New York Notary Exam Practice Questions: Electronic and Remote Notarization (2026)

Registration, location and identifying a remote signer

Registration comes first: a notary cannot perform electronic notarial acts until registration with the Secretary of State's notary processing unit is complete, on the prescribed form with the fee set by regulation. The registration includes the applicant's name, mailing address and e-mail address, the commission expiration date and signature, an exemplar of the notary's electronic signature with any instructions that allow it to be read, and a description of the technology used to attach that signature to the electronic record. The location rule is the exam's favourite trap: the electronic notary must be located within New York at the time of the act, regardless of where the document signer is. A principal may even be outside the United States, provided the record relates to a matter before a United States official, court or entity, involves property in the United States or a transaction substantially connected with the United States, and 19 NYCRR 182.4 requires the notary to verify that connection through the principal's verbal confirmation during the recorded act. Identification for a remote signer not personally known to the notary requires all three of identity verification, credential analysis by a third-party provider, and identity proofing meeting at minimum the NIST Identity Assurance Level 2 standard under 19 NYCRR 182.5 to 182.7; the notary's attestation of personal knowledge suffices when the remote signer is personally known.

• Two or more different processes must authenticate a remotely located individual's identity; personal knowledge may satisfy one (Executive Law 135-c(2)(a)).
• The remote online notarial certificate must state that the person appeared through the use of communication technology (Executive Law 135-c(5)).
• The fee for an electronic notarial act is $25, inclusive of all costs (19 NYCRR 182.11).

The technology, the recording and the paper trail

19 NYCRR 182.8 sets the technology bar: live, real-time transmission by sight and sound without interruption throughout the act, sufficient visual clarity to view, read and capture the front and back of any identification card, a signal secure from interception, a reproduction process that leaves a record of any additions, deletions or changes, and the ability to record and archive the session. The notary must use a network that permits location detection and may not disguise their location or disable the detection function during the act. The recording must capture the complete notarial act, including any signatures and a verbal description of the type of identification used, but must not include the discussion or display of personally identifiable information, and it is kept for at least ten years from the date of the transaction. The notary's electronic signature must be unique to the notary, retained under their sole control, capable of independent verification and attached by a PKI digital certificate so that any removal or alteration is detectable and may invalidate the act. The system also bridges back to paper: a notary may certify that a tangible copy of a remotely notarized electronic record is accurate, and a county clerk or other recording officer shall accept such a certified copy for recording if it is otherwise eligible. Two protections close the loop: no notary or business may exclusively require electronic notarization, and nothing in section 135-c requires any notary to notarize electronically at all.