How a remote session works

A remote session is a notarial act performed while we can see and hear each other at the same time. It is not a phone call. It is not an email with a scanned signature. It is not a recording you make by yourself and send to me later. We meet on a Texas-approved video platform. I remain physically in Texas for the entire session. 1 Texas Administrative Code § 87.41 requires that. You may be somewhere else only when Texas law allows that particular act to be done online.

Not every document can be notarized remotely. Before a time is set, tell me what the document is, how many people must sign, and whether each of them can appear on camera. I will tell you if the act can be performed online. If it cannot, we can talk about a traditional appointment instead. Sending a quote, or asking for a time, does not hold the appointment. I hold it when I confirm it.

You can ask for a time by phone or text at (806) 543-3374, by email at eric@double-e-notaryservices.com, or with Book an appointment on this website. Weekday sessions are from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Weekend sessions are from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. I do not hold a session outside those hours. There is no deposit.

There is no travel fee, because I do not come to you. Each online notarial act is the fee in Government Code § 406.024 plus a $25 online notarization fee. A session on a weekday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., or on a Saturday or Sunday, adds the posted time-of-day fee. A request for service in less than two hours adds the rush fee when that request is accepted. A quote on this website is a high-end estimate. After your first completed appointment, later work is 15 percent off, and that discount is not in the quote.

Set yourself up before the session starts. Use a private room. Close the door. Sit where the light is on your face, not behind you. Use a device with a working camera and microphone, and a connection that will last through the identity check and the signing. A phone can work if the camera is steady and you can see the document. Have the complete document ready. A missing page, a blank that still has to be filled in, or a signer who is not available will stop the act.

Every person who signs must appear on camera and must have a current government photo identification. Government Code § 406.0091 requires personal appearance. Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 121.005 and 1 Texas Administrative Code § 87.40 are how a signer is identified. A driver's license, a state identification card, a passport, or another unexpired government photo ID is the usual evidence. An expired, damaged, or inconsistent ID is not satisfactory. I may refuse to proceed if I cannot identify a signer, if a signer seems unwilling or under pressure, or if the document is not in a condition that allows a proper notarial act.

When the session opens, we confirm who is present and what we are there to sign. The platform then checks identity. It reviews the photo identification, which is called credential analysis, and it asks identity questions, which is called knowledge-based authentication. The platform may use another method if Texas law and that platform require it. These questions are about you. Answer them yourself. Do not let another person sit in the frame, prompt you, or read the answers. If someone else must be present for a reason we have agreed on in advance, say so at the start so the recording shows who is there.

If the identity check cannot be completed, the notarial act does not happen. There is no charge for a session that ends before the act. I will make a reasonable effort to reschedule when the problem is a connection, a camera, or an identity check that can be tried again. I cannot notarize around a failed identification.

After the identity check, we look at the document on the screen. I will ask whether you are signing willingly and whether you understand that you are signing that document. I will not tell you what the document means, whether it is the right form, or whether you should sign it. If you are not ready to sign, stop. We can end the session. There is still no charge if no notarial act is performed.

An acknowledgment and a jurat are not the same act. On an acknowledgment, you acknowledge that you signed the document for the purposes stated in it. On a jurat, you swear or affirm that the contents are true, and I record that oath. I do not decide whether the contents are true, and I do not decide whether the document is legally sufficient.

You sign while we can see and hear each other. I then complete the online notarial certificate for that act. If more than one act is required, each act is handled in turn. Each online act carries its own online notarization fee.

Texas law requires an audio-visual recording of the online notarization, so the session is recorded from the identity check through the signing and the certificate. Government Code § 406.108 is that requirement, and the electronic record is kept at least five years. I also make the electronic journal entry for the act. The recording and the journal are kept because the law requires a record that the act was performed. I cannot delete a recording or a journal entry that I am required to retain, even if you later ask me to. Those records may be produced when the law requires them, including for a lawful request about the notarized document.

When the act is finished, I send the invoice. Payment is due when you receive it. I release the notarized document only after that payment is received. The person or company that will rely on the document decides whether to accept a Texas online certificate. I do not control that decision, and a completed notarization is not a promise that a court, a company, or another state will accept it.

If you cancel, or you do not appear, and I do not perform a notarial act, there is no charge. A cancellation is not an official act. Government Code § 406.024 sets the fees for an act. It does not include a fee for a cancellation. Travel, time of day, and similar charges are billed only when an act is performed. The same rule applies if I am ready and the act cannot be completed.

A remote session does not include legal advice. I do not draft the document, choose the form, or explain its legal effect. I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in Texas and may not give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice. That is the notice in Government Code § 406.017. Booking a session does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need advice about what the document does, ask a licensed attorney before we meet.