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IA Administrative Rules (2020)

Rule/Regulation

State: Iowa

Effective: July 01, 2020

Summary

The Iowa Secretary of State has adopted rules related to notarizing records for remotely located individuals.

Affects

Amends and adds new sections to Title 721, Division IV, Chapter 43 of the Iowa Administrative Code.

Changes

Conflicts of Interest

  1. Clarifies that a notarial officer does not have a conflict of interest under Iowa Code 9B.4(2) when For purposes of this rule, a direct financial benefit does not exist when the notarial officer is compensated on an individual loan commission basis or as provided in Iowa Code section 9B.26(2).

Notary Commission; Approval to Perform Notarial Acts for Remotely Located Individuals

  1. Requires an individual who wishes to perform notarial acts for remotely located individuals to complete and file with the Secretary of State an additional application containing information indicating that the applicant meets the additional training and technology requirements of Iowa Code section 9B.14A and the final rules, as well as any additional information the Secretary may require.
  2. Clarifies that a Notary’s approval to perform notarial acts for remotely located individuals expires on the same date as the individual’s Notary commission.
  3. Requires the Secretary of State to notify a Notary of the expiration date and furnish an application for reapproval to perform notarial acts for remotely located individuals.
  4. Authorizes the Secretary of State to combine its Notary commission reappointment and reapproval to perform notarial acts for remotely located individuals forms.
  5. Requires an applicant for a Notary commission, within the six-month period immediately preceding submission of an Application for Appointment, to satisfactorily complete an initial training course approved by the Secretary of State concerning the functions and duties of a Notary.
  6. Requires an applicant to submit with the application satisfactory proof to the Secretary of State that the applicant has completed the required course.
  7. Provides that an applicant who submits an Application for Appointment as Notary on or before July 1, 2020, is not subject to the training requirement.
  8. Requires a Notary who wishes to begin performing notarial acts for remotely located individuals to, within the six-month period immediately preceding the first performance of such an act, satisfactorily complete a training course approved by the Secretary of State concerning the requirements and methods for performing notarial acts for remotely located individuals and shall provide satisfactory proof to the Secretary of State that the applicant has completed the course.
  9. Clarifies that the training course required for Notaries to perform notarial acts for remotely located individuals is in addition to the training required for a Notary commission.
  10. Requires an applicant for reappointment as a Notary who currently holds a Notary commission, who wishes to continue performing notarial acts for remotely located individuals, and who has satisfactorily completed the initial training course required for those notarial acts to, within the 6-month period immediately preceding the deadline for application for reappointment, satisfactorily complete an update course approved by the Secretary of State concerning the requirements and methods for performing notarial acts for remotely located individuals and shall provide satisfactory proof to the Secretary of State that the applicant has completed the course.

Communication Technology Requirements

  1. Requires the technology identified by a Notary to the Secretary of State for the purpose of notarizing records for remotely located individuals to: (a) Have been approved by the Secretary of State;  (b) Provide continuous, synchronous audiovisual feeds; (c) Provide sufficient video resolution and audio clarity to enable the Notary and remotely located individual to see and speak with each other simultaneously through live, real-time transmission; (d) Provides sufficient captured image resolution for identity proofing; (e) Provide a means of authentication that reasonably ensures only authorized parties have access to the audiovisual record of the performed notarial act; (f) Provide for the recording of the electronic notarial act in sufficient quality to ensure the verification of the electronic notarial act; (g) Ensure that any change to or tampering with an electronic record before or after the electronic notarial seal has been affixed and the electronic notarial act has been completed is evident; (h) Provide confirmation that the electronic record presented is the same electronic record notarized; (i) Provide a means of electronically affixing the Notary’s official stamp to the notarized document; (j) Provide an electronic Notary journal that complies with the provisions of the rules to document the electronic notarial acts.
  2. Requires the technology identified by a Notary to the Secretary of State for the purpose of notarizing records for remotely located individuals to provide security measures the Secretary of State deems reasonable to prevent unauthorized access to (a) The live transmission of the audiovisual communication; (b) A recording of the audiovisual communication; (c) The verification methods and credentials used in the identity proofing procedure; (d) The electronic records presented for online notarization; and (e) Any personally identifiable information used in the identity proofing or credential analysis.
  3. Requires a Notary who is authorized to perform notarial acts for remotely located individuals to only use a provider of communication technology for the audiovisual recording of electronic notarial acts, if the provider: (a) Has registered with and been approved by the Secretary of State in accordance with the rules; (b) Allows the remote Notary sole control of the recording of the electronic notarial act using audiovisual communication, subject to the authorized access granted by the Notary; and (c) Provides the Notary with access to the recording of the electronic notarial act using audiovisual communication pursuant to the administrative rules.

Identification of Remotely Located Individuals

  1. Requires identity proofing and credential analysis to be performed by a third-party credential service provider whose methods and standards are substantially similar to those defined in the most recent edition of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Digital Identity Guidelines, and that has provided evidence to the Notary of the ability to satisfy the following requirements as identified below.
  2. Requires identity proofing to be performed through dynamic knowledge-based authentication which meets the following requirements: (a) The principal must answer a quiz consisting of a minimum of five questions related to the principal’s personal history or identity, formulated from public and proprietary data sources; (b) Each question must have a minimum of five possible answer choices; (c) At least 80 percent of the questions must be answered correctly; (d) All questions must be answered within two minutes; (e) If the principal fails the first attempt, the principal may retake the quiz one time within 24 hours; (f) During the retake, a minimum of 60 percent of the prior questions must be replaced; (g) A principal who fails the second attempt is not permitted to retry with the same Notary for 24 hours; and (h) A principal who fails the third attempt is not permitted to make any further attempts.
  3. Requires credential analysis to be performed utilizing public and proprietary data sources to verify the credential presented by the principal.
  4. Requires credential analysis to, at a minimum, use automated software processes to aid the Notary in verifying the identity of a principal or any credible witness.
  5. Requires credential analysis to, at a minimum, ensure that the credential passes an authenticity test, substantially similar to those defined in the most recent edition of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Digital Identity Guidelines, that: (a) Uses appropriate technology to confirm the integrity of visual, physical, or cryptographic security features; (b) Uses appropriate technology to confirm that the credential is not fraudulent or inappropriately modified; (c) Uses information held or published by the issuing source or authoritative source(s), as available, to confirm the validity of personal details and credential details; and (d) Provides an output of the authenticity test to the Notary.
  6. Requires credential analysis to, at a minimum, enable the Notary to visually compare the following for consistency: the information and photo, if the credential presented contains a photo, presented on the credential itself and the principal as viewed by the Notary in real-time through the audiovisual transmission.
  7. Stipulates that if the principal must exit the identification protocol workflow, the principal must meet the criteria outlined in this rule and must restart the identity proofing and credential analysis from the beginning.

Protection of Audiovisual Recordings and Personally Identifiable Information

  1. Requires a Notary to protect from unauthorized access the recording of a notarial act and any “personally identifiable information” as defined in Iowa Code section 9B.14C(1), disclosed during the performance of an electronic notarial act using audiovisual communications, except as permitted pursuant to Iowa Code sections 9B.14C(2) and 9B.14C(3).

Communication Technology Providers

  1. Prescribes the registration requirements, as specified, that providers of communication technology must go through with the Secretary of State to offer their systems for use to Iowa Notaries.
  2. Prescribes the backup strategy requirements, as specified, that providers of communication technology must meet to offer their systems for use to Iowa Notaries.
  3. Prescribes the requirements for protecting the audiovisual recording and personally identifiable information, as specified, that providers of communication technology must meet to offer their systems for use to Iowa Notaries.
  4. Requires that upon a change of any of the technology identified by the Notary, the provider of the technology shall immediately notify the Secretary of State and all Iowa Notaries using its technology of the change.
  5. Provides rules for the approval, denial, and rescinding approval of communication technology providers, as specified, and provides rules for an application for reconsideration.
Analysis

In 2012, Iowa enacted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA) (Senate File 2265). In 2019, it enacted the RULONA provisions for performing notarial acts for remotely located individuals (Senate File 475). In advance of the July 1, 2020, delayed effective date for Senate File 475, the Secretary of State has published administrative rules to implement the new provisions for remote notarizations. The rules require Notary training -- both for Notary commission applicants as well as those Notaries wanting to apply for authorization to perform remote notarizations. The rules provide more substantive requirements for the approval process Notaries must complete to perform remote notarizations, communication technology a Notary must use to perform remote notarizations, the Notary's protection of personally identifiable information disclosed during a remote notarization, identification procedures and the process a provider of communication technology must undergo in order to offer its system to Iowa Notaries.

Read the adopted administrative rules (see page 2688).

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