Kentucky Adopts New Electronic Notarization Provisions

On March 25, 2019, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin signed into law a bill, Senate Bill 114 (SB 114), which establishes the requirements for conducting electronic notarizations in Kentucky. 

Some of the key provisions of SB 114 include the following:

• Specifies how notarial officers can confirm an individual’s identity when conducting notarial acts, including electronic notarizations;
• Provides that the Secretary of State (SOS) must create an electronic database of notaries public;
• Requires an online notary public to maintain a journal in which the online notary public chronicles all electronic notarizations that the online notary public  performs (note that the journal must be retained for 10 years after the performance of the last electronic notarization chronicled in the journal);
• Clarifies that a notary public may select one or more tamper-evident technologies to perform notarial acts in the physical presence of the individual signer with respect to electronic records, or to perform electronic notarizations;
• Allows a notarial officer to certify a tangible copy of an electronic record as an accurate copy of an electronic record; and
• Requires a notary public to register with the SOS if the notary public intends to perform notarial acts: (1) with respect to electronic records where an individual will appear before the notary in the notary’s physical presence, or (2) as an online notary public to perform electronic notarizations by means of communication technology.

The changes made by SB 114 will go into effect on January 1, 2020.