With the New Year, Florida’s new Remote Online Notarization (RON) law is going into effect. This is the next step along the path toward e-closings.
RON allows parties in real-time audio-visual communication to actively participate in a closing by electronically signing documents that require notarization.
The RON licensed notary must be physically present in Florida, but the signatory can be located virtually anywhere provided they have a U.S. social security number.
Though RON is “a go” in FL, it is not ready to start being used right away.
The key is that the Florida Department of State is still in the process of promulgating rules, finalizing the application process, and generally preparing Florida for RON.
Once that is done, the next challenge will be the approval of a proper platform that provides the statutorily required identity-proofing, credential analysis, and a secure repository to store required RON electronic records and journals.
Once the State and Industry have everything in line to enable RON, we will let you know.
My Agent Greg 