Notary 2.0: Embracing Remote Online Notary for a Seamless World![]() Thanks in part to Google, who celebrates their 25th Birthday today, the world has now become faster, easier and eliminated all or most of the barriers to getting "things" done. Remote Online Notarization (RON) is one of those conveniences that has come from the accessibility we have today. RON allows for you to get your documents (any document!) Notarized wherever you are! You could be sitting at home in your PJ's, or in the Sahara desert! As long as you have access to the internet and a smart device (phone, ipad, tablet, computer, etc) you can get your documents notarized. Not only that, but as soon as the session is completed, you receive your documents delivered to your email. And just to be clear, not every notary is a RON. This is an additional designation given to you by your Secretary of State. It does require additional training to learn the laws we must abide by and an exam. So if you are looking to get this service, make sure that you are specifically looking for RON or Remote Online Notary. 1. Real Estate Transactions Buying or selling property? Remote Online Notary services can streamline the process. With RON, you can sign and notarize documents from the comfort of your home, saving time and reducing the need for in-person meetings. 2. Estate Planning Creating a will, trust, or power of attorney? RON allows you to notarize these critical documents remotely, ensuring they are legally binding without the hassle of traveling to a notary office. 3. Business Agreements For businesses, RON simplifies the notarization of contracts, agreements, and corporate documents. It's a secure and efficient way to finalize deals with partners, investors, or clients, no matter where they are located. 4. Healthcare Documents Healthcare directives and medical power of attorney forms often require notarization. RON makes it convenient for individuals to complete these documents, especially when they are unable to visit a notary in person. 5. Legal Documents RON is ideal for notarizing legal documents like affidavits, depositions, and court pleadings. It ensures the authenticity of these documents while offering flexibility to those who can't physically visit a notary. 6. Remote Workers In today's remote work era, RON is a game-changer. Employees and employers can notarize employment contracts, tax forms, and other work-related documents without leaving home. 7. International Transactions RON is a boon for international business transactions and legal matters. It enables parties in different countries to notarize documents without the logistical challenges of international travel. 8. Adoption Processes Adopting a child involves a significant amount of paperwork, much of which requires notarization. RON simplifies this process for adoptive parents, making it more convenient and efficient. 9. College Admissions For students applying to colleges or universities abroad, RON can be used to notarize transcripts, recommendation letters, and other application documents, facilitating the admissions process. 10. Vehicle Sales Selling or purchasing a vehicle often involves notarized titles and sales agreements. RON makes it easier for buyers and sellers to complete these transactions, even from different locations. Benefits of RON:
What questions do you have? How can I help? Don't forget, I am fully bilingual in English and Spanish and can provide this service in either language!
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![]() Let's start with what is an Apostille? What is an apostille or authentication? An authentication or legalization, sometimes called an apostille, is needed for documents that you plan to use in a foreign country. Examples include:
What is the purpose of an apostille or authentication? A foreign country requires additional certification of the signatures to know the documents are authentic. Foreign countries require additional certification for some documents to verify authenticity. By issuing the authentication certificate, the Secretary of State certifies:
An Apostille Agent is a person that has taken time to do some extra training and facilitates the Apostille process for you. An Apostille Agent can help you file the right documents with the Secretary of State for the correct State in which the documents must be Apostilled. Each State has slightly different requirements. An Apostille Agent will be familiar with each State (or have access to the correct information) to facilitate this for you. An Apostille Agent can also help with getting the documents notarized. Many times the documents that we need Apostilled must be Notarized before sending them in to the correct Secretary of State (SOS). This can happen in various ways. If you have access to a Notary where you are located, you can do it that way. You can also contract the services of a Remote Online Notary (RON) and hop on the computer with them to get your documents Notarized. Using an online Notary is definitely my favorite way of doing these things. Your online notary can notarize your documents, print them and send them off for you. Why is this an advantage? Each state and the Federal Government all have different requirements for Apostilles. Your Apostille Agent will be well versed in this and will be able to fill out the paperwork properly. This is vital because the SOS will return documents without the Apostille stamp if everything is not done just right. I can share with you that 99% of the time, the clients I have worked with are on a time sensitive schedule and having these documents returned without the Apostille stamp because something wasn't right can be frustrating and can have consequences for their business, or even their destination wedding. Another way an Apostille Agent and RON can help is if you're overseas. I am currently working with a client that needed some documents notarized and also Apostilled. We were able to hop on the RON platform, get her documents Notarized and I printed and sent them off to the SOS. This also aids the client in that they now have a US address that the SOS can return the documents to. The Apostille Agent, in this case me, will receive the documents back and then send them directly to the client. As an Apostille Agent, I am in constant communication with the client advising them of every step and I am actively tracking the progress of the Apostille. Apostille Agents and Remote Online Notaries (RON) can make a difficult and cumbersome task easy and painless. What questions do you have that I can help answer? Reach out anytime. I am here to be a resource. ![]() To follow up with my last post on Notary vs. Notario, I thought I’d continue the conversation by talking a little about the importance of using a Spanish-speaking Notary when you have clients that are primarily Latin American and their first language is Spanish. Here are 3 ways your Bilingual Notary can help you and your clients.
As a business whether it be a Title Company, Mortgage Broker, Law Practice, CPA, Financial Advisor or any other business that produces documents that require Notarization, having someone on your preferred vendor list that not only speaks Spanish, but understands the nuances of the Latin American culture can foster a better and more trusted relationship with your client. One last thing to note, your Notary cannot translate the document for you. Your client must have an understanding of the document contents before meeting with the Notary for signatures. Your Notaries job is to certify the signatures, not the contents of the document. For more information on translating documents that require Notarization, please see this article: https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/2019/09/3-things-notaries-should-know-about-translating-documents If you have any questions, please reach out anytime. I am happy to help in any way I can! ![]() As a Bilingual (English/Spanish) Notary Public in the State of Colorado, and fairly new to the business, I was extremely curious as to the true and correct translation of some terms. Mainly NOTARY PUBLIC to the Spanish language. You see, I have a background in court interpretation and while It’s been a minute since I’ve worked in a court proceeding, I still have the curiosity and need for understanding the correct way of saying and not just translating word for word. If you know Spanish, you know that we love to use extra words and make things sound beautiful, fluid and maybe even a little “fluffy” sometimes. However, there can be serious consequences to using the incorrect terminology. Those consequences could be for the person doing the interpreting or translating or for the person receiving the information. So I did some investigating into the true and correct way of saying NOTARY PUBLIC in Español. Here are some very important things to know. In English a NOTARY PUBLIC (def. By National Notary Association) A Notary Public is an official of integrity appointed by the state government — typically by the secretary of state — to serve the public as an impartial witness in performing a variety of official fraud-deterrent acts related to the signing of important documents. These official acts are called notarizations, or notarial acts. Notaries are publicly commissioned as "ministerial" officials, meaning that they are expected to follow written rules without the exercise of significant personal discretion, as would otherwise be the case with a "judicial" official. In contrast, a NOTARIO PUBLICO (which is commonly used as the literal translation of NOTARY PUBLIC) as known In Latin America, a Notario Publico is an attorney or a high-ranking official (such as a judge). In the United States, a Notary cannot prepare legal documents or give advice on immigration or other matters unless the Notary is also an attorney. Now that we have the differences sorted out, let’s talk about what the correct translation is and the proper terminology to use. Escribano (Publico/a) and Fedatario (Publico/a) are by far the most common and will keep you honest and out of trouble (which I’ll discuss next). Both Escribano and Fedatario are what we call “common” language meaning these 2 words will most likely be recognized by any person of Latin American culture and you will not be misrepresenting yourself as a Notario Publico. What can happen if you use Notario Publico and you are NOT a licensed attorney? Well, some states, such as Colorado, California, Texas, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Your and others have actually stated that it is illegal to represent yourself as a Notario Publico. Some of these states will actually have language such as: “Knowing and willful violation of the provisions of this section shall constitute a deceptive trade practice pursuant to section 6-1-105, C.R.S., and shall also constitute official misconduct pursuant to section 12-55-116.” - Colorado Supreme Court on using Notario Publico * OR “In fact, this erroneous translation is expressly prohibited by law in some states. In Section 406.017 (Representation as Attorney) of the Government Code of Texas, for instance, Subsection (a)(4) makes it an offense for any notary public to “use[] the phrase ‘notario’ or ‘notario publico’ to advertise the services of a notary public, whether by signs, pamphlets, stationery, or other written communication or by radio or television[.]” Indeed, under Texas law, a notary who uses that mistranslation is committing the same offense as if he or she were explicitly claiming to be an attorney—and the law makes no distinction as to whether the individual’s intent is fraudulent or not.” *** You can get into legal trouble. One such article said: Our general recommendation is to translate “notary” as fedatario, the Spanish term for an official authorized to attest to the legitimacy of signatures and oaths. Even importing the English word into Spanish (“Necesito un notary“) is infinitely preferable to its mistranslation as notario, with its confusing and legally dangerous connotations. The price of this mistranslation is simply too high: a community’s trust abused, millions of dollars lost, immigrants deported, families broken apart. ** I hope this helps. Below are the cited articles used to put this together. *https://coloradosupremecourt.com/PDF/UPL/State%20law%20on%20notary%20public%20advertisement%20for%20services.pdf **https://interfluency.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/how-not-to-translate-notary-into-spanish/ *** https://interfluency.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/how-not-to-translate-notary-into-spanish/ ://interfluency.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/how-not-to-translate-notary-into-spanish/ |
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