Electronic and Remote Notarization

Effective February 6, 2022, the State of New Hampshire has authorized electronic notarization. An electronic notarization is an official act performed by a notary public using an electronic signature on an electronic document.

Generally speaking, all other steps and procedures of notarization remain the same. The signer appears before the notary to request a notarization, and the notary identifies the signer, completes a notarial certificate, and affixes the electronic notary signature and seal.

Effective February 6, 2022, the State of New Hampshire has authorized remote notarization. With remote notarization, the signer and the notary, although not in the same location, satisfy the requirement of personal appearance before the notary through use of real-time audio-video technology. The notary must be physically in New Hampshire. The two-way live teleconferencing capability must ensure the persons communicating can simultaneously see and speak to one another, for the purpose of positive identification and personal appearance. An identity-proofing service must be used, and the audio-visual session must be recorded, with the recording preserved for ten years. Review the Notary Public and Justice of the Peace Manual online.

Yes. Effective February 6, 2022, the State of New Hampshire has authorized Justices of the Peace to perform electronic notarization. New Hampshire’s law imposes several requirements. (RSA Chapter 456-B, New Hampshire’s Uniform Law on Notarial Acts). Notarial acts for remotely located individuals are addressed in RSA 456-B:6-a. 

Think of electronic notarization as achieving the same result as a paper (or traditional) notarization but using different tools. A commissioned notary simply uses technology to electronically sign the document, complete the certificate language, and apply their electronic seal in accordance with state laws. All signatures on the electronic document will be applied using some device such as a keyboard, stylus, touchscreen, touchpad, or other similar input device.

Yes. You can find a list of authorized technology providers that have self-certified to meeting the New Hampshire statutory requirements just above on this page. The Secretary of State does not endorse any specific technology providers.

Generally, electronically enabled notaries are authorized to perform the same official acts as paper notaries. Official acts typically include taking sworn statements and acknowledgments and witnessing signatures.

New Hampshire law requires that notaries public and justices of the peace performing electronic or remote notarization use a digital certificate that meets the X.509 standards or an industry equivalent. Therefore, the Secretary of State recommends that notaries public and justices of the peace use, and remote notarization providers require, digital certificates that are accredited by Direct Trust, a non-profit voluntary industry standards and accreditation organization. Alternatively, remote notarization providers must furnish an equivalent mechanism for ensuring that the issuance policies and practices of the digital certificate provider meet the X.509 standards. Direct Trust’s website lists accredited digital certificate providers.

An electronic signature is any electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with an electronic document and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the document. An electronic signature by a notary must use a digital certificate that meets the X.509 standard or an equivalent industry standard.

A digital signature is a specific type of electronic signature that employs public and private key encryption to secure an electronic document or electronic message from unauthorized tampering. Encryption technology provides trust that a known party signed an electronic document. 

Digital signatures can also be used by signing systems to add a tamper-evident seal to the document, allowing recipients to later re-validate the document and ensure that document integrity has been preserved.

A digital certificate, also known as a public key certificate, is the electronic credential, issued by a party called a Certificate Authority (CA), which is used by a party to digitally sign a document. In addition, a digital certificate is an essential component of a public key infrastructure (PKI) scheme. The holder of a digital certificate in a PKI scheme uses the certificate to assert his or her own identity and authenticate other users within the system. This promotes trust among parties.

To satisfy the official stamp requirement with an electronic record, the notary public must use an X.509 standard digital certificate. A seal image is optional.

Yes.  A completed notarial certificate is essential to every notarial act, whether the document is paper or electronic. The certificate is prima facie (or “at face value”) evidence that the notarization occurred. The notarial certificate language may be printed on the document or appended (either as a separate page or as an electronic inclusion).

New Hampshire law requires that a journal entry be made and the journal preserved for at least ten years for all remote notarizations. Most providers of remote notarization services to notaries include an electronic journal and preservation of both the audio-visual recording of the remote notarization and the journal entry for ten years.

No, it is entirely up to a notary whether they want to perform electronic notarizations. The costs of obtaining and maintaining a digital certificate and remote notarization provider services likely requires a significant volume of remote notarizations for fees to cover costs. Unless a notary provides notice to the Secretary of State that the notary will be performing remote/electronic notarizations, the notary is not authorized by law to perform electronic or remote notarizations. The form for providing notice is available above on this page.

No. Notaries have the option of obtaining E&O insurance at their discretion. E&O insurance is not required by New Hampshire law.

There are two broad categories:

• Paper (or tangible) documents, with wet-ink signatures and notarization
• Electronic documents, with electronic signatures and electronic notarization

An electronically notarized document often looks like a paper-notarized document and may include several other identifiers to show it was notarized electronically. Typically, an electronic notarized document is in either PDF or TIFF image format, with the notary public’s digital certificate information contained in the electronic document.