For the third time in nearly as many years, lawmakers have introduced the Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic (SECURE) Notarization Act to Congress, this time with the specific goal of addressing notario fraud.
The SECURE Notarization Act of 2025 (H.R. 1777) was reintroduced in the House by Reps. Cliff Bentz (R-OR), Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA) on March 3. Other versions of this act were previously introduced to the 118th Congress (HR 1059: Secure Notarization Act of 2023) and the 117th Congress (HR 3962: Secure Notarization Act of 2021).
If passed, the bill would establish minimum standards for electronic notarizations and remote notarizations that occur in or affect interstate commerce, while also authorizing licensed notaries to perform such notarizations. It would also require federal courts to accept notarizations done by notarial officers in any state and require states to accept notarizations by notarial officers from other states when related to a public act, record, judicial proceeding, or affecting interstate commerce, among other reasons.
According to a bulletin by the American Land Title Association (ALTA), the bill also includes language to address notario fraud across the country. Notario fraud is a specific incidence of false or misleading advertising, most common in Spanish-speaking immigrant communities, that results from advertising a notary public’s services in a foreign language. In these communities, a “notario publico” is a legal term of art for a legal professional like a licensed attorney who is authorized to provide legal advice.
The previous attempt to pass the SECURE Notarization Act in 2023 was a bipartisan effort led by Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Mark Warner (D-VA). That version of the bill, HR 3962, passed the House of Representatives but stalled in the Senate.
National stakeholders that supported the legislation in the past include ALTA, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Association of Realtors and the American Council of Life Insurers.