Indiana Remote Notary

Remote notarization utilizing two-way audio/video communication is available in Indiana, but must be performed by an Indiana notary public who is authorized to perform remote notarial acts. An Indiana notary public can obtain authorization by completing an application process and remote notary education course, and passing an exam.

Requirements for Remote Notarization

• The remote notary public must be physically in the state of Indiana when performing any remote notarial act.
• The principal (person whose signature is being notarized) may be anywhere, in or outside the United States.
• The remote notarial session must be conducted through a remote technology vendor approved by the state of Indiana.

Identity Verification

• If the principal is not personally known by the remote notary public, the principal must complete an identity verification process.
  • Present a state issued driver’s license or identity card, a U.S. Passport, a U.S. military identification card, an identity card issued by a federally recognized Indiana tribe (the above must be current or not expired for more than three years), or at least one current document issued by the federal government or a state, county or other local government which contains the person’s photograph, as identification for:
    • Inspection by the remote notarial public, and
    • Credential analysis by allowing the system’s camera to take a picture of the front and back of the identification. The system analyzes the pictures to determine if the identification is fraudulent or inappropriately modified.
  • Completing a knowledge-based authentication assessment. This is a series of five questions based on the principal’s life and transaction history. The principal must correctly answer four out of five of the questions in under two minutes.

This may sound complicated but it is actually a quick and easy process of holding the identification in front of the camera and responding to five multiple choice questions.

The Remote Notary Process

Before the remote notary session, the document(s) is/are provided to the remote notary public and uploaded to the remote technology vender’s platform. An invitation is sent to the principal with links to the document(s) which allows the principal to review documents prior to the notary session.

After the principal receives the invitation and completes the identity verification, the remote notary public receives notification to join the session.

The remote notary public advises the principal that the session is being recorded and obtains the principal’s consent to continue.

At this point, the remote notary session is handled in a manner similar to a traditional notary session.

• The remote notary public confirms the identity of the principal, confirms that the principal is aware of what is being signed and is signing freely and voluntarily.
• All blanks in the document(s) are filled in by the principal.
• The principal affixes his/her electronic signature to the document(s).
• The remote notary public completes and/or adds an electronic notarial certificate and affixes a remote notary seal.

The session ends and both the remote notary public and principal have access to the completed, notarized documents.

Things to Know

• The Remote Notary Electronic Signature and Seal utilizes digital certificate software, making the electronic document tamper evident. After the Electronic Signature and Seal are affixed to a document, the digital certificate can trace whether changes have been made to the document.
• Remote notary publics are required to maintain an electronic journal of all remote notarizations for a period of 10 years after the remote notary public’s last notarization.
• Recordings of the remote notary sessions, including information of the type of identification provided and score of the knowledge based authentication assessment, are stored.