Updated 7-25-22. Many Notaries are cautious about remote online notarization (RON) because it’s strange and unfamiliar — but you may not know RON is bringing some surprising benefits to Notaries as well. We asked remote online Notaries how RON helped their business, and here are 3 examples:
1. RON helps Notaries work more efficiently and reduces expenses.
One benefit is that RON eliminates many time-consuming and costly requirements for traditional mobile Notary and NSA assignments, such as travel time, fuel purchases, and having to print documents for loan signing assignments.
Removing the need for Notaries to drive to appointments saves time and allows them to schedule more assignments per day, which in turn means more income, said Tracee Jordan, a remote online Notary in Houston, Texas.
“I’m in the fourth largest city in the U.S. Being able to service more customers and being able to stay at home and earn more income is the biggest benefit for me,” Jordan said. “I can see more clients remotely in a day than I could in person.”
2. RON is more convenient for Notaries and customers because notarizations can be completed at home.
Jordan said that RON is much more convenient for her and for customers, because all participants can now schedule and complete notarizations without needing to leave their homes.
“(At one point) I’ve performed 105 notarizations in 3 ½ months, all of them RON,” Jordan said. “Some of my older customers were apprehensive about the technology at first, but they’ve told me that RON turned out to be a lot easier for them than they anticipated.”
3. RON reduces the risk of contracting COVID-19.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were about catching the disease from in-person meetings — including notarizations. Because remote online notarizations allow signers and Notaries to communicate remotely without physical proximity, RON eliminates any risk of the virus spreading during a notarization appointment. Herb Guinup, a Notary in Tampa, Florida, said requests for his RON services increased dramatically after COVID-19 started.
During the pandemic, RON enabled Guinup to perform urgently needed notarizations safely for signers with high-risk health issues. For example, he was contacted by signers in nursing homes who need insurance or Medicaid documents notarized. Bringing a Notary into the facility to physically notarize carried a risk of COVID-19 exposure, but thanks to RON, Guinup was able to notarize for these customers without any danger of spreading illness.
David Thun is an Associate Editor at the National Notary Association.