Washington Amends Electronic Notary Provisions

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee recently signed into law a bill, Senate Bill 5641 (SB 5641), which authorizes Washington electronic records notaries public to perform notarial acts for remotely located individuals.  Among other things, SB 5641: (i) clarifies that a remotely located individual may comply with the requirement to personally appear for a notarial act by using communication technology; (ii) requires a certificate of notarial act using communication technology for a remotely located individual to indicate the act was performed using communication technology; and (iii) provides that unless a different period is required by rule, the recording of a notarial act for a remotely located individual must be retained for a period of at least ten years after the recording is made.  These provisions are effective as of October 1, 2020.