2030, unless the Secretary of State informs the Legislature and the Governor in writing on or before January 1, 2029, that the technology project necessary to implement statutes related to online notarization is incomplete.

As used in this article, the following terms have the following meanings:

8231.6.

8231.14 and is capable of storing a journal entry or audio-video recording on behalf of a notary public.

certificate” means the part of, or attachment to, an electronic record that is completed by the notary public authorized to perform online notarization and contains both of the following:

that corresponds to information in notary seals used on paper records and that, where applicable, conforms to the requirement of this article, including, but not limited to, subdivision (b) of Section 8231.7 and any rules or regulations adopted by the

Secretary of State pursuant to this article.

information for a specific purpose. The nature of the access, use, sharing, sale, disclosure, production, provision, release, transfer, dissemination, or other communication shall be conveyed to the principal in clear and prominent terms in such a manner that an ordinary principal would notice and understand it. Express consent cannot be inferred.

identity of an individual through review of personal information from public or proprietary data sources.

signature, as required to be provided to the Secretary of State under subdivision (d) of Section 8231.7.

any rules or regulations adopted by the Secretary of State pursuant to this article, if the record that is the subject of the notarial act is an electronic record.

online notarization.

performed as described in paragraph (1).

8231.6.

communication, including ensuring that principals with disabilities are accommodated by online notarization systems of online notarization platforms and notaries public in a manner consistent with applicable laws.

publication. If this standard cannot be met due to applicable state or federal laws, such as California law governing the disclosure of information regarding driver’s licenses or other identification cards, then the Secretary of State shall adopt the most rigorous standard for identity proofing that also conforms to those laws.

depository or an online notarization platform.

may confer with other state entities, departments, or agencies on matters relating to equipment, security, and technological aspects of online notarization standards.

Every person appointed as a notary public authorized to perform online notarizations shall execute an official bond in the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in lieu of the bond required by Section 8212. The bond shall be in the form of a bond executed by an admitted surety insurer and not a deposit in lieu of bond. For the official misconduct or neglect of a notary public related to this article, the notary public and the sureties on the notary public’s official bond required by

this section are liable in a civil action to a person injured thereby provided, however, that the amount of the surety’s liability shall be limited to fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) for notarial acts arising under Article 1 (commencing with Section 8200), and twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for online notarial acts arising under this article. Under no circumstances shall the surety’s liability exceed the aggregate amount of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000). The bond shall be filed with the county clerk within which the notary public maintains a principal place of business pursuant to Section 8213.

take all necessary measures to disable the electronic affixation of the notary public’s electronic signature or seal by the notary public or another person including, but not limited to, notifying the online notarization platform providing the online notarization system utilized by the notary public that their electronic signature and seal should be disabled, as well as adhering to any other requirements set forth in regulations adopted by the Secretary of State.

perform online notarizations approved for registration under subdivision (a) may perform notarial acts for principals who are stationed at the reservation for which that notary public was approved, regardless of whether the principal was physically located on the reservation at the time of the notarial act.

State of California Online Notarial

Act

Military Reservation of ________

A person who, without authorization, knowingly obtains, conceals, damages, or destroys the certificate, disk, coding, card, program, software, or hardware enabling a notary public to affix the notary public’s electronic signature or electronic seal is guilty of a misdemeanor.

online notarization platform or depository shall provide security for claims against the online notarization platform or depository or the online notarization platform’s or depository’s representatives, or employees based upon acts, errors, or omissions arising out of the business of the online notarization platform or depository through either one or an aggregate of both of the following:

insurance companies as security for payment of liabilities imposed by law for damages arising out of all claims in an amount of at least two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000).

served within this state if this information is not already on file with the Secretary of State.

public.

(d).

to perform online notarial acts in compliance with this article and any rules or regulations adopted by the Secretary of State pursuant to this article.

State shall establish by rule or regulation the time period that constitutes a “reasonable opportunity” for downloading the audio-video

recording.

(A) At least 30 calendar days before this event, notify each notary public that has utilized the online notarization platform or depository of the event

and enable the notary public to transfer all records of online notarial acts performed by the notary public, or all records stored by the depository, including, but not limited to, any electronic journals or audio-video recordings, to another online notarization platform, to the notary public, to a certified depository, at no cost to the notary public. The online notarization platform or depository shall not delete any records of online notarial acts performed by the notary public until the notary public has been provided a reasonable opportunity to download the entry or record. The Secretary of State shall establish by rule or regulation the time period that constitutes a “reasonable opportunity” for downloading records of online notarial acts.

(B) Upon full compliance with subparagraph (A), thereafter promptly delete all audio-video recordings of online notarizations and electronic journals.

application for registration is submitted to the Secretary of State at least 90 days prior to the acquisition or merger being completed, or as soon as permitted by applicable law, and the Secretary of State approves the updated application.

using an online notarization platform or depository shall not be vicariously liable for any damages resulting from the online notarization platform’s or depository’s failure to comply with the requirements of this article or any rules or regulations adopted by the Secretary of State pursuant to this article. Any provision in a contract or agreement between a notary public and an online notarization platform or depository that attempts to waive this immunity shall be null and void.

journal, except to comply with any other applicable federal, state, or local law, a lawful subpoena or court order, or a lawful request from a law enforcement or regulatory agency.

use, share, sell, disclose, produce, provide, release, transfer, disseminate, or otherwise communicate the personal information of a principal absent express written request from the principal or to comply with any other applicable federal, state, or local law, a lawful subpoena or court order, or a lawful request from a law enforcement or regulatory agency.

electronic journal, the contents of a notarized document or audio-video recording, or the personal information of a principal, to the extent necessary to do any of the following:

National Institutes of Standards and Technology, or any successor publication.

or disclosure to

another person, loss, compromise, theft, vandalism, corruption, or breach of any of the following:

online notarization platform or depository for a violation of this article.

the date the plaintiff had actual knowledge of the violation.

the online notarization platform or depository notifies the Secretary of State and the Attorney General of the violation that is the basis of the action.

of State pursuant to this article, or any applicable law, unless the notary public is an employee or agent of the online notarization platform, in which case the online notarization platform is responsible for the conduct of the notary public to the extent provided under other applicable law.

acting in concert that provides a software platform for use by a notarial officer not in the physical presence of the principal to communicate with the principal, enable the performance of a remote online notarial act, and record the performance of the remote online notarial act.

electronic record, that a notarial officer may perform under the laws of a state other than California, a foreign state, or under federal law.

that they are located in California.

notarial act. The time entered shall be in Coordinated Universal Time.

(ii) The physical location of the principal as represented to the business by the principal, and the physical location of the notarial officer at the time of the remote online notarial act.

(iii) The title, or a short description if no title exists, of each record that was the subject of the remote online notarial act.

(iv) The electronic signature of each principal.

(vi) A statement that an audio-video recording of the remote online

notarial act was made pursuant to subparagraph (B).

(vii) The fee, if any, charged for the remote online notarial act.

(viii) The name of the business that provided the software platform for the performance of the remote online notarial act.

(B) A business shall create an audio-video recording of the audio-video communication of each remote online notarial act facilitated by the business. The business shall enable access to the audio-video recording by the notarial officer through a secure multifactor means of authentication. The audio-video recording shall be created in an open format and shall not include images of any record that was the subject of the remote online notarization.

(C) Each electronic journal entry and audio-video recording shall be retained, in accordance with federal, state, or local law, as applicable.

(D) A business shall provide the principal with a copy of each relevant electronic journal entry and audio-video recording following the completion of a transaction in the most expedient time possible.

(A), the business shall append a document to the record that is subject to the remote online notarial act. The appended document shall indicate the principal’s response to the prompt, as well as the notarial officer’s location at the time of the remote online notarial act. The failure to obtain or append the document indicating the principal’s location does not affect the validity of the record or the remote online notarial act, and nothing in this section shall be construed to require submission of the appended document referenced in this subparagraph as a condition of recording or acceptance under California law.

(ii) The date and time of the action’s performance in Coordinated Universal Time.

(iii) The name of the party performing the action.

(iv) The Internet Protocol address of the party performing the action.

(B) A business shall encrypt all audio-video communication and all records related to a remote online notarization and shall take reasonable steps to ensure that the audio-video communication used in a remote online notarization is secure from unauthorized interception.

notify all appropriate law enforcement agencies and any affected principals of the unauthorized access or use by or disclosure to another person, loss, compromise, theft, vandalism, corruption, or breach of a principal’s personal information or an electronic journal or audio-video recording.

(ii) The contents of a record that is the subject of a remote online notarial act.

(iii) The audio-video recording of

a remote online notarial act.

(iv) Personal information.

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a business may access, use, share, disclose, produce, provide, release, transfer, disseminate, or otherwise communicate the contents of clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv) of subparagraph (A) to the extent necessary to do any of the following:

(ii) To comply with any other applicable federal, state, or local law, a lawful subpoena or court order, or a lawful request from a law enforcement or regulatory agency.

(iii) Administer, affect, enforce,

or process a record provided by or on behalf of a principal or the transaction of which the record is a part.

(iv) As necessary to implement the requirements of this section and to implement the fraud mitigation measures as outlined in NIST Special Publication 800-63A, dated June 2017, promulgated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or any successor publication.

(A) The greater of the following:

violation.

(ii) Statutory damages of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per violation.

(B) Injunctive or declaratory relief. Such relief is presumed to accrue to the benefit of the public.

(C) Any other relief that the court deems proper.

Any waiver of the provisions of this article is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable.

The provisions of this article are severable. If any provision of this article or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.