Is Online Notarization Legal in Florida?
People still ask whether a video call with a notary “counts.” Is Online Notarization Legal in Florida? The short answer is yes, when a commissioned online notary follows Chapter 117: identity proofing, a live audio-visual session, an electronic journal, and a recording. A casual FaceTime is not that session.
Florida put remote online notarization into statute and kept the same core duties an in-person notary already had. The notary identifies the signer, watches the signature, and completes the certificate. The room changes. The legal act does not. Javid Owji is RON certified and commissioned in Florida; you can look up a Florida notary on the Department of State notary registry before you upload a file. Call or text 407-252-5276 if you want that check done with you on the phone. Lenders ask Is Online Notarization Legal in Florida? because their underwriters need the statute, not a slogan. The practice overview is on remote online notary, and the commissioned-notary page is online notary public.
What the statute actually authorizes
Section 117.201 is the definition section for online notarization. The rest of Chapter 117 covers commissions, prohibited acts, certificates, and the online-notary rules in Part II. An online notary public is still a Florida notary. The commission has to be real, the seal has to be the electronic one the state expects, and the session has to be the platform session—not a screenshot of a signature.
The certificate itself often states whether the signer appeared by physical presence or by online notarization. That checkbox is there so a clerk, a title company, or a foreign authority can see which path was used. Skipping identity proofing and then checking the online box is not compliance.
Who may use a Florida online notary
The notary is in Florida. The signer often is not. Borrowers on the road, sellers who already moved, and attorneys with clients in another time zone use a Florida RON when the document and the receiving party accept a Florida online notarization. Some institutions still demand wet ink or an in-person acknowledgment. That is their policy, not a repeal of Chapter 117. Ask the recipient before you book so you do not pay for a session they will reject.
Certain documents add witness rules on top of the notarial act. Powers of attorney, wills, and some estate instruments are the usual examples. Section 117.285 covers supervising the witnessing of electronic records, and it is stricter when fewer than two witnesses are physically with the principal. If your file is a power of attorney, start with notarizing a power of attorney in Florida and have counsel confirm the form.
How to confirm the notary
The Department of State keeps the public commission record. Search the Florida notary registry for the name on the seal. A listing on a marketplace is not a substitute for that record. Javid also publishes a NotaryLive profile and an NNA signing-agent listing that closing desks already know how to open.
He is an NNA Certified National Signing Agent, carries a $1,000,000 errors and omissions policy, and is licensed, bonded, insured, and background-check approved. Eighteen years of loan packages is why the encrypted file comes back with the certificate filled in, not with a blank acknowledgment.
What still is not legal
A notary cannot notarize their own signature, skip identification, or tell you whether to sign the contract. Online delivery does not add those powers. It also does not let a signer appear while driving, off camera, or through a recording made yesterday. The session is live. If the connection drops, you reconnect; you do not “finish it later” on an email chain.
Documents headed abroad may still need an apostille after the notarial act. Legality of the notarization and acceptance in another country are two steps. See online apostille services when the destination is the question, not the Florida commission.
If you are ready to book
Have a government photo ID, a quiet room, and the PDF the recipient actually wants. Set up a notarization, use the contact page, or call 407-252-5276. Fee questions are answered separately in How Much Does an Online Notary Cost in Florida?
