You can get a document notarized online in New Jersey through a live video session with a New Jersey–commissioned notary, and the result is legally equivalent to an in-person notarization. The state made online notary services in New Jersey a permanent part of its notary law under P.L. 2021, c. 179, codified at N.J.S.A. 52:7-10.10.1New Jersey Legislature. P.L. 2021, c. 179 – New Jersey Law on Notarial Acts You can be almost anywhere in the world during the session; the notary has to be physically inside New Jersey.
What You Can Notarize Online
Most documents that need a notary in New Jersey qualify for the remote process. Real estate deeds and mortgages, powers of attorney, affidavits, loan documents, and business filings all work. The statute carves out one clear exception: wills and codicils cannot be notarized through remote online notarization. Those still require a traditional in-person meeting.1New Jersey Legislature. P.L. 2021, c. 179 – New Jersey Law on Notarial Acts
If you’re signing from outside the United States, one more condition applies. The document has to relate to a matter before a U.S. court or government entity, involve property in the United States, or connect to a transaction substantially tied to the country. The notary also cannot proceed if they have actual knowledge that signing is prohibited in the foreign jurisdiction where you’re sitting.1New Jersey Legislature. P.L. 2021, c. 179 – New Jersey Law on Notarial Acts
What You Need Before the Session
A little preparation keeps the session from stalling.
- A current government-issued photo ID. A driver’s license or passport is standard. If your ID is expired, cracked, or has a blurry photo, expect problems during credential analysis.
- The document, filled in but unsigned. Complete every field except the signature and date. The notary cannot help you fill in the content. Have it in the format your platform requires, usually PDF.
- A device with a working camera and microphone, plus reliable internet. A laptop or desktop on a wired connection works better than a phone on cellular data. Poor video quality can force the notary to stop.
- A verified notary. New Jersey notaries who perform remote or electronic notarizations must update their commission record through the state’s online portal. You can check a notary’s status through the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services.2State of New Jersey. New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services – Notary Public Law
How the Session Works
Once you log into the platform, the notary verifies your identity. The statute allows three methods: personal knowledge of you, a credible witness who vouches for you under oath, or two types of identity proofing through a third-party service.1New Jersey Legislature. P.L. 2021, c. 179 – New Jersey Law on Notarial Acts Commercial platforms almost always use the two-proofing route, combining credential analysis of your photo ID with knowledge-based authentication questions drawn from your credit and public records.
The communication technology has to let both of you see and hear each other live, in real time. A phone call or text exchange doesn’t cut it.1New Jersey Legislature. P.L. 2021, c. 179 – New Jersey Law on Notarial Acts
After ID verification clears, the notary confirms the document on their screen matches yours. You apply your electronic signature while the notary watches on video. The notary then adds their own electronic signature, seal, and a notarial certificate that identifies the act as one performed for a remotely located individual. The platform generates the final tamper-evident file, which you receive through a secure download link or encrypted email. At that point you can submit it to a lender, title company, court, or agency.
Every remote session is recorded. The notary keeps the audio-visual recording for at least ten years. If anyone later challenges your signature, that video is the record backing you up.1New Jersey Legislature. P.L. 2021, c. 179 – New Jersey Law on Notarial Acts
What It Costs
New Jersey caps the notary’s own fee by administrative rule:
- General notarial acts such as oaths, affidavits, and acknowledgments: $2.50 per act
- Real estate transfers: $15.00 per transaction, no matter how many individual acts are performed within it
- Real estate financing: $25.00 per transaction, regardless of the number of acts
Those caps apply only to what the notary can charge for the act itself.3Legal Information Institute. N.J.A.C. 17:50-1.18 – Fees for Notarial Services The online platform charges separately, and those technology fees are not regulated by the state. Platform costs generally run $25 to $60 per session depending on the provider and how complex the document is. When you see an online notarization advertised at $25 or more, most of that price is covering the platform’s identity verification, video, and secure storage rather than the notary’s statutory fee.
The Notary Must Be in New Jersey
One rule trips people up. The notary must be physically located in New Jersey at the time of the session. You can be in another state or another country; the notary cannot. A New Jersey–commissioned notary sitting in a Florida coffee shop cannot perform a valid remote notarization under New Jersey law. The statute says a notarial officer “located in this State” may perform a notarial act using communication technology, and that location language is a hard geographic requirement.1New Jersey Legislature. P.L. 2021, c. 179 – New Jersey Law on Notarial Acts
If you’re shopping for an online notary, confirm the notary will be in New Jersey when your session actually happens, not just that they hold a New Jersey commission. A notarization performed by a notary outside the state’s borders can be challenged as invalid.
Is an Online Notarization Legally Valid?
Yes. The statute expressly provides that a notarial act performed through communication technology for a remotely located individual is governed by New Jersey law and is deemed performed in the state. A remotely notarized power of attorney, deed, or affidavit carries the same legal weight as one signed at a kitchen table with a notary sitting across from you.1New Jersey Legislature. P.L. 2021, c. 179 – New Jersey Law on Notarial Acts
The electronic signature you apply during the session is separately backed by federal and state law. The federal ESIGN Act prohibits courts and agencies from refusing to enforce a contract or signature solely because it’s electronic in any transaction affecting interstate or foreign commerce.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 7001 – General Rule of Validity New Jersey’s Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, at N.J.S.A. 12A:12-1, gives electronic signatures the same standing as ink signatures under state law.5New Jersey Legislature. P.L. 2001, c. 116 – Uniform Electronic Transactions Act Between the notary statute and those electronic-signature laws, a properly conducted online notarization is enforceable in both state and federal proceedings.