Janet you may have a valid point.... this was discussed and taught at the 2018 Conference in Vegas where about 9 SOS attended and spoke.
The wrinkle is, we are Notaries Public acting in an Official Capacity on behalf of the State. We must abide by all regs and codes. At the present time California requires 1. a 'personal appearance' to gauge "Signers willingness and capacity", and 2. Verify identity documents.
The hang up for Atty Gen will be deciding what defines personal appearance and is it possible to determine willingness over a remote camera. Also, remote closings mean that we cannot handle or touch the ID documents - it will merely be held up to a computer monitor for us to view AFTER the document has been verified by 3rd party vendor that the document is genuine. However, the remote closing rules still maintain that the NOTARY is responsible for the validation of the Identity document and can be sued. |
