The D.C. Council passed Coronavirus Support Second Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2020, which extends certain amendments on an emergency basis until Nov. 16, 2020, including a provision allowing for remote notarization.
Section 807 of the new law states, “Notwithstanding any provision of District law, during a period of time for which the mayor has declared a public health emergency … the mayor may authorize, without the personal appearance of the individual making the statement or executing the signature, notarial acts required or permitted under district law if the notary public and the individual communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound using audio-video communication.”
The notary must notify the mayor of the intention to perform notarial acts using audio-video communication and the identity of the audio-video communication the notary public intends to use. The notary must also have satisfactory evidence of the identity of the individual by means of:
- “Personal knowledge or by the individual’s presentation of a current government-issued identification that contains the signature or photograph of the individual to the notary public during the video conference; or
- A verification on oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally appearing before the officer and known to the officer or whom the officer can identify based on a current passport, driver’s license, or government-issued nondriver identification card.”
The notary must confirm that the individual made a statement or executed a signature on a document. They must receive by electronic means a legible copy of the signed document directly from the individual immediately after it was signed and complete the notarization immediately upon receiving the signed document.
When the notarization is complete, the notary immediately must transmit by electronic means the notarized document to the individual and create and retain an audio-visual recording of the performance of the notarial act. The certificate of the notarial act and the journal entry must indicate that the individual was not in the physical presence of the notary and that the notarial act was performed using audio-visual communication.