What Documents Can Be Notarized Online? (Full List)

Most documents can. A specific and important group cannot, at least not in New York, and the difference is worth knowing before you book a session and discover it at the wrong moment.

Commonly notarized online

Affidavits of every kind. General affidavits, affidavits of residence, one and the same person affidavits, affidavits of support, sworn statements for court or an agency.

Contracts and business agreements. Service agreements, partnership documents, settlement agreements, corporate resolutions.

Vehicle release letters. The notarized authorization a tow pound requires before releasing a car to somebody other than the registered owner.

Child travel consent letters. Including the versions for grandparents, divorced parents and unaccompanied minors.

Small estate affidavits. The sworn affidavit filed with Surrogate’s Court, in New York and in other states.

Immigration support letters, where the filing or the attorney asks for notarization.

Documents heading for an apostille, which begin with a notarization before county clerk certification.

School and employment forms, consent forms, and most administrative paperwork that asks for a notary.

The New York exception you need to know

New York State Technology Law § 307 lists a category of documents excluded from electronic signature: those disposing of a person or property upon death or incompetence, or appointing a fiduciary. It names wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care proxies and do not resuscitate consents.

Remote online notarization relies on the signer signing electronically, so we sign that group on paper, in person, rather than online. It is the cautious reading and it is how we practice. See the fuller explanation.

These are also the documents most likely to need witnesses, which an in-person appointment handles better anyway.

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

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Things that are not notarization at all

Form I-9 verification. Completing Section 2 as an employer’s authorized representative is not a notarial act, and it has its own rules. Live video review is limited to employers enrolled in E-Verify. See I-9 verification.

Certified copies of vital records. A notary cannot certify a copy of a birth, death or marriage certificate in New York. Order a certified copy from the issuing agency.

Anything requiring legal advice. A notary cannot tell you which document you need, draft it, or explain its effect.

The category that depends on the recipient

Deeds and real property documents. These can often be notarized online, but the county recorder decides whether it will accept an electronically notarized deed. Confirm with the recording office before your session, because a rejected recording costs far more than the notarization did. See deed recording.

Documents going to another country. Some foreign authorities decline remotely notarized documents regardless of what New York permits. Ask the receiving party first.

Documents for another state. A New York notary performs the act under New York law even when the signer is elsewhere, and most states accept that. Confirm where the document is going.

The question that settles most cases

Before booking, ask whoever will receive the document: do you accept a remotely notarized document?

The law permits far more than some institutions will accept in practice. A bank, a court clerk or a foreign consulate can have its own policy, and their answer is the one that matters on the day.

What you need for any online session

A device with a camera and microphone
A smartphone to photograph your identification
Valid unexpired government issued photo identification
The last four digits of your Social Security number for the identity questions
Your unsigned document, ideally as a clear PDF

Do not sign before the session. The notary has to witness the signature.

Frequently asked questions

Can a will be notarized online in New York?

We sign wills in person. Section 307 lists wills among documents excluded from electronic signature.

Can a deed be notarized online?

Often, but the county recorder decides. Confirm before booking.

Can I notarize a copy of my passport?

A notary cannot certify that a copy is a true copy of a government record. What is sometimes done instead is a sworn affidavit by the document holder, which can be notarized.

What if I am outside New York?

The act is performed under New York law and serves signers anywhere in the United States.

How long does it take?

Most sessions run about fifteen minutes.

Documents where the receiving party decides

A large middle category exists where New York permits online notarization and the recipient may not accept it.

Banks and brokerages sometimes require wet ink for account changes and beneficiary forms. Courts vary by county and by filing type. Foreign consulates frequently decline remotely notarized documents regardless of United States law. Some employers and licensing boards have internal rules stricter than anything statutory. And county recorders decide independently whether to accept an electronically notarized deed.

None of that is visible from the document itself, which is why the single most useful thing you can do before booking is ask the recipient directly.

Multi party documents

Contracts, settlement agreements and partnership documents often need several signatures, and online handles this better than anything else. Each signer joins from their own device, anywhere in the country, and completes their own identity verification in the same session.

Two practical limits. Every signer needs valid unexpired identification and must be able to pass identity verification, which can be an obstacle for somebody with no United States credit history. And if any signer needs a witness, arrange that in advance rather than during the call.

Documents that need a certified copy instead

People frequently book a session intending to notarize a copy of a passport, a diploma or a birth certificate. A notary in New York cannot certify that a copy is a true copy of a government record.

What can be done instead is a sworn affidavit by the document holder, stating the facts about the document, which is itself notarized. Whether the receiving party accepts that is their decision, so ask before booking. For vital records the answer is usually to order a certified copy from the issuing agency instead.

What to have ready, and the two things that stop a session

A device with a camera and microphone, a smartphone to photograph your identification, valid unexpired government issued photo identification, the last four digits of your Social Security number for the identity questions, and your unsigned document as a clear PDF.

The two things that end a session before it starts are an expired identification, which credential analysis will reject outright, and a document already signed, which cannot be given a valid jurat because the notary did not witness the signature. Both are avoidable and both are common.

If your address has changed recently, the identity quiz may ask about records that have not caught up. Answer based on the records rather than on today.

Documents heading overseas

If the document is going to another country, notarization is usually only the first step. It will often need county clerk certification and then an apostille, and for non Hague countries a further federal certification and consular legalisation.

Ask the receiving authority for the full chain before you book, because the order cannot be rearranged afterwards, and confirm whether they accept a remotely notarized signature at all. Some do not, whatever New York permits.

What Documents Can Be Notarized Online?