How to Notarize a Document Online (Step by Step)

Start to finish this takes about fifteen minutes, and most of it is the identity check rather than the signing. Here is exactly what happens, in order, so nothing surprises you halfway through.

Before you start: five things to have ready

A computer or laptop with a webcam and microphone
A smartphone with a camera, used to photograph your identification
Your photo identification, current and unexpired
The last four digits of your Social Security number, used to generate your identity questions
A credit or debit card

Have the document ready as a clear PDF. If you only have a paper copy, email a well lit photo of each page and we will convert it before your session.

Do not sign it yet. The notary has to witness your signature, and a document signed in advance cannot be properly notarized.

Step 1: Upload the document

You upload the unsigned document. PDFs work best because the formatting stays intact and the signature fields land where they should. Photographs of paper work but slow the session down.

If more than one person is signing, each signer joins on their own device and completes their own verification.

Step 2: Identity verification

This is the part that takes the longest and the part that occasionally fails, so it is worth understanding.

First, knowledge based authentication. A short multiple choice quiz drawn from public and credit records, tied to the last four digits of your Social Security number. Questions about previous addresses, past vehicles, old lenders. It takes about a minute and is required by law.

Then credential analysis. You photograph the front and back of your identification with your phone, and the system checks the security features to confirm the document is genuine.

Ready to notarize? Most sessions finish in about 15 minutes.

Start your online notarization

The two things that cause most failures

An outdated address. The quiz pulls from your identity records, so if your current address has not caught up, the questions may be about a life you no longer recognize. Answer based on the records, not on today.

An expired ID. Credential analysis will reject it, and there is no way around that. Check the date before you book.

If verification locks out, it is usually a temporary lock rather than a permanent one. We will tell you before you pay if a step cannot be completed.

Step 3: The live session

You join a video call with a commissioned New York notary. The notary confirms your identity, checks that you understand what you are signing and are doing so willingly, and then watches you sign electronically.

The whole session is recorded, as New York requires, and that recording is retained as part of the notarial record.

If a witness is needed, that is arranged in advance. Tell us before the session rather than during it.

Step 4: Notarization and download

The notary applies the electronic seal and completes the notarial certificate. Your document is then available for immediate download. Nothing is posted and there is no waiting period.

What comes back is your document with a tamper evident digital certificate applied. If anyone alters the file afterwards the seal breaks, which is how the receiving party knows it has not been changed. A certificate of authenticity and audit trail is attached alongside it, showing the notary’s commission details, the time of the act and the verification steps completed.

What it costs

$25 for the first document, $15 for documents two through seven, $10 for document eight and beyond, and $15 per additional signer. New York caps electronic notarization at $25 per notarial act, inclusive of all costs. See full pricing.

One question to ask first

Before booking, ask whoever will receive the document whether they accept a remotely notarized document. Most do. Some banks, courts and foreign consulates do not, and their policy decides the outcome no matter what the law permits.

Note also that we sign wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care proxies and DNR consents in person rather than online. See what can be notarized online.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an appointment?

No. Sessions run 24 hours a day with no advance scheduling.

How long does it take?

About fifteen minutes, most of which is identity verification.

What if I do not have a Social Security number?

Verification can often be completed using your photo identification and credential analysis. We tell you before you pay if a step cannot be completed.

Can several people sign?

Yes, each from their own device, anywhere in the country. Additional signers are $15 each.

Can I use my phone for the whole thing?

A computer is better for the session itself, with the phone for photographing your identification.

If identity verification fails

It happens, and it is almost always fixable, so it is worth knowing what the failure means.

The knowledge based quiz draws on public and credit records. If you have moved recently, have thin credit history, are young, or have recently arrived in the country, the system may hold little about you and the questions can be unanswerable. That is not a judgement about you and it does not mean anything is wrong.

A failed attempt usually results in a temporary lock rather than a permanent block. Do not immediately try again from a different account, because repeated attempts can extend the lock. Wait the stated period, and use the time to check that the address on your records matches what you would answer.

If the quiz cannot be completed at all, that is when a mobile appointment is the answer. An in person notarization does not use knowledge based authentication, so the obstacle simply disappears. We would rather tell you that than leave you fighting a screen.

Signing with somebody in another state or country

Multiple signers do not have to be in the same place, or even on the same continent. Each joins on their own device and completes their own verification.

Two practical notes. The New York notarial act is performed under New York law wherever the signer is sitting, and whether the receiving party accepts a remotely notarized signature from abroad is their decision rather than ours. And for the identity quiz, a signer with no United States credit history may not be verifiable through that route, which is worth establishing before everyone blocks out an hour.

Keeping the finished document

Download it immediately and store it somewhere permanent. The digital certificate that makes the document tamper evident lives inside that file, so a printed copy is a picture of a notarized document rather than the notarized document itself.

If you need to email it, send the original PDF rather than a scan of a printout, otherwise the verification the recipient may want to run will not work.

What the session looks like from the notary’s side

Understanding what the notary is obliged to do explains why some of the steps exist.

The notary must be satisfied of your identity, which is what the quiz and the credential check establish. They must be satisfied that you understand what you are signing and are signing willingly, which is why they will ask a question or two rather than simply watching. They complete the certificate with the venue, the date, their signature and commission details. And the whole session is recorded and retained as part of the notarial record.

A notary can decline. If a signer appears not to understand, or seems to be under pressure from somebody off camera, that is a reason to stop. It is uncommon, and it is the safeguard that makes the document worth having.

Before you book, ask the recipient two questions

Which notarial certificate do they need, an acknowledgment or a jurat. And do they accept a remotely notarized document.

Those two answers decide the session. A notary cannot choose the certificate for you, because selecting it is a legal decision. And the most technically perfect notarization is worthless if the receiving institution will not take it in that form.

Thirty seconds on the phone to them saves the whole appointment.

How to Notarize a Document Online: A Step-by-Step Guide