H.R. 1777 — SECURE Notarization Act of 2025

This section establishes definitions for purposes of the Act, including (1) communication technology (i.e., an electronic device or process enabling a notary public, remotely located individual, and credible witness, if applicable, to communicate simultaneously by sight and sound); (2) notarial officer (i.e., a notary public or other individual authorized under state law to perform a notarization); (3) notarization (i.e., any act a notarial officer may perform under federal or state law, including on tangible or electronic records for physically present or remotely located individuals); (4) remotely located individual (i.e., an individual not in the physical presence of the notarial officer); and (5) State (i.e., any state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. territory or possession, or federally recognized Indian Tribe, including political subdivisions). It also incorporates the meanings of "electronic," "electronic record," "electronic signature," "information," "person," and "record" from section 106 of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. 7006).

This section authorizes a notary public to perform electronic notarizations on electronic records in or affecting interstate commerce, unless prohibited under section 10 of the bill. Such notarizations must attach or logically associate the notary's electronic signature and other required information to the record in a tamper-evident manner (i.e., any subsequent change to the record is evident).

This section authorizes a notary public to perform a notarization for a remotely located individual in or affecting interstate commerce, subject to minimum standards including (1) personal appearance of the individual before the notary via communication technology; (2) reasonable identification of the individual by personal knowledge, at least two distinct third-party identity verification processes or services, or oath of a credible witness; (3) creation and retention by the notary (or successor fiduciary) of an audio-visual recording of the notarization for at least 5 years (if required by state law) or 10 years (otherwise); and (4) confirmation that the record presented matches the one signed. If the remotely located individual is outside U.S. jurisdiction, the record must relate to a U.S. court, entity, property, or transaction, and the act must not be prohibited locally. This section further provides that such remote appearance via communication technology satisfies any state or federal personal appearance requirement if the notarization relates to the notary's state public act or judicial proceeding or occurs in or affects interstate commerce.

This section requires each U.S. court to recognize as valid, under applicable state or federal law, any notarization performed by a notarial officer of any state if valid under that state's laws or this Act. Such notarizations have the same legal effect as if performed by a notarial officer of the applicable state (or under federal law), regardless of whether for a tangible or electronic record or for an individual in the officer's physical presence or located remotely. This section further establishes a prima facie presumption of the genuineness of the officer's signature and title and provides conclusive evidence of authority for a state's notary public, judge, clerk, or deputy clerk.

This section requires each state to recognize as valid under its laws any notarization performed by a notarial officer of another state if (1) the notarization is valid under the other state's laws or this Act, and (2) it relates to a public act, record, or judicial proceeding of the other state or occurs in or affects interstate commerce. The section provides that such a recognized notarization has the same legal effect as if performed by a notarial officer of the recognizing state, regardless of whether it involves a tangible or electronic record or an individual in the officer's physical presence or located remotely. The section further establishes that a notarial officer's signature and title constitute prima facie evidence of genuineness and that the signature and title of specified officers—notary public, judge, clerk, or deputy clerk—conclusively establish their authority to perform the notarization.

This section provides that nothing in the Act requires a notary public to perform a notarization (1) with respect to an electronic record, (2) for a remotely located individual, or (3) using a technology that the notary public has not selected.

This section provides that (1) a notary public's failure to meet requirements under sections 3 or 4, or a notarization's nonconformity thereto, does not impair the notarization's validity or recognition; (2) such validity does not preclude an aggrieved person from seeking to invalidate the notarized record or transaction, or other remedies under state or federal law (other than this Act), based on lack of intent to authenticate, incompetence, fraud, forgery, or other invalidating causes; and (3) the Act does not affect state laws governing, authorizing, or prohibiting the practice of law.

This section authorizes state laws to modify, limit, or supersede federal requirements for electronic notarizations and notarizations for remotely located individuals (sections 3 and 4(a)-(b)) if the state law (1) either enacts or adopts the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA), as approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2018 or 2021 (with state modifications preempted if inconsistent with those federal provisions or favoring specific technology), or specifies additional or alternative procedures consistent with those provisions without favoring specific technology; and (2) requires retention of audio-visual recordings of remote notarizations for at least five years. This section clarifies that federal recognition and effect provisions (sections 5-6) do not preclude states from recognizing notarizations under state law.

This section preserves state authority, and that of state notarial regulatory officials, to (1) adopt requirements of this Act as state duties or standards of care and sanction notaries for breaches; (2) establish qualifications for, or deny/revoke/suspend, notary commissions; (3) create classes of commissions or require endorsements for electronic or remote notarizations; and (4) prohibit notaries from performing electronic notarizations (sec. 3) or remote notarizations (sec. 4) as sanctions for breaches or misconduct. It further prohibits a notary from performing such notarizations if (1) the notary lacks a state-required special commission, class, endorsement, or authorization for them; (2) a state official has prohibited the notary as a sanction; or (3) the notary has engaged in false or deceptive advertising—specifically, using the term “notario” or “notario publico” (unless the notary is a licensed attorney) or representing authority (unless an attorney) to draft legal records, give legal advice, act as an immigration consultant, represent persons in immigration proceedings, or receive compensation for such activities. (For remote notarizations under sec. 4, a record executed by the remotely located individual attesting to the notary's disclosure of these prohibitions and lack of violations conclusively establishes the notary's compliance.)

This section provides a severability clause, stating that if any provision of the Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act and its application to other persons or circumstances remains unaffected.