House Passes Remote Online Notary Bill

The House passed the CU-supported Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic (SECURE) Notarization Act by voice vote Monday. The bill -- H.R. 1059 -- would authorize the use of remote online notarization and create national standards and protections for its use.

This legislation also passed the House last session, but was never taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Last session's Senate version of the bill suffered the same fate.

In Virginia, notarizing a document “remotely” is already permissible. In fact, Virginia became the first state in 2012 to formally authorize and provide a legal framework for such notarizations. A national standard and broader acceptance of such services will make it easier for Virginia-based credit unions to utilize this option.

"We continue to fight for commonsense legislation, like the SECURE Act, to enable credit unions to more easily serve their members, while lessening regulatory and operational burdens," noted League Director of Grassroots Programs and Political Fundraising CeJae Vtipilson.