For "normal" RON as it existed before the pandemic, pretty much every state that allowed it required notaries to use extra measures to be sure they had identified the signer. This might be credential analysis, where the driver license or state ID card is sent to a 3rd party service which analyzes the card to see if it is in the correct format. Sort of like an automated version of those printed ID guides some notaries have, with pictures of what ID from different states should look like.
Another method is one where the signer goes off to another service that asks questions based based on public records, and the signer has to get 3 out of 4 right within 2 minutes, or something like that. The question might be something like "In 1985 was your phone number (a) 201-123-8937 (b) 817-263-1911 (c) 203-553-9245 (d) none of the above."
Obviously these methods would have to be integrated into the platform, so it would have to be a platform that is intended ONLY for RON. A general purpose service like Zoom wouldn't do. EXCEPTION: if the signer is identified by the notary's personal knowledge, or by a credible witness personally known to the notary, that extra technology wouldn't be needed.
Then there's the emergency rules for the pandemic. In many states, a service like Zoom and having the signer hold up the ID card to the camera would be allowed by the state. But many of the people receiving the notarized documents wouldn't be satisfied with that. |
