Notaron

Online notary

An online notary is a state-commissioned notary public who notarizes documents over a live video call instead of in person. You upload your document, verify your ID, sign on camera, and download the sealed PDF — usually in about ten minutes.

On Notaron: $25 per session, 24/7, no appointment and no account needed to start.

Notarize a document

Nothing is charged until your session is complete.

Adam Babish

Written by , Founder & CEO, Notaron ·

Adam has spent more than twenty years in escrow, notary and mortgage operations, and built Notaron around how notarization actually works at the closing table.

The basics

What is an online notary?

Woman at a laptop on a video call with an online notary, with her signed document and verification checks on screen

An online notary — also called a remote online notary, and the process remote online notarization (RON) — is a commissioned notary public who performs the whole notarization over a secure, two-way video connection. It is the same legal act you would get at a desk: the notary confirms who you are, watches you sign, and applies an official seal. What changes is the room. It is a video call, available at any hour, from wherever you are.

Three terms get used interchangeably. They are not the same thing:

  • Online notary / remote online notarization (RON). You and the notary meet on live video, and the document is electronic. This is what almost everyone searching “online notary” means.
  • Electronic notarization (e-notarization). Any notarization of an electronic document — including one where you sit in front of the notary in person and sign on a tablet. It is the broader category; RON is one kind of it.
  • Remote ink-signed notarization (RIN). You and the notary are on video, but you sign paper in ink and mail it to them. A different procedure, permitted in fewer states, and slower because the originals have to travel.

One more that is not a notarization at all: an electronic signature on its own. An e-signature can make a contract binding, but nobody has verified your identity as a public official. If a document says it must be notarized, an e-signature does not satisfy that.

The process

How online notarization works, in five steps

The screens differ from platform to platform, but a compliant session runs in the same order everywhere, because the order is what state law requires.

  1. Upload your document

    Upload a PDF, or photograph a paper original with your phone. Leave the signature lines blank: the notary has to watch you sign, so a document that is already signed cannot be notarized.

  2. Verify your identity

    Photograph a government-issued photo ID — driver’s license, state ID or passport — and software checks it for the security features that ID should have. Then answer a few questions generated from public records, such as previous addresses. State law requires both checks.

  3. Meet the notary on video

    A commissioned notary joins a live, recorded, two-way video call. They compare your face with your ID, confirm you understand the document and are signing willingly, and watch you sign electronically. A recorded message or a chat does not count; it has to be live.

    The Notaron signing room as the customer sees it: live video with the notary beside the document being notarized
    What you see in a Notaron session: the notary on live video, beside the document you will sign.

  4. The notary seals it

    The notary completes the certificate and applies an electronic signature and seal bound to a digital certificate. That makes the file tamper-evident: change anything afterwards and any PDF reader shows the signature as invalid.

  5. Download your document

    The sealed PDF is yours immediately. The session recording and the notary’s journal entry are kept as state law requires — a stronger paper trail than ink and a rubber stamp ever left.

A single-signer session usually takes about ten minutes from upload to download. You need your unsigned document, an unexpired government-issued photo ID, and a phone or computer with a camera and microphone.

Your options

Online notary vs. in-person vs. mobile notary

Comparison of an online notary, an in-person notary and a mobile notary on location, hours, identity checks, records, cost and turnaround
Compared onOnline notaryIn-person notaryMobile notary
WhereAnywhere with a camera and internetTheir office, bank branch or shipping storeThey travel to you
When24/7, no appointmentBusiness hoursBy appointment
Identity checkID authenticated by software, plus identity questions, plus the notary on cameraNotary looks at your IDNotary looks at your ID
Record of the signingVideo recording, electronic journal, tamper-evident sealPaper journal entryPaper journal entry
CostFrom $25 per sessionA per-signature fee capped by state law; often free at your own bankThe notary fee plus a travel fee
You leave withA sealed PDF, the same sessionStamped paper, the same visitStamped paper, at the scheduled visit

The honest version: if your bank notarizes for free and you are already going there during business hours, do that. An online notary is the better choice for most of the rest — the document that turns up at 9pm, the deadline tomorrow morning, the co-signer in another city, the day you cannot take time off to stand in a line.

Documents

What documents can be notarized online?

Most documents that need a notarized signature. These are the ones people bring most often; each links to a page on notarizing that document specifically:

Your document does not need to be on a list. If it needs a notarized signature, upload it: the flow checks it before you pay and flags the documents that cannot be notarized online. The full list of documents by type covers the rest.

Pricing

How much does an online notary cost?

One signer, one notarization

$25

Each additional notarial seal

$5

Each additional signer

$10

On-demand witness (bring your own free)

$15

Notaron starts at $25 per session. No subscription, no account needed to start, and nothing is charged until your session is complete.

For comparison: a bank notary is often free to account holders but means an in-person visit during business hours, and a mobile notary charges a travel fee on top of the notary fee. Many states also cap what a notary may charge per remote notarial act, separately from the platform’s charge for the technology and identity checks — when comparing services, check what the headline price includes. Every fee is on our pricing page, and the online notary cost comparison sets other services’ published prices side by side.

Fair questions

“Why not just…”

…use my bank? It’s free.

If you are already at the branch during business hours with a simple document, the free stamp wins. Many branches notarize only for account holders, by appointment, and decline some documents. You are paying $25 for 24/7 availability and ten minutes instead of a trip.

…email a signed PDF?

An emailed PDF proves a file moved from one inbox to another. A notarization proves that a public official verified who signed it, watched them sign willingly, and sealed it so any later change shows. If the recipient asked for notarized, they asked for the second.

…trust it less because it’s online?

Online notarization checks more, not less. A desk notary glances at your ID. Online, the ID is authenticated by software, you answer identity questions, the notary still checks you on camera, and the whole signing is recorded.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is a document notarized online legally valid?

Yes. Remote online notarization is authorized by law in 42 states and the District of Columbia, and a notarization performed under those laws is a full notarial act. Validity and acceptance are separate questions, though: a specific recorder, court or bank can set its own rules for electronic documents, so if yours is headed somewhere particular, confirm they accept it.

Can I use an online notary if my state doesn't have a remote notarization law?

Generally, yes. The notary's commissioning state governs the act, so a signer anywhere can typically use a notary commissioned in a state that authorizes remote online notarization. A few states limit specific document types, so check if yours is unusual.

How much does an online notary cost?

On Notaron, $25 per session for one signer and one notarization. Additional seals are $5 each, additional signers $10 each, and an on-demand witness $15 — or bring your own witness free. Nothing is charged until your session is complete.

What do I need for an online notarization?

Your unsigned document, an unexpired government-issued photo ID (driver's license, state ID or passport), and a phone or computer with a camera and microphone.

Should I sign the document before the session?

No. The notary has to watch you sign, so upload the document unsigned and sign it electronically during the video call.

What if my document needs witnesses?

Witnesses join the same video session from wherever they are. Bringing your own costs nothing; Notaron can also provide an on-demand witness for $15.

How long does an online notarization take?

A single-signer session usually takes about ten minutes from upload to download, with no appointment. Sessions with several signers or witnesses take longer, mostly because each person verifies their own identity.

Ready when you are

A commissioned notary on secure video, 24/7 — $25 per session, about ten minutes, no account needed to start.

Notarize your document now

Nothing is charged until your session is complete.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Notarization rules vary by state and by the party receiving your document — confirm their requirements before your session.

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