recordings of remote notarizations be saved for ten years, they are kept as proof the notarization occurred and was legal should the validity of the notarized document be challenged.
Furthermore, Late Night Notary does not save sensitive information on its customers, only identifiable information as required by law, and optionally your e-mail address.
E-Notary vs. Remote Online Notarization (RON)
The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything, including notaries. Where you previously had to appear in person, Remote Online Notarization (RON) allows these services to be performed virtually. The Commonwealth authorizes a PA online notary to perform these services online.
While e-notary services have been around for years, you still need to be physically present for service: RON does not. There are also other differences.
| E- Notary | RON |
|---|---|
| Digital Signature Digital Notary Seal The signer must be present ID is physically verified Must occur in Pennsylvania | Digital Signature Digital Notary Seal The signer can appear virtually ID is verified by pictures, or “KBA” Only Notary Public must be in PA |
State laws approving Pennsylvania online notary work
Beginning April 20, 2020, remote notarization was temporarily authorized for all Pennsylvania notaries public under Act 15 of 2020. On October 29, 2020, Governor Wolf signed Act 97 of 2020, which made remote online notarization permanent in the Commonwealth.