S-1561 — SECURE Notarization Act of 2025

YourVoice.Now Summary

Your MoneyWorkers & JobsCivil LibertiesCorporate Benefits

A notary could meet you by video call and tape the session, valid in every state.

Your Money

Video notary sessions allowed — no in-person office visit

A notary could meet you over live video, with sight and sound both ways, instead of in person. Any state or federal rule that says you must appear in person would count as met.

Out-of-state notarizations must be accepted — courts included

Federal courts would have to treat a notarization from any state as valid. Each state would have to do the same when the job ties to interstate business or to that state's own records.

Notaries barred from offering immigration advice — 'notario' title banned

A notary who is not a licensed lawyer could not use the title "notario" or sell immigration help. Break that rule and the notary loses the right to do remote or electronic work.

Americans overseas can sign — U.S. papers notarized by video

You could sign from outside the country if the paper is for a U.S. court, agency, property, or deal. Signing must also be legal where you happen to be.

Workers & Jobs

Notaries may refuse — no forced video or software

Nothing in the bill makes a notary handle electronic records, work with remote signers, or use software they did not pick. A state could still require a special endorsement before a notary works this way.

Civil Liberties

Your notary session recorded — video kept 5 to 10 years

Each remote session needs an audio and video recording. It must be kept at least 5 years where state law sets a period, or 10 years where no state law does.

Outside data services may verify you — two checks minimum

To confirm who you are, a notary may use two separate outside services that search public or private records. A witness who knows you, or the notary's own knowledge of you, can be used instead.

Missed ID or recording steps — notarization stays valid anyway

Breaking the bill's ID, recording, or signature rules would not cancel the notarization. Fraud, forgery, and lack of capacity would still be grounds to challenge a document in court.

Signed session form clears notary — false-advertising claims settled

During a video session you may sign a record saying the notary told you these limits and made no false claims. That signed record would settle the compliance question as of the day you sign it.

Corporate Benefits

No notary technology gets legal preference — states barred

A state could add its own remote notary rules only if they give no single technology or product special legal weight. The state would also have to require recordings be kept at least 5 years.

More about this bill

You could sign and notarize papers by video call. That means no trip to an office. It could cover a deed, a power of attorney, or a court filing. The notary would still have to check who you are. Two outside data checks work, or a witness who knows you. Every video session would be recorded and kept for 5 to 10 years. Every state and federal court would have to accept a notary's work from another state. People who buy property or file papers across state lines would face fewer rejections. States could add their own rules. But they could not favor one company's software. No notary would be forced to work by video or use an app they did not pick. Two limits are worth knowing. Say a notary skips the ID checks or the recording. The paper still counts as valid. You could still go to court over fraud or forgery. The bill also bars notaries from selling immigration advice or using the title "notario". Lawyers are the one exception. But a form you sign in the session would settle any claim that a notary broke this rule.

Congressional Summary

Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization Act of 2025 or the SECURE Notarization Act of 2025 This bill allows a notary public commissioned under state law to remotely notarize electronic records and perform notarizations for remotely located individuals. The bill provides technical requirements for the notarizations, including the creation and retention of video and audio recordings and the use of communication technologies (i.e., video chat).Additionally, the bill requires U.S. courts and states to recognize notarizations—including remote notarizations of electronic records and notarizations of remotely-located individuals—that occur in or affect interstate commerce and are performed by a notary public commissioned under the laws of other states.The bill also allows a notary public to remotely notarize electronic records involving an individual located outside of the United States, subject to certain requirements.

Legislative Subjects

Computers and information technologyEvidence and witnessesFederal preemptionGovernment ethics and transparency, public corruptionGovernment information and archivesIntergovernmental relationsJudicial procedure and administrationState and local government operations

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: Senate
Status: summarized
Action: Introduced in Senate
Action Date: 2025-05-01
Date Added: 2026-04-06
Source: Congress.gov →

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