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Electronic notary acts are being temporarily allowed in Missouri in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Secretary of State's Office announced the first vendors for the service have been approved.
Gov. Mike Parson issued an executive order April 6 suspending the legal requirement that notaries public be physically present to notarize official documents.
Until May 15 - unless the order is otherwise extended - notaries public can use audio-visual technology to do the work remotely.
The Secretary of State's Office announced Friday that Pavaso, NEXSYS and NotaryCAM had been approved as software providers for electronic notary acts, and additional approvals were expected in the coming days.
The list, as well as more specifics on how electronic notarization is to work under the executive order, are available at sos.mo.gov/ElectronicNotary.
"I am pleased to make this temporary electronic notary service available to Missouri's nearly 70,000 notaries," Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said in a news release.
This year was another year Ashcroft had been trying to get the state Legislature to reform the Missouri's notary public laws to allow for remote notary services.
With the Missouri House and Senate's members avoiding the Capitol if at all possible because of the pandemic, it's not clear what legislation beyond a state budget might get passed this year.
Ashcroft told the News Tribune on Friday his proposed legislation would be more comprehensive than the governor's executive order and said it would be better if the legislation could at some point be passed.
In the meantime, the application to become an electronic notary is available at sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/Business/Notary/SOS_Application_ElectronicNotaryPublic_REV.pdf. Completed applications can be emailed to [email protected]. Once their form is processed and approved, applicants will receive a confirmation email.
Questions about the suspension of the personal appearance requirement may be directed to the commissions unit within the Business Services Division by emailing [email protected] or calling 573-751-2783.
Those who wish to become a notary in Missouri may visit s1.sos.mo.gov/business/Notary/ and click "Become a Notary Public" on the left side of the page.