Reply by Gerry_VT on 4/23/06 1:31pm
Msg #115422
Anon. at 4.245.179.192 asked for feedback of enotarization on volume of business or pricing. I have no idea about volume, nor on pricing for any individual state. I do have some thoughts on pricing in general.
Ordinarily, mobile notaries compete, in the broadest sense, with bank notaries, local government officials (such as Vermont town clerks and police officers), attorneys, and people like me who are notaries but not mobile. A notary who does enotarization probably needs, or SHOULD have,
1. Special equipment: at least a laptop computer, maybe a smart card encryption device, maybe a digital camera, maybe a signature pad or thumbprint pad
2. Knowledge of how to keep malware off the laptop
3. At least a conceptual knowledge of what digital signatures are all about, to prevent "social engineering"
4. Detailed knowledge of how to work the e-notarization system being used and all the software required.
5. A current digital certificate that is suitable for use by a notary
Meeting all these will be much more expensive than the minimum requirements for a traditional notary (in Vermont that would be $20 for a commission and around 20 cents for a pen). This added expense might convince state legislatures to increase allowable fees to a level that would provide a financial incentive to do notarizations without having to put all the profit into travel expenses, printing fees, or anything but the notarization fees. Some state legislatures that currently have no exams might institute exams to screen out unqualified digital notaries, thus eliminating competition from the unqualified.
Further, some attornies who currently handle notarizations themselves or with office staff might call upon mobile notaries for e-notarizations.
At the other extreme, some states may decide that no fee changes or exam changes are needed, and that land record offices can accept printouts of documents that were e-notarized, in which case we would have the worst of the digital and paper realms in terms of security and the qualifications of notaries.
|
