RON vs IPEN: remote and in-person electronic notarization

Both acts end in an electronic document with your e-signature and e-seal. The difference is where the signer sits. In-person electronic notarization (IPEN) is a paper notarization moved onto a screen, with the signer across the table. Remote online notarization (RON) puts the signer on a recorded video call, and everything that follows from that, from the identity quiz to the recording kept for years, is what makes RON its own act with its own rules. Platforms for remote acts are compared under RON platforms.

Checked 2026-10-23

Fig. 1

One desk, two acts: the video call on one side, the signing tablet on the other.

Remote online notarization and in-person electronic notarization compared
	RON: remote online	IPEN: in-person electronic
Where the signer is	Somewhere else, on a video call. The rules we read let the signer be in another state; abroad comes with conditions.	In the room with you, at the same table.
Where you are	In your commissioning state: most of the rules we read say so outright.	In your commissioning state, as for paper.
How the signer is identified	Credential analysis of the ID plus identity proofing (usually a knowledge-based quiz), run by the platform; or personal knowledge or a credible witness.	You look at the ID in your hand, as you would for paper; check your state's electronic rule.
Recording	Required: 11 of the 12 states whose rules we read set a period to keep it.	No audio-video session to record; check your state's electronic rule.
The software	A RON platform: video, ID checks, recording, signing, often the journal.	An electronic signing tool on a tablet or screen, with your e-signature and e-seal.
Your authority	A notice, registration or second commission on top of your commission.	In some states a separate electronic registration; in others the commission covers it.

When the state splits them

In most of the states we have read, remote authority is a notice or a registration added to your commission, and in-person electronic work needs no extra step beyond an e-signature and e-seal the rule accepts. Three states split the two more sharply, and they are worth knowing even if you never work there, because they show what the difference costs.

Nebraska's two registrations side by side
Nebraska	Online notary (RON)	In-person electronic notary (IPEN)
Filing	registration, $50 filing fee	Registration, $100.00 filing fee
Course and exam	Complete the Secretary of State's online notary training course and pass a 20-question exam with at least 85% (three attempts; the passing score is valid for 90 days).	Its own SOS course, then a 20-question exam: 85% to pass, three attempts, score valid 90 days.
The seal reads	“Online Notary Public” and “Nebraska”, with your name, number and expiry	“State of Nebraska”, “Electronic Notary Public”, your name as commissioned, the expiry
Approved software	Approved Online Notary Solution Providers: 20 entries	Approved In-Person Electronic Notary Solution Providers: 11 entries

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 64-404 Nebraska SOS, in-person electronic steps read 2026-10-23

Washington stacks them instead: the remote endorsement sits on the electronic one. Hold a notary commission, add the electronic records notary endorsement ($15) and apply separately for the remote notary endorsement, naming your remote notarization software. Notify the Department of Licensing of the technologies before your first remote act and wait for its approval. Texas goes furthest on the remote side, with a separate online commission; its path is in Texas online notary requirements, and Nebraska's two lists are read in full on the Nebraska page.

Art Deco illustration of a signing tablet between a blank ID card and a pen — In person, the signer's ID is in your hand, not under a camera.

What the lists approve

Where a state approves software, the list tells you which act each entry is approved for, and the lists do it three different ways. Read the wrong column and you can sign up for a platform the state approved only for in-person work.

What each published state list approves
State	How the list is kept	Remote entries	In-person only
Colorado	Remote platforms only	20	0
Kansas	One list, remote and in-person entries mixed	30	2
Louisiana	Remote platforms only	19	0
Maine	One list, remote and in-person entries mixed	12	0
Maryland	Remote platforms only	36	0
Missouri	Remote platforms only	31	0
Nebraska	Two lists: remote and in-person apart	20	11 (own list)
Pennsylvania	One list, remote and in-person entries mixed	28	6

Missouri and Maryland, among others, list remote platforms only; their in-person electronic work is not on the list at all. Pennsylvania and Kansas mix both on one file and mark each entry's type, so the count of remote entries is smaller than the list. To search one list at a time, use the state-approved platform finder with its remote-only box.

One platform for both

Many vendors sell both. On Pennsylvania's list, 14 entries are approved for e-notary and RON alike; on Kansas's, 21 name both IPEN and RON. One account then covers the signer across the table and the signer across the country, with one e-seal set up once, and often one journal. The catch is the journal: a remote act and an in-person electronic act are both entries, and a platform journal that records only what happened on its own video calls leaves your in-person acts somewhere else.

The tools built for in-person electronic work, and the platforms that do both, are compared in electronic notary software; where the journal lives is in electronic notary journals.

Art Deco illustration of two laptops back to back on one blotter — Two setups on one desk; many notaries keep both.

Which to offer

IPEN suits work where the signer is already with you: a title office closing room, a bank branch, a law office, a mobile signing where the documents are electronic. RON suits everyone else: signers in another city, another state, or abroad, and the closings that a lender has set up as remote. Most remote notaries end up offering both, because the setup overlaps and the signer chooses where they are. A title or escrow office weighing both for its closings will find the platforms read for that work in RON and eClosing platforms for title and escrow.

Questions notaries ask

Is in-person electronic notarization the same as remote online notarization?

No. In IPEN the signer is in the room with you and signs an electronic document; in RON the signer is somewhere else and appears on a video call that is recorded. The identity checks, the recording and often the state filing differ.

Do I need a separate registration for IPEN?

It depends on the state. Nebraska keeps a separate in-person electronic registration with its own course, exam and fee; Washington requires an electronic records endorsement before the remote one; in many states the commission and an accepted e-signature and e-seal are enough. Check your state's current rule.

Can one platform do both?

Many can, and some state lists mark a vendor as approved for both. Check the type your state prints beside the platform: an entry approved only for in-person electronic work is not approved for remote sessions.

Does Nebraska keep separate lists for RON and IPEN software?

Yes. Nebraska publishes its Approved Online Notary Solution Providers and, apart from it, its Approved In-Person Electronic Notary Solution Providers.