| Editor’s Note: The following advisory comes from the law firm of Cull;en and Dykman REMOTE NOTARIZATION On April 14, 2020, Governor Murphy signed into law A-3903/S-2336. This newly enacted law allows remote notarizations during the State’s COVID-19 emergency. The law took effect immediately and temporarily authorizes a notary public or officer authorized to take oaths under R.S.41:2-1 or R.S.46:14-6.1 to remotely notarize documents, subject to specific requirements. Under the new law, notarial acts using “communication technology” for a remotely located individual can be performed if the notary public or officer administering the oath has: (1) personal knowledge of the identity of the individual appearing before the notary public, which is based upon dealings with the individual sufficient to provide reasonable certainty that the individual has the identity claimed; (2) satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely located individual by oath or affirmation from a credible witness appearing before the notary public or officer; or (3) obtained satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely located individual by using at least two different types of identity proofing. “Communication technology” is defined in A-3903/S-2336 as an electronic device or process that allows a notary public or official administering the oath and the remotely located individual to communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound. Additionally, the notary public or official administering the oath must be reasonably able to confirm that a record being notarized is the same record in which the remotely located individual executed a signature, and must create an audio-visual recording of the performance of the notarial act, a copy of which must be retained for a minimum of ten (10) years. A-3903/S-2336 does not permit remote notarizations for the following documents: (1) the Uniform Commercial Code, N.J.S.12A:1-101 et seq., other than N.J.S.12A:1-107, N.J.S.12A:1-206, the provisions of the “Uniform Commercial Code – Sales,” chapter 2 of Title 12A of the New Jersey Statutes, and the provisions of the “Uniform Commercial Code – Leases,” chapter 2A of Title 12A of the New Jersey Statutes; or (2) a statute, regulation or other rule of law governing adoption, divorce or other matters of family law. The New Jersey State Treasurer also has authority under A-3903/S-2336 to adopt rules necessary to implement the provisions of this new law. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this information, please feel free to contact us: Amie C. Kalac, Esq., AKalac@cullenllp.com; Herbert B. Bennett, Esq. HBennett@cullenllp.com, or Neil Yoskin, Esq. NYoskin@cullenllp.com. All can be reached at 609-279-0900 Don’t miss information like this. Click for free EP updates |
