Current California Governor signs Senate Bill 696 into law on September 30, 2023. However, given the complexities of performing on-line notarizations, the Secretary of State has until June 30, 2030, to complete a technology project to implement the new law. California Notaries will have the capability to complete remote notarizations if additional safeguards are followed after June 30, 2030. Some of these enhanced safeguards include: Use an enhanced multi-factor means of identifying individuals appearing remotely for an online notarization; notaries must keep both a tangible (paper) and an electronic journal of each online notarization; maintain an audio-video recording of each online notarization. For more information see Bill Anderson’s article on the National Notary Association’s Website
