The National Notary Association and Safedocs have partnered to educate, equip and certify the first generation of Electronic Notaries for the e-mortgage industry.
The partnership combines the Safedocs System with the Notary Association’s Electronic Notary Journal of Official Acts (ENJOA), which provides an electronic signing pad and a platform for eNotarization of electronic documents.
Borrowers use an electronic pen to sign the eMortgage documents utilizing the ENJOA signature pad. The signature appears on the electronic document exactly as it would if the borrower were signing with pen and ink. However, forensic biometric information about the signature travels with the signed document.
To notarize, the Notary completes and signs an acknowledgment or other notarial form electronically. Additionally, the Notary electronically affixes a visual image of a notarial seal, and the Safedocs System then tamper-seals the electronic documents to prevent unauthorized changes.
“The ability to digitally execute, notarize, record and securely transfer documents will provide considerable benefits to both the consumer and the lending industry,” said Terry Van Bibber, president and founder of Safedocs. “I’ve seen savings estimates totaling over a thousand dollars per file,”
The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, adopted in more than 40 states, and the federal “E-Sign” law permit Notaries to electronically perform services. However, most eNotarizations performed to date have been executed in controlled pilot programs, with the Notary often being a state administrator.
The National Notary Association, based in Chatsworth, Calif., has 230,000 Notary members.
Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Safedocs provides document delivery and end-to-end, Web-based e-mortgage services.
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