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Commission 135560858State of TexasCommission ends 07/29/2030

Double E'sNotary Services

I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN TEXAS AND MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL ADVICE.

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For an online act, I have to be in Texas

The question I hear is whether the signer has to be in Texas. For an online notarization, that is the wrong person. I am the one who has to be in Texas. The signer may be somewhere else, if the act is one Texas law allows me to perform online.

Title 1, Texas Administrative Code § 87.41 is direct. An online notarization may be performed only by a notary commissioned as an online notary public. That notary shall not perform it if the notary is not physically in Texas at the time. A hotel room in another state is not Texas. A kitchen in another state is not Texas. The commission does not travel with the laptop.

A traditional commission is not enough for that session. The online commission is a separate designation. You already have to hold a current traditional commission before you apply. The online commission expires on the same date as the traditional one. The electronic seal carries your name, your identifying number, and that expiration date. If you replace the digital certificate or the seal, update the Secretary of State. Use the certificate and the seal you have on file.

The session itself has a shape. Identity proofing and credential analysis come from a third party, not from me deciding that the card looked fine on a screen. The certificate is electronic. 1 Texas Administrative Code § 87.41 requires it. It identifies the signer, the date, the state and county where I performed the act, that the act was an online notarization, and the type of act. I sign it with the digital certificate and attach the electronic seal. A paper stamp on a printout is not that certificate.

An ordinary video call is not this procedure. Zoom, a phone, and a text message are ways to talk. They are not identity proofing, they are not a compliant recording of the conference, and they are not an electronic seal. If I cannot complete the identity check, I do not complete the act. The same is true in person. Personal appearance is the rule. For an online act, appearance is the live session, and I am in Texas while it happens.

The person who will rely on the document still decides whether to accept a Texas online certificate. I do not control that decision. I can control where I am sitting, and I can refuse a session that is only a video call.

This note is the line I use before I accept an online appointment. It is not legal advice.