Texas notaries often ask: Can I do notarizations online in Texas? And the answer is “Yes” if you are traditional Texas notary with an active commission and you apply and receive an additional commission as a Texas Online Notary.
Under the Texas Government Code a traditional Texas notary public is authorized to do certain specified notarial acts as follows:
Sec. 406.016. AUTHORITY. (a) A notary public has the same authority as the county clerk to:
(1) take acknowledgments or proofs of written instruments;
(2) protest instruments permitted by law to be protested;
(3) administer oaths;
(4) take depositions; and
(5) certify copies of documents not recordable in the public records.
(b) A notary public shall sign an instrument in Subsection (a) in the name under which the notary public is commissioned.
(c) A notary public may not issue an identification card.
(d) A notary public not licensed to practice law in this state may not give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice.
The Texas Government Code was amended in 2018 to allow traditional notaries to be commissioned as “online notaries” and perform as an “online notarization” any of the functions and notarial acts listed in the above section as follows:
Sec. 406.107. AUTHORITY TO PERFORM ONLINE NOTARIZATIONS. An online notary public has the authority to perform any of the functions authorized under Section 406.016 as an online notarization.
At Notary.io we refer to the above authorization for online notaries as the “general rule” of Texas online notarizations. It’s important to note even though a notary may have the authority to notarize a document online, a private party such as a bank may choose not to accept it and require a “wet ink signature”.
If you are a law firm or corporation and would like to establish a Notary.io account to do online notarizations [click here]
If you are a mobile notary or newly commissioned notary start-up business [click here]