AnalysisHouse Bill 545 enacts the first law that recognizes the legal efficacy of electronic notarizations performed by out-of-state Notaries. The law narrowly applies to electronic notarizations performed by Virginia Notaries that contain the Notary’s typed name and commission expiration date and that are filed specifically in Mecklenberg County only. Presumably, this addresses the fact that eNotarization has officially been put on hold in Virginia pending establishment of rules by the General Assembly, but also the fact that some aggressive Virginia Notaries may have jumped the gun and started notarizing electronically anyway under the permission granted by the state’s Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. In addition, House Bill 545 also enumerates the conditions needed for the recording of electronic real property documents by any register of deeds in the state.
The new law also amends a statute that “validates” or cures certain defective notarizations performed on or before May 1, 2008, and prescribes that typographical errors in recorded real property land records may be corrected by recording an affidavit noting the error.
Read the bill text.