How to Register as an Electronic Notary in New York: The $60 Registration and What Changes

The short version of becoming an electronic notary in New York:

• Register before your first electronic act. Your regular commission does not authorize electronic notarization. The registration goes to the Secretary of State and costs a separate, non-refundable $60 (19 NYCRR §182.11(b)).
• Electronic notarization has been fully operational since January 31, 2023, when the Department of State’s Part 182 regulations took effect under Executive Law §135-c.
• The fee you may charge changes: $25 per electronic notarial act, set by regulation (§182.11(g)), against the $2 maximum for traditional acts.
• Two recordkeeping duties attach: the audio-video recording of each session kept at least 10 years, and the notarial journal under §182.9, a duty of every notary since the rules took effect in January 2023.
• You must be physically in New York when you act. The signer may be anywhere in the United States, or abroad, if the record is connected to a U.S. matter.

New York is one of the states “RON class” sellers quietly avoid publishing free instructions for, so this is the whole registration path, from the statute and the current regulations: no vendor endorsements, the rules rather than the brands.

e-notarization vs. RON: what New York actually regulates

Two terms get used loosely. In industry speech, remote online notarization (RON) means notarizing for a signer who appears by live audio-video, and e-notarization sometimes means signing electronic documents with everyone in the room. New York’s law does not create two lanes. Executive Law §135-c defines an electronic notarial act as an official act by a notary “physically present in the state of New York, on or involving an electronic record and using means authorized by the secretary of state,” authorized through audio-video communication technology, with the detailed standards in 19 NYCRR Part 182. When the regulations talk about a signer appearing “through use of communication technology,” that is the remote appearance the market calls RON.

The practical translation: New York has one registration (the capability to perform electronic notarial acts) and one rulebook for it. Register it, follow Part 182, and the format is a matter of the technology you use, not a second license. The certificate on every electronic act must state that the person “appeared through use of communication technology,” so the document itself discloses how it was done.

The registration, step by step

What §182.10(b) requires you to submit, on the Secretary of State’s form:

1. Your name as currently commissioned, and your complete mailing address.

2. The expiration date of your commission, and your signature. Your electronic authority lasts only as long as the commission. At each reappointment an electronic notary must verify that everything on file is still accurate (§182.10(d)).

3. Your email address. The Department of State uses it for electronic-notarization communications, which is why any change to it, like any name or address change, must be reported within five days (§182.3(a)(8)).

4. A description of the electronic technology or technologies you will use, which may be effectuated by registering vendor account information from a provider that meets Part 182’s requirements.

5. An exemplar of your electronic signature, provided through the Department of State’s registration system using your selected signature technology.

With the application, submit the $60 registration fee (§182.11(b)). Then wait for confirmation. Performing an electronic notarization before the registration is confirmed means acting without authorization. One more eligibility rule deserves a second read: §182.10(e) provides that a notary who has failed to comply with any Part 182 requirement is not eligible for reappointment. The electronic rules are not paperwork; compliance failures compound into renewal problems.

What changes once you are registered

The fee: $25 per electronic act. Executive Law §136(3) delegates the electronic fee to regulation, and §182.11(g) sets it at $25 per electronic notarial act, inclusive of all costs incurred by the notary. The contrast with the $2 traditional maximum is one of the exam’s favorite pairs, along with *who* sets the electronic fee (the Secretary of State, by regulation, not the Legislature by statute).

The records: two retention duties, both 10 years. First, you must keep the audio-video recording of every electronic session for at least 10 years from the transaction date (§135-c(2)(b)). Second, the journal: since the Part 182 rules took effect in January 2023, §182.9 requires contemporaneous records of each notarial act (date and approximate time, type of act, name and address, services provided, credential used) retained at least 10 years. That journal duty reaches traditional acts too; 2023 is when it became the statewide standard.

The certificate language. Every electronic notarial certificate must state that the person “appeared through use of communication technology.” Leave it off and the certificate is defective and challengeable.

The location rule. The notary must be physically in New York at the moment of the act. The principal may be elsewhere in the United States, or outside it, if the record relates to a U.S. public official or court, U.S. property, or a transaction substantially connected with the United States.

Two edge rules. You may certify paper copies of electronic records you personally verified, a narrow exception to the general no-certified-copies rule. And you may not require electronic-only service: a signer who wants paper gets paper.

Identity: what §182.5 really requires

Outdated summaries mislead here, so this is the current doctrine, stated precisely.

For a signer physically before you, satisfactory evidence means one of: a valid government-issued photo ID; at least two current signature-bearing documents from institutions or government; your attestation that the person is personally known to you; the oath of a credible witness personally known to both of you; or the oaths of two identifying witnesses.

For a signer appearing by communication technology whom you do *not* personally know, the standard escalates: two or more different identity-verification processes, meaning credential analysis (a third party validating the ID document), knowledge-based authentication (questions only the real person answers), or biometric verification. The statute itself (§135-c(2)(a)(iv)) says the two-or-more standard “may allow a notary public’s personal knowledge of a document signer to satisfy such requirement.”

And the point most guides get wrong: §182.5(d) says it outright: provided the Part’s other requirements are met, an electronic notary’s attestation that an individual appearing through communication technology is personally known to them is satisfactory evidence of identity for electronic notarial acts. Personal knowledge can stand alone for an electronic act. Layering methods remains the recommended practice for signers you do not know, but “two processes, no exceptions” is not the New York rule for a signer you do.

The technology layer, without endorsements

Part 182 does not certify vendors by brand; it sets standards: secure, live, real-time audio-video (never a recording, never a phone call), third-party credential analysis meeting §182.6, identity proofing meeting §182.7, and electronic signatures meeting §135-c’s five criteria (unique to you, independently verifiable, under your sole control, attached to or logically associated with the record, and tamper-evident). The registration asks for your technology description or vendor account registration, not a loyalty oath.

Choose a platform the way you would choose any compliance tool: ask the vendor to show you where their workflow satisfies each Part 182 section (recording retention, credential analysis, journal export) and get it in writing. The notary, not the platform, holds the legal duty.

Where this sits in your notary career

Electronic registration is optional, and it stacks on top of the traditional pipeline: commission first, county record, then the $60 electronic registration whenever you are ready. The full path from exam to practice is in how to become a New York notary; the four-year reappointment cycle (including the verification electronic notaries owe at renewal) is in the renewal guide.

It is also heavily tested material. The exam draws these rules straight from the booklet’s §135-c pages and Part 182 summary: the $60/$25 fee pair, the 10-year retention, the “appeared through use of communication technology” phrasing, the §182.5 identity ladder. Our course covers it in two dedicated lessons inside the 28-lesson walk of the booklet. See where you stand first: the free NY notary practice test breaks down your score by topic, booklet page cited for every answer.

Electronic notary registration FAQ

How much does it cost to register as an electronic notary in New York?

$60, non-refundable, paid to the Secretary of State with the registration (§182.11(b)). It is separate from your $60 commission application and from the $60 reappointment at each renewal.

Can I do remote online notarization in New York with just my regular commission?

No. The regular commission covers traditional acts only. You must register the electronic capability and confirm the registration before your first electronic act.

Do I have to buy software from a specific vendor?

No. Part 182 sets standards, not brands. Your registration includes a description of your technology or your registered vendor account; pick any platform that demonstrably meets the credential-analysis, identity-proofing, and recording requirements.

Can personal knowledge alone satisfy identity for a remote signer?

Yes, for electronic notarial acts. §182.5(d) makes your attestation that a person appearing through communication technology is personally known to you satisfactory evidence. Layered verification remains the recommended practice for signers you do not know.

How long do I keep recordings and journal entries?

At least 10 years for both: the audio-video recording from the transaction date, and the notarial journal under §182.9, a duty every New York notary has had since January 2023.

Does my electronic registration renew itself?

No. It depends on your commission. At reappointment you verify the registration information (§182.10(d)); if the commission lapses, the electronic authority lapses with it.

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*NyNotaryExamPrep.com is an independent exam-prep publisher and does not endorse any electronic-notarization vendor. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the New York State Department of State. The governing rules are Executive Law §135-c and 19 NYCRR Part 182, reprinted in the current Notary Public License Law booklet; the booklet and the Department’s notary pages control. To see how you’d score on the exam today, try the free practice test.*