Colorado Electronic Notary Requirements: Application, DAN, and Fees

To perform electronic notarizations in Colorado, you first need an active Colorado notary public commission, then a separate electronic notary authorization from the Secretary of State. Colorado’s electronic notary requirements cover the underlying commission, a second application filed through the Secretary of State’s online system, a Document Authentication Number (DAN) that must appear on every electronically notarized document, and technology that produces a tamper-evident record with a compliant electronic signature.¹ Your electronic authorization runs on the same four-year clock as your base commission.²

Electronic Notarization Is Not Remote Notarization

Colorado treats these as two different authorizations, and mixing them up causes real compliance problems. An electronic notarization happens when the signer is physically in the room with you and signs the document digitally rather than on paper. There is no live video connection involved.¹

Remote notarization is a separate authorization, with its own $10 application fee, that allows the signer to appear by real-time audio-video and brings extra requirements like session recording and knowledge-based authentication.³⁴ Everything that follows applies to electronic notarizations with the signer present.

Hold an Active Notary Commission First

You cannot apply for electronic authorization without a Colorado notary commission already in hand. To get that commission, you complete a training course and pass an exam on the state’s notarial laws and procedures.⁵ The Secretary of State offers a free online training through its eLearning platform, and several approved vendors also provide courses.⁶

The commission costs $10, lasts four years, and renews for $10. You can file the renewal up to 90 days before expiration.³² Colorado does not require a surety bond, though the Secretary of State suggests considering one for liability protection.⁷

Applying for Electronic Notary Authorization

Once your commission is active, log in to the Secretary of State’s online notary system and click the eNotary Application link on the left sidebar.⁸ The published fee schedule lists $10 for the base commission and $10 for remote notary authorization, but does not separately list a fee for the electronic notary application; confirm the current charge inside the online system when you file.³

Your electronic authorization only lives as long as your commission does. If the commission lapses or is revoked, your electronic authority ends with it. When you renew at year four, confirm your electronic authorization is renewed or reauthorized at the same time.

Technology, Electronic Signature, and the DAN

Your electronic signature must include your name exactly as it appears on your commission along with your notary ID number, so any electronically notarized document can be traced back to you.⁹

Every electronic notarization must also carry a Document Authentication Number issued by the Secretary of State. The DAN is unique to you and verifies that the act was performed by someone authorized to do it.¹ Omitting it can undermine the validity of the notarization, so build it into your workflow.

The platform you use must support tamper-evident technology, meaning any alteration after notarization is detectable. The Secretary of State maintains standards for approved technology; confirm your platform meets them before performing any electronic notarial acts.

How to Identify the Signer

Before you notarize, you must verify who the signer is. Colorado allows two methods: satisfactory evidence through identification documents, or personal knowledge.

Qualifying identification includes:

A passport, driver’s license, or government-issued non-driver ID that is current or has been expired for no more than one year.
Other government-issued identification that is current or has been expired for no more than one year and contains the signer’s signature or photograph.

The one-year window is stricter than most people assume. An ID that expired 14 months ago does not qualify, no matter how familiar it looks.¹⁰

If the signer has no qualifying document, a credible witness who personally knows the signer can vouch under oath. The witness must either be personally known to you or produce qualifying identification of their own. You also have discretion to ask for additional identification whenever something looks off.¹⁰

Personal knowledge means an established relationship through prior dealings that gives you reasonable certainty about the person’s identity. It’s legal, but documentation protects you better if the act is ever challenged.

What You Can Charge

Colorado caps a traditional paper notarization at $15 per document. For an electronic or remote notarization, the ceiling is $25 per document.⁷ That single fee covers identity verification, administering any oath or affirmation, and applying your signature, certificate, and stamp. You cannot bill the steps separately.

Keeping Your Journal

Every Colorado notary must maintain a journal of all notarial acts. An electronic journal must be permanent and tamper-evident and comply with the Secretary of State’s rules. Remote notaries are required to use an electronic journal for those sessions, but if you only perform electronic notarizations with the signer present, you can choose between an electronic journal and a physical bound register with numbered pages.¹¹

Make each entry at the time of the notarial act, and include:

Date and time of the notarization.
Description of the record and the type of notarial act.
Full name and address of each person for whom the act was performed.
Signature or electronic signature of each person.
A statement that you relied on personal knowledge, or a description of the identification document presented.
The fee charged, if any.

If an interpreter assisted, record the interpreter’s full name, address, and certification or credential number.¹¹

Retain the journal for ten years after the last entry. It stays under your exclusive control, and no other notary may use it. The Secretary of State can audit or inspect it without restriction and can demand that you surrender it on written request.¹¹

One point of confusion worth settling: audio-video recording is not required for electronic notarizations. Because the signer is physically present, there is no video session to record. That requirement belongs to remote notarization only.¹

What You Cannot Do

Unless you are a licensed Colorado attorney, you cannot draft legal documents, give legal advice, or practice law. You cannot act as an immigration consultant or represent anyone in immigration proceedings. Non-attorney notaries also cannot use the title “notario” or “notario publico,” because those terms imply legal authority that does not exist under Colorado law.¹²

If you advertise notarial services as a non-attorney, each advertisement must include a disclaimer, in every language used, stating you are not licensed to practice law, are not an immigration consultant, and directing anyone suspecting fraud to the Colorado Attorney General’s office or the Supreme Court.¹²

You cannot notarize a document that is blank or that contains unfilled blanks in its text, and you cannot withhold a signer’s original document. If someone asks you to notarize a partially completed form and promises to fill in the rest later, the answer is no.¹²

Enforcement and Penalties

The Secretary of State can audit journals, investigate complaints, and suspend or revoke a commission. Administrative consequences run from mandatory retraining for minor issues up to permanent loss of the commission for serious misconduct.

Willful violations, such as falsifying notarized documents or knowingly facilitating fraud, can bring criminal charges. A class 2 misdemeanor in Colorado carries up to 120 days in jail and a fine of up to $750.¹³ Conduct that amounts to identity theft, financial fraud, or real estate fraud can be charged as a felony under separate statutes with substantially harsher penalties.

For most electronic notaries, the practical risk is administrative, not criminal. An incomplete journal, an unapproved platform, or a missing DAN is the kind of mistake that draws a Secretary of State investigation. Keeping the platform current, the journal complete, and the identification solid on every transaction handles most of the exposure.

1
Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public FAQs – Remote Notarization
2
Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public FAQs – Application
3
Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public Fee Schedule
4
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 Section 24-21-514.5 – Audio-Video Communication
5
Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public Examination
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Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public Training
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Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public FAQs – General Questions
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Colorado Secretary of State. Electronic Notary Public
9
Colorado Secretary of State. Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA) Changes
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Colorado Secretary of State. Colorado Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts – Section 24-21-507
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Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 Section 24-21-519 – Journal
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Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 Section 24-21-525 – Prohibited Acts
13
Colorado General Assembly. SB21-271 Misdemeanor Reform