How to Become an Online Notary in Virginia: Application, Technology, and Renewal

To become an online notary in Virginia, you first need an active traditional Virginia notary commission, then you register as an electronic notary with the Secretary of the Commonwealth for a $45 fee. The electronic registration is an add-on to your existing commission, not a separate license, and Virginia handles the whole process through its online notary portal.¹

Get Your Traditional Notary Commission First

There is no shortcut. Your electronic registration links to your existing notary record, so if the traditional commission lapses or is revoked, your electronic privileges disappear with it.¹

The baseline qualifications under § 47.1-4 are straightforward. You must be at least 18, a legal U.S. resident, able to read and write English, and either living in Virginia or regularly employed in the Commonwealth. A felony conviction disqualifies you unless you have been pardoned, had the conviction vacated through a writ of actual innocence, or had your rights restored.² Every Virginia notary also needs a $10,000 surety bond payable to the Commonwealth under § 47.1-15, which most surety companies sell for a small annual premium.

Line Up Your Technology Before You Apply

The state will not approve your application unless your digital tools are already in place. You actually have to use your electronic signature during submission, so these pieces have to exist before you file.

A Remote Online Notarization Platform

Choose a technology provider that offers secure audio-video communication and credential analysis for verifying signer identities. This is the platform you will use to conduct remote sessions, and it typically helps you obtain your digital certificate and may also host your electronic journal and session recordings. The application asks you to describe the technology you plan to use, so the vendor relationship needs to be set up first.³

A Digital Certificate and Electronic Signature

Your digital certificate uses public-key infrastructure to create a tamper-evident electronic signature that any recipient can independently verify. The name on the certificate must exactly match the name on your notary commission, and the signature must be unique to you and under your sole control throughout your commission term.

An Electronic Seal

Your electronic seal is the digital equivalent of a traditional notary stamp. Virginia requires it to include five pieces of information:

Your name as it appears on your commission
Your electronic notary registration number
The words “Electronic Notary Public”
The words “Commonwealth of Virginia”
Your commission expiration date

The seal is embedded in every document you notarize electronically.¹

File the Electronic Notary Application

Everything happens online through the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s notary portal at soc-notary.azurewebsites.net. There is no paper form.¹

The application asks for four things: your full legal name and the official notary name you use, a description of the technology you will use to create your electronic signature, certification that you comply with the electronic notary standards developed under § 47.1-6.1, and your email address. You must sign the form using the electronic signature it describes, which is how the state confirms your digital tools work. The submission must also include any decrypting instructions, codes, or keys needed to read it.³

A non-refundable $45 fee is due at submission, payable by Visa, Mastercard, or American Express.¹ Once the Secretary reviews and approves the registration, you receive your official authorization by email. You may need to log back into the portal to activate the commission if prompted.

How You Verify Signer Identity During Remote Sessions

This is where the real work of the job sits. You cannot look at a physical ID across a table, so Virginia recognizes three ways to confirm a signer’s identity during a remote session:

Personal knowledge of the signer sufficient to eliminate reasonable doubt.
A credible witness who personally knows the signer and appears by audio-video to vouch for them under oath. You must either personally know the witness or verify the witness through an approved method.
Multi-factor identity proofing using at least two approved verification methods when personal knowledge and a credible witness are unavailable.

The approved methods include credential analysis of a government-issued ID, where software inspects the document’s security features and data points; knowledge-based authentication, which quizzes the signer on information drawn from public and private records; digital certificates secured by biometrics or a Personal Identity Verification card; and identity proofing based on a trusted third party’s prior in-person verification. The knowledge-based quiz has strict rules: at least five questions with at least five answer choices each, a two-minute time limit, and a passing score of 80 percent, with up to two retakes within 48 hours and at least 60 percent new questions on each retake. If a signer cannot pass any of the required steps, you must refuse to complete the notarization.

Keep a Compliant Electronic Journal

Every electronic notary must maintain a journal of electronic notarial acts under § 47.1-14. Each entry must record the date and time of the act, the type of act performed, the type or description of the document, the printed name and address of each signer, the type of identification used, and any fee charged.

When audio-video technology is the basis for verifying identity, you also have to keep a copy of the recording along with a note of any other identification method used. All electronic records, including journal entries and recordings, must be retained for at least five years from the transaction date.

The journal has to be kept in a tamper-evident electronic format under your sole control. In practice that means password protection, preferably with two-factor authentication, and encryption. Once an entry is made, it cannot be edited. If you use more than one RON platform, keep a secure centralized backup so records do not fall through the cracks when you change vendors.

Renewal and Ending the Commission

Your electronic authorization has no separate term. It rides on your traditional notary commission, which lasts four years and expires on the last day of the month in which you were born in the fourth year after issuance.⁴ When the traditional commission expires, the electronic authorization ceases to exist, and you have to renew both to keep performing remote notarizations.

The Secretary offers an online renewal application, but your commission expiration date cannot be more than 30 days past to use it. You still have to visit your local circuit court to take the oath of office and pick up the renewed commission.⁵

If you change technology during your term, notify the Secretary electronically within 90 days with a brief description of the change. This applies whether you switch RON platforms entirely or just upgrade your existing tools.³

If you resign or your commission ends for any reason, you must erase, delete, or destroy everything that enables your electronic signature and seal, including any coding, software, disk, certificate, card, or password, then certify to the Secretary that you have done so.⁴ Each electronic notarial certificate also has to indicate whether the act was performed in person or by remote online notarization.⁶

1
Secretary of the Commonwealth. Learn About Becoming an Electronic Notary
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 47.1-4 – Qualification for Appointment
3
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 47.1-7 – Additional Requirements for Performing Electronic Notarial Acts
4
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 47.1 Chapter 4 – Notaries and Out-of-State Commissioners
5
Secretary of the Commonwealth. Renew Your Commission
6
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 47.1-2 – Definitions