Remote Online Notarization, also referred to as RON, is all the rage. If you are currently working in the Notary field you hear mention of it every day. More and more businesses are incorporating it into their workflows and it is shaping the way we are currently doing business in manners we never thought possible. But where did it all begin?
While Online Notary may seem like a new idea born of the COVID-19 pandemic, nothing could be further from the truth. Remote Online Notary has been around for 11 years!! To most of us, that doesn’t seem possible, but it is true. The state of Virginia was the first state to adopt laws for RON signings all the way back in 2011. That’s right, Remote Online Notarization premiered in the same year as The Game of Thrones. That’s the same year Adele was “Rolling in the Deep” and Katy Perry was a “Firework.” The average cost of gas was $3.52 a gallon and we thought we had it bad then!
It took another four years for the next state to come “online,” and that state was Montana. Nevada and Texas followed suit in 2017 and from there the ball started rolling. At the time of writing this blog, 40 states have RON capability of some sort and it will likely soon sweep the entire nation.
The first Mortgage closing was performed by a little company called Notarize in July 2017 with United Wholesale Mortgage, Stewart Title, and Freddie Mac. RON was on the move, slowly but surely, plodding along at a snail’s pace while it tried to gain traction. Some were quick adopters of the technology, but most were playing the “waiting game.” Then 2020 happened and the world came to a screeching halt.
In March of 2020 as the nation entered lockdowns and “business as usual” could no longer take place in a conventional manner, huge changes took place. A star was born! Finally, people began to realize that this new-fangled technology was actually the best way to get business done. With Remote Online Notarization, social distancing was able to be preserved and while people were locked up tight in their homes, “normal” activities could still be performed via the computer. Emergency and provisional use were approved in almost all 50 states, excluding California and South Carolina and according to American Land Title Association (ALTA), usage of Online Notarization grew by a whopping 547% in 2020.
From there onward, there was no turning back. Businesses learned how to incorporate RON into their day-to-day operations, the Public learned that nearly everything their hearts desired was at their fingertips, including getting their documents notarized, and Notaries learned that in order to succeed in this new world they needed to adopt technology in a brand new way.
From 2011 to 2022, a lot has changed in those 11 years. Remote Online Notarization was pushed quickly to the forefront and, like it or not, it’s not going away. In order to be successful in the future, Notaries need to learn this new technology, challenges and all, or they will run the risk of going the way of the dinosaur. Don’t let the business that you have worked so hard for go extinct. The information is out there to help you face the changes. Become a member of www.notarystars.com and learn how to embrace this new world and craft it to fit your business.
We are still at the precipice of RON. Will you take the leap of faith and reap the rewards, or will you shrink back from the edge and watch as everyone passes you by and becomes leaders in their field? Come in, the water’s fine! Take action now!
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