COVID-19 Emergency Rules for Remote Notarization
On March 28, 2020, Governor’s Polis entered an Executive Order in light of COVID-19. The Secretary of State has implemented a process that will allow individuals in the state of Colorado access to notary services without any in-person contact.
Today, Secretary Griswold has issued emergency rules that outlines the procedures and requirements for remote notarization in Colorado during our current state of emergency.
The following amendments to the Notary Program Rules are adopted on a temporary basis and are effective immediately:
- Colorado Notary Publics may only preform remote notarization for an individual who is in the state of Colorado.
- A Notary Public must be currently commissioned and located in the state of Colorado in order to perform an audio-video notarial act.
- The remote notarization system used to preform remote notarization must be able to 1) verify the identity of the individual whose signature is being notarized, as well as any witnesses that may be required to witness the notarization, 2) verify that any signatures, changes and attachments to the records made are in real time; and, 3) record the interaction so that it can be clearly viewed at a later date.
- A Notary Public must be able to confirm that the remotely located individual they are notarizing for is in fact the individual that he/she claims to be by 1) personal knowledge of the individual or provides evidence of identity with a government-issued identification, and is in the physical presence of the Notary public or the remotely located individual; and, 2) remote presentation of a government-issued identification and the date contained on the identification of the remotely located individual.
- A Notary Public must 1) disclose that the remotely located individual is being recorded as well as provide the details of its intended storage, including where and for how long it will be stored, ensure that the remotely located individual consents to bother the recording and the storage of the recording; and, 3) securely store the recording for a period of ten years.
- A Notary Public must make a good faith effort to only include the information as required in Rule 5.2.8(c).
- The audio-recording must include 1) the name of the Notary Public, 2) the date and time of the notarization, 3) a description of the document(s) being notarized, 4) the identity of the remotely located individual whose signature is being notarized, 5) the identity of any witness; and 6) the method by which the remotely located individual and witnesses will be identified.
- A Notary Public must obtain a declaration by the remotely located individual that his or her action are made knowingly and voluntarily.
- A Notary Public must provide an explanation as to how he or she has personal knowledge of the remotely located individual and for how long they have known each other.
- If the remotely located individual is identified by a credible witness 1) a Notary Public must provide a statement as to how he or she has personal knowledge of the credible witness or obtain evidence of their identity using a government-issued identification; and, 2) an explanation by the credible witness as to how they know the remotely located individual.
- After a document has been notarized, the remotely located individual must 1) fax, email or by other electronic means, the document(s) directly to the Notary Public on the same date that the notarization took place; and, 2) the Notary Public must notarize the copy of the document(s) upon receipt and send the same back to the remotely located individual.
- A Notary Public must make a record of the remote notarization in his or her notary book.
- A Notary Public must not use, sell, offer to sell, transfer to another person any personal information received from the remotely located individual.
For a complete copy of the Notice of Temporary Adoption, please visit:
https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/rule_making/files/2020/20200330NotaryNoticeTempAdopt.pdf.
