Virginia eNotaries must be in the state while performing RONs, but signers can be located anywhere.

1) The signer contacts the Notary or a RON service provider to request a remote online notarization.

2) The signer's document is sent to the Notary so it can be signed and notarized. Typically, the document is uploaded in an electronic format such as PDF to the online technology platform used to perform the notarization.

3) The signer and Notary personally appear before each other through a real-time videoconference with both audio and video communication feeds — for example, via webcam. The signer's identity is screened according to the requirements of the Notary's commissioning state. The Notary and signer DO NOT meet in-person.

This may include answering questions based on the signer's personal and credit history (KBA) and verifying the signer's using credential analysis of an unexpired government-issued ID containing the signer’s photo and signature. The Notary also review the the signer's ID during the notarization.

4) Once the signer's identity has been verified and all other requirements for the notarization have been completed, both the signer and the Notary must sign the document and the Notary's seal attached. For electronic documents, this requires electronic signatures and an electronic version of the Notary's seal.

5) The Notary records any required information for the Notary's journal records. The Notary must typically also retain an audio and video recording of the notarization session.

6) The remotely notarized document is returned to the signer.

RON is most commonly used in financial services, insurance, law and government, but there are plenty of other applications for RON in business services, technology, retail and many more sectors.

Please refer to the requesting authority to confirm if Remote Online Notarization is acceptable. We cannot verify if your documents will be accepted by the requesting authority and will not provide refund if document is declined.

We do not provide remote online notarization for Estate Planning documents such as Wills, POAs, etc.

Electronic notarizations are in-person notarizations but involve digital documents and signatures. The signer and Notary must physically appear before each other as with traditional notarizations.

Remote online notarizations are online notarizations that involve digital documents and signatures. In remote notarizations, the signer and Notary personally appear before each other over a webcam using a platform specifically designed for RON.

You can perform the following acts virtually:

Taking acknowledgments

Administering oaths and affirmations (e.g., jurats)

Certifying affidavits and depositions

Certifying "true copies" of documents

Performing a verification of fact

The Notary verifies the signer’s identity by personal knowledge, an oath or affirmation of a credible witness, or at least two of the following: 1) credential analysis of an unexpired government-issued ID containing the signer’s photo and signature, 2) identity proofing by an antecedent in-person identity proofing process.

Many people confuse electronic notarization with remote notarization, believing they are the same. They are not.

Electronic notarization, or eNotarization, involves documents that are notarized in electronic form, and the Notary and document signer sign with an electronic signature. But all other elements of a traditional, paper notarization apply to electronic notarization, including the requirement for the signer to physically appear before the Notary.

The confusion arises from the fact that remote notarizations typically involve digital documents that are signed and notarized electronically. However they go a step further in that the transaction is conducted online rather than in person.

Reference: https://www.nationalnotary.org/

Remote notarizations take less time than traditional notarizations because they don't require the signer or the Notary to meet in person.