HB289: HB289 Courts; remote online notaries public and remote online notarizations; provide

Georgia law currently requires notaries to be in the same physical location as the person signing a document. This bill creates a new category, the remote online notary public, who can notarize documents for someone appearing by live video instead of in person. It sets out detailed requirements: applicants must first hold a regular notary commission, complete special training, get a $2,000 surety bond, and use approved technology providers and repositories that keep electronic journals and audiovisual recordings of each notarization for at least ten years. The Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority is directed to adopt technical standards for this process by January 1, 2027, drawing on national model standards. The bill also changes real estate recording rules, letting clerks accept documents with witness signatures without investigating how the witnessing happened, and adds a new unfair business practice for knowingly submitting real estate documents tied to unauthorized legal practice. Audiovisual recordings of remote notarizations are exempted from Georgia's open records law. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Creates a new type of notary, the remote online notary public, who can notarize documents for people appearing by live video rather than in person.
• Requires remote online notaries to complete training, pass an exam, hold a $2,000 surety bond, and use state-approved technology and record-keeping providers.
• Directs the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority to write technical standards for remote online notarization by January 1, 2027.
• Requires electronic journals and audiovisual recordings of each remote notarization to be kept for at least ten years by a third-party repository.
• Adds a new unfair business practice for knowingly submitting residential real estate documents connected to unauthorized practice of law under the Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393).
• Exempts audiovisual recordings of remote online notarizations from disclosure under Georgia's open records law (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72).

Notaries public and clerks of superior court, who would gain new duties and options; consumers and homebuyers who sign real estate documents remotely; technology and repository companies that provide notarization software and record storage; and the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, which must write and enforce new standards.

Georgians could get documents like deeds notarized entirely online without traveling to meet a notary, which could speed up real estate closings and other transactions. It also creates new bonding, training, and record-keeping requirements for notaries, and shields video recordings of these notarizations from public records requests.

• Section 1-1 adds authority for the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority to issue technical standards for remote online notarization.
• Section 1-2 rewrites the definitions section of Georgia's notary law (O.C.G.A. § 45-17-1) to add terms like 'remote online notary public,' 'communication technology,' and 'digital signature.'
• Section 1-5 adds new Code sections requiring remote online notaries to hold an original notary commission first, complete training, pass an exam, and pay a $2,000 bond, with applications submitted through January 1, 2027 effective date.
• Section 1-5 (Code Section 45-17-8.5) requires remote online notaries to keep secure electronic journals and audiovisual recordings of each notarization for at least ten years, transmitted to a third-party repository.
• Section 1-5 (Code Section 45-17-8.9) caps the fee a remote online notary can charge at $25.00 per notarization and makes tampering with a notary's digital signature tools a misdemeanor.
• Section 2-2 lets clerks of superior court record documents with witness signatures without investigating the circumstances of the witnessing.
• Section 2-3 sets rules for when an unofficial witness requirement for real estate documents is satisfied through in-person or remote electronic witnessing.
• Section 2-4 exempts audiovisual recordings of remote online notarization processes from Georgia's open records law.

1. 2026-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2025-02-10House Second Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-06House First Readers (House)
4. 2025-02-05House Hopper (House)

• Joseph Gullett (R, HD-019)Primary sponsor
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• Bruce Williamson (R, HD-112)
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)
• Scott Holcomb (D, HD-101)
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)

• notaries public
• remote online notarization
• real estate documents
• open records law
• consumer protection