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70 verification utilizing forensic technology that exceeds the capabilities of the human eye; » life-of-loan recordings of the notarial ceremony with cutting-edge information security preservation requirements; » tamper-sealed electronic documents that cannot be altered by a third party without the documents yielding the interference; and » mechanisms under each relevant state or government standard that permits the "papering-out" of the documents for ease of Recorder's Office use, and Document Custodian management. . THE SECURE ACT OF 2021 & OTHER AUTHORIZED ACCEPTANCE OF RON WITH STATES AND INVESTOR/ INSURER PARADIGMS Like a lot of technology that eventually trickles to the mortgage space, effective and secure methods for document transfer, authentication, and digital signatures are not new, just not widely leveraged. With the combo-platter of (a) the growing acceptance of these technological enhancements and (b) the wide-scale lockdown of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic came expanded state support for RON. As of May 2021, 32 states have endorsed RON as acceptable vs. traditional notarization—including states with critical mortgage servicing volume around the country including Florida, Texas, Michigan, and Washington. Further, key industry advocacy groups such as the American Land Title Association and the Mortgage Bankers Association have supported and lobbied for a national standard. 5 THE SECURE ACT OF 2021 Notably, on May 13, 2021, the Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization of 2021 (the SECURE Act) introduced with bipartisan support to: "authorize notaries public to perform, and to establish a minimum standard for, electronic notarizations and remote notarizations that occur in or affect interstate commerce, to require a Federal court to recognize notarizations performed by a notarial officer of any State, to require any State to recognize notarization performed by a notarial officer of any other State when the notarization was performed under or relates to a public Act, record, or judicial proceeding of the notarial officer's State or when the notarization occurs in or affects interstate commerce …" 6 Perhaps said best in an op-ed by Senator Kevin Cramer, one of the SECURE Act sponsors: "(t)he past several months can be called a Black Swan Event, something unpredictable that results in great change and innovation." 7 e SECURE Act honors the individual states' standard for implementing RON guidelines but streamlines some of the variable components to ensure consistency within, as well as ensuring that properly authorized RON is widely recognized. Further, it provides universal support for a minimum technological standard already employed by states and the MBA's Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) whose name is apropos to its mission—to develop standards for the mortgage industry. STATE SUPPORT OF RON While the States have largely adopted some form of the Model Law and supporting materials put together by the good work of ALTA, MISMO, and the MBA, 8 if SECURE Act of 2021 became law, it would reduce the hesitancy of legal and compliance professionals in endorsing a full-scale push to digital. Moreover, it may encourage state holdouts (largely in the Northeast and South) to adopt a digital notarization standard. While the specific legislation language varies by state, the basic components of the RON laws include: » State-approved vendors who are subject to review and certification with individual state offices to ensure that the relevant Feature By: Courtney Thompson With the growing solutions, including Remote Online Notarization, there are solutions for those that choose to remember the mistakes of the past, in lieu of the doom of repeating them. 5 ALTA has an easy to use resource with all state-level RON standards and an easy-to-view national map of state level RON acceptability which can be found at: https://www.alta.org/advocacy/online-notarization.cfm 6 See Bill S1625. A 2020 version of this same legislation was introduced amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. 7 https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2020/12/15/remote_online_notarization_is_needed_nationwide_653262.html 8 ALTA has an easy to use resource with all state-level RON standards and an easy-to-view national map of state level RON acceptability which can be found at: https://www.alta.org/advocacy/online-notarization.cfm