VIRTUAL NOTARY EMERGENCY ORDER: A GAME CHANGER FOR COVID-19

In light of the pandemic and our need for social distancing to get though it, the NH Governor issued an Emergency Order allowing for Notarization of documents to occur through a virtual process.  Typically, the Notary by law has to have the signer physically present in order to verify their identity and witness their signature.  Under the new Emergency Order, the signer can be present virtually through the use on one of many software services like Zoom.  The Notary will still have to identify the signer, but can do this by being able to see and hear the signer, and then watch the signer sign the document, by using the computer’s camera.

So, a lawyer can revise a will or power of attorney for client, send it over as email attachment, and then have the Notary watch the client sign the document at home. Voila, a properly signed official document!  

There are a few technical requirements that all Notaries will need to learn.  You can view the entire Emergency Order No. 11 through the attached link:

https://www.governor.nh.gov/news-media/emergency-orders/documents/emergency-order-11.pdf