HB 289: Courts; remote online notaries public and remote online notarizations; provide

Right now Georgia notaries generally must be in the same room as the person whose signature they are notarizing. This bill would let notaries who complete a special course and get a separate appointment become 'remote online notaries public,' able to notarize documents by video call using approved communication technology, subject to identity verification steps like ID scanning and credential checks. The bill directs the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority to write technical standards for this process by January 1, 2027, and sets requirements for electronic journals, audiovisual recordings, digital signatures, and a $2,000 surety bond. It caps the fee a remote notary can charge at $25 per notarization. It also updates real estate recording law to allow electronic witnessing of deeds, makes certain unauthorized-practice-of-law-related recordings an unfair business practice, and exempts audiovisual recordings of remote notarizations from Georgia's open records law. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Creates a new category of notary, the 'remote online notary public,' who can notarize documents over video instead of in person, after completing a required course and separate appointment.
• Requires the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority to adopt technical standards for remote online notarization by January 1, 2027.
• Sets identity verification rules for remote notarizations, including ID scans, credential analysis, and identity proofing software.
• Requires remote notaries to keep a ten-year electronic journal and audiovisual recording of each notarization, stored with a third-party repository.
• Caps the fee a remote online notary or their employer can charge at $25 per notarization and makes tampering with a notary's digital signature tools a misdemeanor.
• Allows electronic witnessing of real estate deeds and exempts audiovisual recordings of remote notarizations from Georgia's open records law (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72).

Notaries public and clerks of superior court, who would administer the new appointment and standards; people signing real estate or other legal documents who could use video notarization; title companies, mortgage lenders, and technology and repository vendors that support remote notarization; and members of the public seeking records, since some recordings would be shielded from disclosure.

Georgians who need documents notarized, especially for real estate closings, could complete the process remotely by video instead of meeting a notary in person, potentially speeding up transactions. It also creates new recordkeeping, bonding, and licensing steps for notaries and adds a category of records the public cannot access.

• Section 1-2 rewrites definitions in O.C.G.A. § 45-17-1 to define terms like 'remote online notary public,' 'communication technology,' 'digital signature,' and 'electronic journal.'
• Section 1-5 adds Code Section 45-17-8.3 requiring the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority to adopt remote notarization standards by January 1, 2027.
• Section 1-5 adds Code Section 45-17-8.4 setting the application process, a $2,000 surety bond requirement, and residency rules for remote online notaries, effective January 1, 2027.
• Section 1-5 adds Code Section 45-17-8.5 requiring a ten-year electronic journal and audiovisual recording of each remote notarization, kept by a third-party repository.
• Section 1-5 adds Code Section 45-17-8.9 capping remote notarization fees at $25 and making theft of a notary's digital signature tools a misdemeanor under O.C.G.A. § 45-17-20.
• Section 2-1 amends the Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393) to make knowingly recording certain residential real estate documents tied to unauthorized legal practice an unfair business practice.
• Section 2-3 adds Code Section 44-2-31 allowing an unofficial witness to a real estate document to sign electronically via approved communication technology.
• Section 2-4 amends the open records law (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72) to exclude audiovisual recordings of remote notarizations from public disclosure.

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)

• notary public
• remote online notarization
• real estate documents
• open records law
• Georgia courts