Ohio Administrative Code
Title 111:6 - Notary Commission
Chapter 111:6-1 - Notary Commission Requirements
Section 111:6-1-05 - Requirements for Online Notarial Acts
Universal Citation: OH Admin Code 111:6-1-05
Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) An online notary public must be physically located within the boundaries of Ohio at the time the notarial act takes place; however, the signer may be located anywhere within the territory of the United States or outside the United States only if the conditions set forth in section 147.64(C)(2) are met.
(B) Online notarizations must occur with the use of an online notarization system, which has two-way live audio and video conference technology, and that meets the following requirements:
(1)
The online notary public must be able to verify the
identity of the remotely located individual at the time the signature is taken
by one of the following methods:
(a)
The online notary public's personal knowledge of the
individual;
(b)
Each of the following:
(i)
Remote
presentation of an unexpired government-issued identification credential that
contains the photograph and signature of the individual to the online notary
public by means of communication technology;
(ii)
Credential
analysis of the identification credential in accordance with section (B)(4) of
this rule; and
(iii)
Identity proofing of the individual in accordance with
section (B)(5) of this rule.
(c)
Oath or
affirmation of a single credible witness who personally knows the individual
and either is personally known to the online notary public or who is identified
by the online notary public under paragraph (b) of this
subsection.
(2)
A credible witness under subsection (B)(1)(c) may
appear before the online notary public by means of communication technology
that complies with Chapter 147 of the Ohio Revised Code and these
rules.
(3)
Credential analysis and identity proofing must be
performed by a reputable third person who has provided reasonable evidence to
the online notary public of the person's ability to satisfy the requirements of
Chapter 147 of the Ohio Revised Code and this rule.
(4)
Credential
analysis must utilize public or private data sources to confirm the validity of
an identification credential and must, at a minimum:
(a)
use automated
software processes to aid the online notary public in verifying the identity of
a remotely located individual;
(b)
ensure that the
identification credential passes an authenticity test, consistent with sound
commercial practices that:
(i)
use appropriate technologies to confirm the integrity
of visual, physical, or cryptographic security features;
(ii)
use appropriate
technologies to confirm that the identification credential is not fraudulent or
inappropriately modified;
(iii)
use information
held or published by the issuing source or an authoritative source, as
available, to confirm the validity of identification credential details;
and
(iv)
provide output of the authenticity test to the online
notary public;
(c)
enable the online notary public to visually compare for
consistency:
(i)
the information and photograph on the presented
credential, and
(ii)
the remotely located individual as viewed by the online
notary public in real time through communication technology;
(d)
require a government-issued identification credential
that:
(i)
is an
unexpired government-issued identification credential that contains the
photograph and signature of the individual; and
(ii)
may be imaged,
photographed, and video recorded under applicable state and federal law;
and
(iii)
can be subjected to credential
analysis.
(e)
include an image capture procedure that confirms
that:
(i)
the
remotely located individual is in possession of the credential at the time of
the notarial act;
(ii)
credential images submitted for credential analysis
have not been manipulated; and
(iii)
credential
images match the credential in the possession of the remotely located
individual; and
(f)
require the
captured image of the identification credential to:
(i)
be of sufficient
image resolution to perform credential analysis in accordance with the
requirements of this subsection;
(ii)
be of sufficient
image resolution to enable visual inspection of the credential by the notary
public; and
(iii)
include all images necessary to perform visual
inspection and credential analysis in accordance with the requirements of this
subsection, including the identity page of any passport and the front and back
images of any identification card.
(5)
Identity proofing
shall be performed by means of a knowledge-based authentication that meets the
following requirements:
(a)
each remotely located individual must answer a quiz
consisting of a minimum of five questions related to the remotely located
individual's personal history or identity, formulated from public or private
data sources;
(b)
each question must have a minimum of five possible
answer choices;
(c)
at least 80% of the questions must be answered
correctly;
(d)
all questions must be answered within two
minutes;
(e)
if the remotely located individual fails the first
attempt, the individual may retake the quiz two times within 48
hours;
(f)
during a retake of the quiz, a minimum of 40% of the
prior questions must be replaced;
(g)
if the remotely
located individual fails the second attempt, the individual is not permitted to
retry with the same notary or the same third person providing the identity
proofing service within 24 hours of the second failed attempt;
and
(h)
the online notary public must not be able to see or
record the questions or answers.
(6)
The online
notarization system used must meet the following criteria:
(a)
The persons
communicating must simultaneously see and speak to one another.
(b)
The signal
transmission must be live, real time.
(c)
The signal
transmission must be secure from interception or access by anyone other than
the persons communicating.
(d)
The technology
must provide sufficient audio clarity and video resolution to enable the notary
to communicate with the signer and utilize the permissible signer
identification methods.
(e)
The system must provide confirmation that the
electronic document presented is the same as the electronic document
notarized.
(f)
Allow for the affixation of the notarial certificate,
signature and seal.
(g)
Allow for viewing the notarial certificate, signature
and seal.
(h)
Provide a method for determining if the electronic
document has been altered after the electronic notarial seal has been affixed
and the electronic notarial act has been completed.
(i)
Provide a method
of generating a paper copy of the document including the notarial certificate,
signature and seal and any other document associated with the execution of the
notarial act.
(C) If the signer or online notary public must exit the audio-video communication session, the audio-video communication link is broken, or the resolution or quality of the transmission becomes such that the electronic notary public believes the process has been compromised and cannot be completed, the identity authentication process and any incomplete online notarial acts must be started from the beginning.
(D) The online notary public shall refuse to perform an online notarization if:
(1)
the online notary public is unable to verify the
identity of the principal;
(2)
the online notary
public is unable to verify the security of the two way audio visual
transmission;
(3)
the signature of the principal cannot be attached to
the electronic document; or
(4)
the online
notarization system or technology cannot render the notarial act
tamperevident.
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