Section 5731 - Remotely located individual(a) Authorization.-- (1) Upon the effective date of this section, the Department of State shall immediately authorize a notary public to conduct notarial acts in the manner authorized by this section, if the notary gives notice to the department as required under subsection (g)(1) and uses a communication and identity proofing technology designated in the department's March 25, 2020, notice of the limited suspension of the requirements of 57 Pa.C.S. § 306 (relating to personal appearance required), or that is designated in a list of additional acceptable technologies subsequently adopted by the department.(2) A notary public may use any other technology within 30 days of giving notice as required by subsection (g)(1), unless the department for good cause prohibits the use of the technology for failure to satisfy the requirements of this section or determines that use of the technology should be delayed pending an evaluation of the technology.(3) This section shall expire 60 days after termination or expiration of the COVID-19 disaster emergency under Section 7301(c) (relating to general authority of governor).(b) General rule.--A remotely located individual may comply with 57 Pa.C.S. § 306 by appearing before a notary public by means of communication technology.(c) Use of communication technology.--A notary public located in this Commonwealth may perform a notarial act facilitated by communication technology for a remotely located individual if all of the following apply:(1) The notary public: (i) Has personal knowledge under 57 Pa.C.S. § 307(a) (relating to identification of individual) of the identity of the individual;(ii) Has satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely located individual by oath or affirmation from a credible witness appearing before the notary public under 57 Pa.C.S. § 307(b) or under this section; or(iii) Is able to reasonably identify the individual by at least two different types of identity proofing processes or services.(2) The notary public is able to reasonably identify a record before the notary public as the same record: (i) In which the remotely located individual made the statement; or(ii) On which the remotely located individual executed the signature.(3) The notary public, or a person acting on behalf of the notary public, creates an audio-visual recording of the performance of the notarial act, including all interactions between the notary public and the remotely located individual.(4) If the remotely located individual is located outside the United States, all of the following apply: (i) The record: (A) Is to be filed with or relates to a matter before a court, governmental entity, public official or other entity under the jurisdiction of the United States; or(B) Involves: (I) Property located in the territorial jurisdiction of the United States; or(II) A transaction substantially connected with the United States.(ii) The act of making the statement or signing the record is not prohibited by the foreign state where the remotely located individual is located.(d) Notarial certificate.--If a notarial act is subject to this section, the certificate of notarial act required by 57 Pa.C.S. § 315 (relating to certificate of notarial act) and the short form certificate under 57 Pa.C.S. § 316 (relating to short form certificates) must indicate that the notarial act was performed by means of communication technology.(e)Sufficiency.--A short form certificate under 57 Pa.C.S. § 316 for a notarial act subject to this section is sufficient if the short form certificate is in the form provided by 57 Pa.C.S. § 316 and contains a statement substantially as follows: "This notarial act involved the use of communication technology."
(f)Audio-visual recording.-- (1) This subsection applies to: (ii) A guardian, a conservator or an agent of a notary public; or(iii) A personal representative of a deceased notary public.(2) A person under paragraph (1) shall retain the audiovisual recording created under subsection (c)(3) or cause the recording to be retained by a repository designated by or on behalf of the notary public. The person shall retain the recording for at least 10 years after the recording is created.(g) Notification.-- (1) Before a notary public performs the notary public's initial notarial act under this section, the notary public must notify the department that the notary public will be performing notarial acts facilitated by communication technology and identify the technology.(2) If the department has established standards for approval of communication technology or identity proofing under 57 Pa.C.S. § 327 (relating to regulations), the communication technology and identity proofing must conform to the standards.(i)Promotion of uniformity.--Before promulgating, amending or repealing regulations about the performance of a notarial act with respect to a remotely located individual, the department shall consider, if consistent with this subchapter, all of the following: (1) The most recent standards regarding the performance of a notarial act with respect to remotely located individuals promulgated by a national standard-setting organization. This paragraph includes the National Association of Secretaries of State.(2) Standards, practices and customs of other jurisdictions that enact a statutory provision substantially similar to this section.(3) The views of governmental officials and entities and other interested persons.(j)Certification of tangible copies.-- (1) Notwithstanding 57 Pa.C.S. § 304 (relating to authority to perform notarial act), a notarial officer may certify that a tangible copy of an electronic record is a true and correct copy of the electronic record.(2) Notwithstanding 57 Pa.C.S. § 320 (relating to notification regarding performance of notarial act on electronic record; selection of technology), a recorder of deeds may accept for recording a tangible copy of an electronic record containing a notarial certificate as satisfying any requirements that the record be an original, if the notarial officer executing the notarial certificate certifies that the tangible copy is a true and correct copy of the electronic record.(k)Definitions.--As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Communication technology." An electronic device or process that:
(1) Allows a notary public located in this Commonwealth and a remotely located individual to communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound; and(2) Makes reasonable accommodations for an individual with a vision, hearing or speech impairment in accordance with law."Department." The Department of State of the Commonwealth.
"Foreign state." A jurisdiction other than the United States, a state or a federally recognized Indian tribe.
"Identity proofing." A process or service by which a third person provides a notary public with a means to verify the identity of a remotely located individual by a review of personal information from public or private data sources.
"Outside the United States." A location outside the geographic boundaries of:
(3) The Virgin Islands; and(4) Any territory, insular possession or other location subject to the jurisdiction of the United States."Remotely located individual." An individual who is not in the physical presence of the notary public performing a notarial act under subsection (c).
Added by P.L. TBD 2020 No. 15, § 1.1, eff. 4/20/2020.