Electronic Notarization Equipment
Electronic notaries in Illinois will need access to a computer or similar device that enables you to perform electronic notarizations through audio-video communication (i.e., the device must have at least a working camera, microphone, and internet connection). Your device also must enable you to run any software required by your electronic notarization system provider and to maintain the security of your electronic notary seal, electronic signature, and digital notarial certificate.
To perform electronic notarizations under the Illinois Notary Public Act and its new administrative rules, an electronic notary will need access to a third-party “electronic notarization system,” defined as “a set of applications, programs, hardware, software, or technology to enable an electronic notary to perform electronic notarial acts through audio-video communication.” Electronic notaries also must securely maintain an electronic seal and at least one digital certificate with their electronic signature.
A third-party provider must be certified by the Illinois Secretary of State before it can offer an electronic notarization system. The Illinois Secretary of State has not yet certified any third-party electronic notarization system providers, but we believe they will be certifying vendors in the coming weeks. We recommend testing a provider’s software on your computer or other device to ensure that it functions as required before committing to a particular electronic notarization system provider.
Notary Journal
The Illinois Secretary of State’s administrative rules allow notaries to maintain their journals in either tangible or electronic format.
Whether tangible or electronic, notarial journals must meet the rules’ form and content requirements (which we have included in the resources below). Journals maintained in a tangible format must comply with specific requirements as to their binding, page numbering, line and entry numbering, and security. Journals maintained in an electronic format must be “designed to prevent the insertion, removal, or substitution of an entry” and “securely stored and recoverable in the case of a hardware or software malfunction.”
The Illinois Secretary of State’s office has advised us that it is very close to certifying vendors offering electronic journals that meet these standards. We recommend periodically checking the Illinois Secretary of State’s Notary Services index for updates on certified vendors.
Also, for more information on the new notary rules, we recommend viewing the IBA’s September 12 webinar on the new Illinois notary requirements, presented by the IBA’s General Counsel and the Illinois Secretary of State’s Assistant General Counsel.
For resources related to our guidance, please see:
- Illinois Notary Public Regulations, 14 Ill. Adm. 176.300(c) (“Application for electronic notary public commission. An application for an electronic notary public commission must be filed with the Secretary of State as required by this Subpart D [5 ILCS 312/2-102(c)]. In addition, an applicant for an electronic notary public commission must provide the following: . . . 4) a statement certifying that the applicant: . . . B) Will use a third-party provider who has been certified to act as an electronic notarization system provider in the State of Illinois by the Secretary.”)
- Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312/1-104 (“‘Electronic notarization system’ means a set of applications, programs, hardware, software, or technology to enable an electronic notary to perform electronic notarial acts through audio-video communication.”)
- Illinois Notary Public Regulations, 14 Ill. Adm. 176.805(a) (“No person or entity may provide electronic notarization systems under 5 ILCS 312/6A-101 unless certified as a provider by the Secretary of State.”)
- Illinois Notary Public Regulations, 14 Ill. Adm. 176.820(a) (“An electronic notary public shall at all times maintain an electronic seal and at least one digital certificate that includes the electronic notary’s electronic signature. Both the electronic seal and digital certificate must comply with the Act and this Part.”)
- Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312/1-104 (“‘Electronic seal’ means information within a notarized electronic document that includes the names, commission number, jurisdiction, and expiration date of the commission of an electronic notary public and generally includes the information required to be set forth in a mechanical stamp under subsection (b-5) of Section 3-101.”)
- Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312/1-104 (“‘Digital certificate’ means a computer-based record or electronic file to a notary public or applicant for commission as an electronic notary public for the purpose of creating an official electronic signature. The digital certificate shall be kept in the exclusive control of the electronic notary public.”)
- Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312/1-104 (“‘Electronic signature’ means the official signature of the commissioned notary that is on file with the Secretary of State and has been reduced to an electronic format that may be attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by an individual with the intent to sign the record.”)
- Illinois Notary Public Administrative Rules, 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.920 (“Form and Content of Journals Maintained on a Tangible Medium
a) A journal maintained on paper or any other tangible medium may be in any form that meets the physical requirements in this Section and the entry requirements in Section 176.910.
b) The cover and pages inside the journal must be bound together by any binding method that is designed to prevent the insertion, removal, or substitution of the cover or a page. This includes glue, staples, grommets, or another binding, but does not include the use of tape, paper clips, or binder clips.
c) Each page must be consecutively numbered from the beginning to the end of the journal. If a journal provides two pages on which to record the required information about the same notarial act, both pages may be numbered with the same number or each page may be numbered with a different number. Page numbers must be preprinted.
d) Each line, or entry if the journal is designed with numbered entry blocks, must be consecutively numbered from the beginning to the end of the page. If a line extends across two pages, the line must be numbered with the same number on both pages. A line or entry number must be preprinted.
e) The journal of a notary public must remain within the exclusive control of the notary public at all times.
f) A notary public who performs multiple notarizations for the same principal within a single transaction may abbreviate the entry of those notarizations in the notary journal after first including all the information required by the Act. The abbreviated entry must indicate the type of transaction and the number of documents notarized as part of that single transaction.
g) A journal maintained in a tangible format must be retained for a minimum of 7 years after the final notarial act chronicled in the journal.
h) The retention requirements for this Part do not apply to notaries in the course of their employment with a governmental entity.”)
- Illinois Notary Public Administrative Rules, 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.930 (“Form and Content of an Electronic Notarial Journal
a) A journal maintained in electronic format may be in any form that complies with this Section and the entry requirements in Section 176.910.
b) A journal maintained in an electronic format must be designed to prevent the insertion, removal, or substitution of an entry.
c) A journal maintained in an electronic format must be securely stored and recoverable in the case of a hardware or software malfunction.
d) Entries from the notarial journal must be available upon request by the Secretary of State in a PDF format.
e) The journal of a notary public shall remain within the exclusive control of the notary public at all times.
f) A notary public who performs multiple notarizations for the same principal within a single transaction may abbreviate the entry of those notarizations in the notary journal after first including all of the information required by the Act. The abbreviated entry must indicate the type of transaction and the number of documents notarized as part of that single transaction.”)