RON readiness checklist
Remote authority is added to a commission you already hold, and every state sets its own steps for adding it. Pick your state and tick what you have done; the checklist counts what is left and names the next step, each one quoted from the state's rule with its source. If you are not commissioned yet, start with how to become a remote online notary, or browse running a remote notary business.
RON readiness checklist, juratkit.com
RON readiness checklist, juratkit.com
Pre-filled with a Kansas notary who holds a commission and has picked a provider. Tick what you have done.
Kansas: 2 of 8 done
6 steps left
Next: Complete the training or exam Kansas asks for.
What it works out
For each of the 12 states whose rules we have read, the checklist lays out what stands between a commissioned notary and a first remote act: the commission, the platform, any course or exam, the certificate and seal, the notice or application, the journal, where the recordings will live and where you must sit. Each step's text is the state's own rule, with its cite and the date we read it. A step the state does not ask for is shown greyed and left out of the count, so a Pennsylvania notary is not told to find a RON course that Pennsylvania does not require.
The result is the number of steps still open and the next one in order. The order runs platform before certificate and certificate before the notice, because several states want the later steps to name the earlier ones: Texas has you sign the application with your certificate, and Pennsylvania's notice names each technology. Platform choice is the step most notaries rush; the RON platforms for solo notaries comparison reads each one against these same rules, and the certificate step is covered in digital certificate providers; check its end date against your commission's before you buy.
Worked example: a Kansas notary halfway through
The tool opens on this case. A Kansas notary holds a commission and has chosen a provider that is on the Secretary of State's list. That is 2 of 8 steps, so 6 remain, and the next is “Complete the training or exam Kansas asks for”. The state's own page puts it the same way round: choose the provider, take the free course and test, then send the notice with the training certificate and the fee (notice + $20 fee).
The Kansas steps as the tool shows them, with this notary's progress.
| # | Step | In this example | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Hold a current Kansas notary commission | Done | K.S.A. 53-5a15 |
| 02 | Pick a platform on Kansas's list | Done | RON/IPEN Provider List |
| 03 | Complete the training or exam Kansas asks for | Next | K.S.A. 53-5a15(f), 53-5a23 |
| 04 | Get the digital certificate the Secretary of State asks for | Open | Kansas Secretary of State RON requirements |
| 05 | Notify the Secretary of State and pay the fee | Open | K.S.A. 53-5a15(f) |
| 06 | Set up the journal Kansas asks for | Open | K.S.A. 53-5a20(a)-(b) |
| 07 | Arrange where the session recordings will be kept | Open | K.S.A. 53-5a15(e) |
| 08 | Plan to be in Kansas for every remote act | Open | K.S.A. 53-5a15(b)(4) |
Once the notice is in, two of the open steps keep running for years: the journal and the recordings, each kept for 10 years in Kansas. Pick where they will live before the first session; the recording retention date calculator gives the earliest date a given session's recording may go.
State notes
What differs most from state to state is the course and the way you tell the state. The rows below are each state's own short form of those two rules; the full text sits in the checklist. Florida and Texas, the two states with the most moving parts, have their own guides: Florida online notary requirements and Texas online notary requirements.
- CO
Colorado. Course: course + exam. Authority: notice of intent, approval.
- FL
Florida. Course: 2-hour course. Authority: DOS registration; $25,000 bond + $25,000 E&O.
- KS
Kansas. Course: course + test. Authority: notice + $20 fee.
- LA
Louisiana. Course: course + quiz. Authority: registration, $100 one-time fee.
- ME
Maine. Course: provider training; no extra state test. Authority: notice accepted by the Secretary of State.
- MD
Maryland. Course: commission course and exam; vendor training. Authority: notice to the Secretary of State.
- MO
Missouri. Course: course + exam. Authority: registration with the Secretary of State.
- NE
Nebraska. Course: course + exam. Authority: registration, $50 filing fee.
- PA
Pennsylvania. Course: no RON-specific training. Authority: notice to the Department.
- TX
Texas. Course: SOS education course (max 2 hours) for applicants. Authority: separate SOS commission; $50 application fee.
- VA
Virginia. Course: none now; 4-hour course + exam from . Authority: eNotary commission; $45 application.
- WA
Washington. Course: none required. Authority: commission + electronic endorsement ($15) + remote endorsement.
States outside these 12 are not in the tool: check your state's current rule with the commissioning office. Where the journal should live is a choice the electronic journals comparison covers. Once the steps are done, how to start a remote notary business covers what comes next: the work, the invoice and the ledger.
Related
- How to become a remote online notaryThe common path from commission to first remote act, each step linked to its state page.
- State-approved RON platform finderPick a state that publishes a list and see the platforms on it, as the state writes them.
- Remote online notary training by stateWhich states require RON training or an exam before you notarize remotely, and who provides it.
- What state rules ask of a RON platformThe requirement rows every comparison on this site uses, explained once, with the state source for each.
- 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.