Louisiana's approved remote notary vendors
A commissioned notary who lives in Louisiana can register with the Secretary of State to notarize remotely, and picks the technology on the way. The state keeps a registry of 19 technology providers to choose from, but it is a list you may use, not one you must, and the Secretary of State puts the checking of any provider on the notary. This page reads that registry entry by entry and turns the state's one instruction into the questions to ask before you sign up. The other states we read are under state rules and approved lists.
Last checked
Fig. 1The registry, entry by entry
The Secretary of State's page headed “Technology Providers Registry” frames a list titled “List of Remote Online Notary Technology Providers”. It carries 19 entries, each a name and a web address, and nothing else: no approval date, no product type, no note on what each one does. Where we have read the provider against the rules, the last column opens our comparison.
| Platform, as the list writes it | Our comparison |
|---|---|
| CYBERIZEIT.COM | Not compared yet |
| Pavaso | Read the comparison |
| Stavvy | Read the comparison |
| PandaDoc | Read the comparison |
| SIGNiX | Read the comparison |
| Smart eNotary | Not compared yet |
| eSign Events | Read the comparison |
| Nexsys Clear Sign | Read the comparison |
| OnlineNotary, Inc. | Read the comparison |
| DocMagic Total eClose | Read the comparison |
| OneSpan Notary | Read the comparison |
| NotaryCam, Inc | Read the comparison |
| Snapdocs (formerly Pactima) | Read the comparison |
| BlueNotary | Read the comparison |
| NOTARYLIVE, INC. | Read the comparison |
| Epic River Healthcare, Inc. | Read the comparison |
| eNotary On Call Inc. | Not compared yet |
| ProNotary | Read the comparison |
| Online Notary Center, Inc. | Read the comparison |
The list prints no date of its own, so the date above is the day we read it. The same list sits beside the other states' in the state-approved platform finder.
Names that read differently from the brand
The registry keeps the name each provider filed under. If you search it for the brand you know and come up empty, check these first.
- Nexsys Clear Sign
- Clear Sign (Rocket Close) in our records. The list links the entry to Amrock's Clear Sign page.
- eSign Events
- Simplifile eSign Events (ICE) in our records. The list links the entry to Simplifile's e-sign page.
- Snapdocs (formerly Pactima)
- Snapdocs in our records. The list keeps the earlier name in brackets.
- DocMagic Total eClose
- DocMagic eNotary (Total eClose) in our records. The list names DocMagic's Total eClose product.
- PandaDoc
- PandaDoc Notary in our records. The list links the entry to PandaDoc's notary page.
Two names that are easy to mix up
“OnlineNotary, Inc.” and “Online Notary Center, Inc.” are two separate entries with two different web addresses on the list. Before you sign up, check the provider's web address against the one the registry prints beside the company you mean.
Entries we have not compared
CYBERIZEIT.COM, Smart eNotary, eNotary On Call Inc.: these are on the registry but match no provider record of ours yet. Being on the list tells you they filed with the Secretary of State; it tells you nothing more, so read their own terms the way the checklist below sets out.
Platforms we compare that are not on it
On the day we read it, the registry did not carry Proof, OneNotary, Docusign Notary, Qualia, Secured Signing or Notary Hub. The Secretary of State says you “may opt for” a provider from the registry; it does not say you must. Even so, if you mean to work through a provider that is not on it, ask the Notary Division before your first remote act, and ask the provider whether it has filed the state's provider form.
What the state leaves to you
Above the list, the registry page carries one sentence for notaries: “It is the responsibility of the Notary to verify the technology, qualifications, usability and fees of any provider.” That is the whole of the state's vetting on the notary's side. Pennsylvania prints an approval date beside each provider and Maine an approval period; Louisiana prints names and web addresses and hands the rest to you.
The four words make a usable sheet. Work through it with each provider you shortlist, and keep the answers with your commission papers. For how the providers on the list compare on what the rules ask of a platform, start with RON platforms for a solo notary or, for closing work, RON and eClosing platforms for title and escrow.
Louisiana provider questions, juratkit.com
Before you choose a provider
0 of 11 answered
Tick a question once the provider has answered it in writing.
Getting RON authority in Louisiana
Louisiana began registering notaries for remote online notarization on February 1, 2022, under the Remote Online Notarization Act. The Secretary of State puts the provider choice ahead of the registration filing, so the checklist above belongs before step four, not after it. The national version of these steps is in how to become a remote online notary, and the course and quiz set beside other states' training rules in remote online notary training by state.
- 01
Hold a current Louisiana commission and live in the state
The Secretary of State opens RON to a commissioned notary, residing in Louisiana, who holds a current commission.
- 02
Take the online course and pass its quiz
Save the certificate of completion as a PDF; the registration asks you to upload it.
- 03
Choose your technology provider
You may opt for one from the registry, and you may select more than one provider.
- 04
Register for RON in your online notary account
Upload the certificate and pay the one-time $100 filing fee, which is unrelated to anything the provider charges.
- 05
Settle the technology with the provider
The notary and the provider work together directly to obtain and pay for the technology; the state is not a party to it.
- 06
Wait for approval
Once approved, your notary record is updated to show you are authorized to perform remote online notarizations.
The rules we could read
- Remote notarization authorized
Under the Remote Online Notarization Act, Louisiana began registering notaries for remote online notarization on February 1, 2022.
- How a notary gets RON authority
A commissioned Louisiana notary registers for RON in the online notary account, uploads the course certificate and pays a one-time $100 filing fee; the notary's record is updated once approved.
- Training or exam
Complete an online instruction course and pass a quiz before registering.
- Fee for a remote act
Louisiana has no statutory fee schedule that sets or limits what a notary may charge.
The rest of Louisiana's remote notary rule lives in the statute, La. R.S. 35:621 and the sections after it, which we could not open from here on the day we read the list. So this page makes no claim about how long the session recording is kept, the journal, how long the journal is kept, what a journal entry records, how the signer's identity is proved, the digital certificate and e-seal, where the signer may be or the certificate wording. Check the Secretary of State's current rule and the statute before you rely on any of them, including whether a remote act can serve where Louisiana law asks for an authentic act. How other states set those rules is in what state rules ask of a RON platform and RON recording retention by state.
Questions Louisiana notaries ask
Do I have to pick a provider from Louisiana's registry?
The Secretary of State says you may opt for a provider from its list, not that you must, and it puts the job of checking any provider on the notary. If you plan to use a provider that is not on the registry, ask the Notary Division first.
Does being on the registry mean the state approved the platform?
The list's page is titled an approved vendor list, but the registry page above it says it is the notary's responsibility to verify the technology, qualifications, usability and fees of any provider. Read an entry as a provider that filed with the state, then do the checking yourself.
Can I use more than one provider?
Yes. The Secretary of State says a notary may select more than one provider. Each one still gets the same checks, and your recordings and journal entries will sit with whichever platform held the session. How notaries run two platforms side by side is in using more than one RON platform.
What does registering for RON cost in Louisiana?
The state charges a one-time $100 filing fee for the RON registration, which is separate from whatever the provider charges you. Louisiana also has no statutory fee schedule setting what a notary may charge for a notarial act. Other states' caps are in remote notarization fees by state.
Can a notary who lives outside Louisiana register for RON there?
The Secretary of State describes RON authority as open to a commissioned notary residing in Louisiana who holds a current commission. If your commission rests on another basis, ask the Notary Division before you file.
How does a provider get onto the registry?
The provider files the state's Remote Online Notarization Provider form by fax, mail or email, and a company not already registered to do business in Louisiana also files for a Certificate of Authority. If a platform you like is missing, ask it whether it has filed.
Related
- RON technology providers on state lists: who sits on the mostOne table of providers against the state lists, dated, each linked to the state's own list.
- State-approved RON platform finderPick a state that publishes a list and see the platforms on it, as the state writes them.
- How to become a remote online notaryThe common path from commission to first remote act, each step linked to its state page.
- RON platforms for a solo notary, comparedFor an independent notary: own signers, a journal and recording kept for your state's period, and the state lists each is on.
- Identity proofing in RON: credential analysis and KBAWhat the two checks are, what states require of each, and what the notary still decides.