The NNA’s Electronic Notary Seal Program Creating and managing notarial acts electronically in real-time

The NNA’s Electronic Notary Seal ProgramCreating and managing notarial acts electronically in real-time Ozie H. Stallworth, Government Affairs Manager National Notary Association

Introduction • Goals Today • Familiarize you with NNA technologies, policy, and legal advocacy to support electronic notarization • Discuss and briefly demonstrate the NNA’s ENS Program • Review enacted, pending legislation (Notaries are “creatures of legislation”) • Possible efforts: OASIS, MISMO, PRIA, technology sharing, other possibilities

Electronic Notary Seal Program • The National Notary Association’s Electronic Notary Seal (ENS) Program • A national effort • A collaborative effort • The ENS Program is an online web application (like online banking) that provides states and private industry with: • Technologies to facilitate secure electronic notarization within and across jurisdictions • Standards to promote interoperability across transactional partners relying on notarization • The PRIMARY goal of the ENS Program is to authenticate Notaries in real time • Must be FREE to participating states • Must allow ANYONE to verify the status of an electronic notary seal at no cost in real time

ENS Program – Online Notary Management • Enables state government to manage Electronic Notary Seals • State can issue, revoke, suspend, and renew Electronic Notary Seals securely online • All relying parties can independently verify the status of an ENS in real time using secure web services • Enables private industry to develop electronic document management systems that incorporate: • Notary Authentication – verify status of ENS in real time • Enables development of competitive vendor solutions for electronic document management that depend upon trusted notaries • Relies on web services and X.509 digital certificates for interoperability across systems • Relies on open standards for greater acceptance and ease of use

ENS Program Justification • Lack of uniform legislative/regulatory framework hinders progress. • Inconsistent (sometimes competing) state notary laws and regulations lead to confusion in the marketplace (Is it legal? Will it “hold up” in court?) • CA AB 578 – Insufficient (San Diego criminal case) • NC SB 671 – Sufficient (based on Model Notary Act)

ENS Program Justification • Industry complains Notary system lacks technological predictability. • Industry needs to do it “one way” across all 50 states, or else the cost-saving benefits of electronic documents cannot be realized. • To accomplish this goal, the NNA has confirmed with state government officials and industry leaders that… • A consistent, interoperable technology for notary authentication is needed by industry to implement national electronic document systems. • A consistent, interoperable approach will also fuel a competitive marketplace among vendors offering such solutions.

ENS Program Justification • Presumption that costs to entry are formidable has negatively impacted progress in electronic notarization. • Lack of clear guidelines for authenticating notaries means cost of compliance for business is too high. • State governments are finding it difficult to shoulder the burden of providing this interoperable technology. • A need for a no- or low-cost notary authentication technology is of paramount concern.

ENS Program Participants • Industry • Early Adopters - mortgage banking, real estate, title companies, legal filing vendors • Countrywide, Stewart Title • State Government • PA (Department of State, Four County Recorders) • AZ (Secretary of State, Maricopa County Recorder) • CA (San Bernardino and Orange County Recorders) • TX (limited counties) • FL (Stewart Title) • OH (Stewart Title) • Notaries • Generally limited to corporate environments • Regulated through the ENS Program by state officials

Benefits of ENS Program - Government • Enables state government to regulate notaries in the electronic age • Enables state government to support electronic notarization pilots securely • Enables relying parties to verify facts of a notarial act performed on both paper and electronic documents • Can support the certification of public documents between states and internationally (eApostilles) • Prevents fraud and abuse of notarial office by enabling faster, more accurate investigations • Protects citizens from identity crimes and document fraud

Benefits of ENS Program - Industry • Provides a Service Oriented Architecture that allows private industry to focus on core technology development rather than eNotarization development • Promotes development of competitive electronic transaction technologies relying on eNotarization • Provides widely accepted standards and technologies to enable real-time authentication of notaries

Benefits of ENS Program - Notaries • Facilitates emergence of a burgeoning “eNotary” market where competitive solutions translate into competitive pricing for the average notary. • Provides a common (national and international) notary authentication protocol. • Further promotes the professionalization of the American notary office. • Protects the public from fraud and abuse of the Notary office.

What is an Electronic Notary Seal? • Electronic Documents • Digital Certificate • Hardware Based • Stored on USB-enabled device or “smart card” • Browser Based • Stored in Windows • Paper Documents • Bar Code

How does a Notary receive an Electronic Notary Seal? 1 Notary Completes Application through State Notary must satisfy legal requirements and be identified in person 2 3 NOTARY AUTHORITY State authorizes Notary to receive ENS Notary receives authorization to use ENS * Notary authenticates to Notary Authority to release seal * ENS may be validated independently by third parties

What happens when a Notary uses an Electronic Notary Seal? 1. Meets with document signers,verifies signers’ identity, capacity and willingness to sign 2. Prior to notarizing document, electronic signing system verifies Notary’s ENS through the Notary Authority. 3. Electronically notarizes document using ENS.

How does the state revoke an Electronic Notary Seal? 1 NOTARY AUTHORITY State Official authorizes revocation or suspension 2 Notary receives notification of revocation * Notary’s attempt to authenticate is denied * ENS revocation/suspension may be validated independently by third parties

Call to Action • The NNA is now asking the state of Delaware to participate. • The NNA urges states to consider adoption of the Model Notary Act, Article III as a “first step” if authorizing legislation does not already exist. • Formation of state-specific eNotarization Task Force in California underway; other state task forces a possibility, or perhaps even a national task force • Questions and Follow-up by industry.

Demo - The ENS Portal

The NNA’s Electronic Notary Seal Program Creating and managing notarial acts electronically in real-time