To perform remote notarizations in Illinois you must meet a stacked set of requirements: hold a traditional Illinois notary commission, obtain a separate electronic notary authorization, carry a $30,000 combined surety bond, register state-approved audio-video technology with the Secretary of State, verify each signer’s identity through credential analysis and a knowledge-based quiz, and keep a tamper-evident electronic journal along with session recordings for seven years. Miss any one of these and you risk revocation, misdemeanor charges, or documents the courts won’t recognize.
Commissions and Bond You Must Hold First
Start with a standard Illinois notary public commission from the Secretary of State. Under the Illinois Notary Public Act, you must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident, and either an Illinois resident or someone whose principal place of work is in Illinois. The commission runs four years, or one year for non-resident notaries who work in the state.
Every notary applicant needs a surety bond. A traditional commission requires a $5,000 bond. If you want to perform electronic or remote notarizations, you need an additional $25,000 bond specifically conditioned on the faithful performance of remote notarial acts. Illinois lets you satisfy both with a single combined $30,000 bond.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 5 ILCS 312 – Illinois Notary Public Act
Remember what the bond does: it protects the public, not you. If someone files a claim and the surety pays, you owe the surety company back, and you can be liable for court costs and legal fees on top. Errors and omissions insurance is a separate voluntary product that covers your own defense and financial exposure. Illinois doesn’t require it, but notaries handling real estate closings and other high-value transactions often carry it.
Once you have the traditional commission, apply separately for an electronic notary public commission. That application requires completing a state-approved course on electronic notarization and passing an exam at the end.2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 5 ILCS 312 – Illinois Notary Public Act
Technology You Must Register
You cannot pick any video platform and start notarizing. Illinois requires every electronic notary to register the specific technology they plan to use with the Secretary of State before performing any electronic notarial acts, and the technology vendor must submit the platform for state approval. If you later switch platforms or add another, you register again each time.2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 5 ILCS 312 – Illinois Notary Public Act
You also need an electronic seal and at least one digital certificate that includes your electronic signature. If either expires, is revoked, or becomes incapable of authentication for any reason, you must replace it before performing any further notarial acts.3Legal Information Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 14, Section 176.820 – Changes to Digital Certificate
How the Session Must Run
Every remote notarization has to happen over a live, two-way audio-video connection where you and the signer can see and hear each other at the same time. The platform must provide enough video resolution and audio clarity for you to observe both the signer and the document throughout the session.4Legal Information Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 14, Section 176.700 – Standards for Remote Notarial Acts Using Audio-Video Communication
The whole session gets recorded with clear audio and video. The recording must capture the signer’s face and the signing of the document, and it becomes part of your official records.
Location matters. You must be physically located in Illinois when you perform the act. The signer can be anywhere in the United States. For a signer outside the United States, you may only notarize when the document relates to a matter before a U.S. court or government entity, involves property in the United States, or involves a transaction substantially connected with the United States.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 5 ILCS 312 – Illinois Notary Public Act, Section 3-105
How to Verify the Signer’s Identity
Illinois gives you two paths. If you personally know the individual, that satisfies the requirement. Otherwise, and this covers most remote sessions, you complete a three-part verification process.6Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 5 ILCS 312/6A-103 – Electronic Notarial Acts
Credential Analysis
The signer presents a government-issued ID containing both a photograph and a signature, such as a passport or driver’s license. Your platform’s credential analysis scans the front and back and checks it against trusted third-party data sources to confirm it is genuine. You then visually compare the photo on the ID to the person on screen. The credential analysis has to be performed by a reputable third-party provider that has demonstrated its ability to comply with Illinois standards.7Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code 14 – Section 176.835 Standards for Identity Verification
Knowledge-Based Authentication
After credential analysis passes, the signer completes a dynamic knowledge-based authentication quiz drawn from public and private data about their personal and financial history. Illinois requires at least five questions, and the signer must answer at least 80 percent correctly to pass.7Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code 14 – Section 176.835 Standards for Identity Verification
Fail the KBA and the notarization cannot proceed. The Administrative Code does not set an exact waiting period before a signer may retry, but many approved platforms enforce their own cooldowns.
Journal and Recording Retention
You have to maintain an electronic journal for every remote notarization. Each entry must include the name of the principal, the names of any credible witnesses relied on to verify identity, a description of the document, the date, the type of notarization (in person, remote, or electronic), the fee charged, and the physical locations of both you and the principal during the session.8Legal Information Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 14, Section 176.910 – Journal Entries and Prohibited Information
The journal must be tamper-evident. Once you enter a record, neither you nor anyone else can delete or alter it, except to redact personally identifiable information as required by state rules. Both you and your electronic notarization system provider must securely back it up.9Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code 14 – Section 176.900 Journal Requirements
Retention for both the journal and the audio-video recordings is at least seven years. The journal clock runs from the last notarial act recorded in it; the recording clock runs from the date the recording was made.10Legal Information Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 14, Section 176.960 – Electronic Journal Record Retention
One point worth knowing if you notarize as part of a job: the journal and seal belong to you, not your employer, even if the employer paid for your commission, bond, or platform subscription. When you leave, they go with you. If you die or are adjudicated incompetent, whoever has your journal and recordings must transmit them to the Illinois Secretary of State.10Legal Information Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 14, Section 176.960 – Electronic Journal Record Retention
What You Can Charge
Illinois caps the fee for any electronic notarial act at $25. You may also charge a reasonable fee to recover the cost of providing copies of journal entries or audio-video recordings when someone requests them. The statute provides no mechanism to add technology surcharges or platform fees on top.11Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 5 ILCS 312/3-104
When the Receiving Jurisdiction Still Matters
Following Illinois law does not guarantee acceptance elsewhere. Some countries require an apostille certificate under the Hague Convention before they will recognize a foreign notarized document.12U.S. Department of State. Preparing a Document for an Apostille Certificate Counties in other states can have their own recording requirements for real estate documents. If a document will be used outside Illinois, confirm the receiving jurisdiction accepts remote notarizations before the session.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
The Secretary of State can revoke your commission if you submitted a materially false application or are convicted of a felony or of official misconduct under the Act.13Justia. Illinois 5 ILCS 312 – Illinois Notary Public Act, Article VII – Liability and Revocation
Official misconduct, defined broadly as the wrongful exercise of a power or wrongful performance of a duty, carries criminal penalties that depend on your mental state. Knowing and willful misconduct is a Class A misdemeanor, with a fine up to $2,500 and up to 364 days in jail.14Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-55 – Class A Misdemeanor Reckless or negligent misconduct is a Class B misdemeanor, with a fine up to $1,500 and up to six months in jail.15Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-60 – Class B Misdemeanor
Improperly notarized documents can be challenged and invalidated, which creates serious problems for the signers who relied on them. A notary who facilitates fraud through falsified notarizations may face additional criminal charges beyond the Notary Public Act’s misconduct provisions, depending on the nature of the fraud.