Electronic Documents – Sealing the Future

Electronic documents and electronic mortgage documents are the wave of the Internet future. Keeping those electronic documents secure is the sound reasoning behind the launch of the Electronic Notary Seal Program. This program, endorsed by the National Notary Association involves the collaboration of industry leaders, Notaries and state governments in order to provide technologies, standards and practices for eNotarization standards.

While eNotarization may have existed for some time and legal documents, often delivered in the form of a non-adjustable Adobe PDF file could reach customers and consumers, this is the first time a truly unified effort has been made to protect the security of electronic documents with an electronic notary seal.

How Will It Work

The current plan for the Electronic Notary Seal Program involves cooperation between the various businesses, Notaries, National Notary Association and state governments to create a centralized authentication system. This centralized system would enable state officials to issue, revoke and monitor electronic notary seals in real time on the Internet.

The collaborative effort will also establish legislative and administrative guidelines so that electronic notaries will have an accountability factor in providing eNotarization for electronic documents and electronic mortgage documents. This collaborative effort will also ensure that the electronic notary seal will be accepted across state lines.

Technology Infrastructure

The final component to the collaborative effort will be establishing a consistent and secure electronic document infrastructure that will allow Notaries to view and notarize secure documents as well as transmit them. This is important, because an electronic notary may need to access the correct documents, provide the notary and transmit them back to the company. This ever-evolving area of electronic notary seal and electronic documents will be extremely beneficial to all aspects of business both on a corporate and personal level.

As this area of the notary business matures, be sure to validate that the electronic notary seal will be legal and acceptable in the state where the contract or electronic mortgage documents apply. The National Notary Association will continue to publish updates on the progress of the collaborative efforts as well.