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Applicable Law
Electronic Records and Signatures Act: In 1999, Arkansas enacted the Arkansas Electronic Records and Signatures Act (Act No. 718), with the following provision pertinent to electronic notarization:
“(a) Any person may, but shall not be required to, accept or agree to be bound by an electronic record which is:
“(1) Executed or adopted with an electronic signature; and
“(2) Witnessed or notarized using an electronic signature, when that acceptance or agreement is otherwise required to be witnessed or notarized.
“(b) When a person or other entity accepts or agrees to be bound by an electronic record as provided in this section, then any rule of law which requires:
“(1) A record of that type to be in writing shall be deemed satisfied;
“(2) A signature shall be deemed satisfied; and
“(3) A witness or notary shall be deemed satisfied by the electronic signature of the witness or notary” (ACA 25-31-104).Uniform Electronic Transactions Act: In 2001, Arkansas enacted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Act No. 905) and its provision on notarization, thereby recognizing the legal validity of electronic signatures used by Notaries: “If a law requires a signature or record to be notarized, acknowledged, verified, or made under oath, the requirement is satisfied if the electronic signature of the person authorized to perform those acts, together with all other information required to be included by other applicable law, is attached to or logically associated with the signature or record” (ACA 25-32-111).
Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act: In 2007, Arkansas enacted the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act (Act No. 734), including the following provision regarding the image of a seal on electronically notarized documents: “A requirement that a document or a signature associated with a document be notarized, acknowledged, verified, witnessed, or made under oath is satisfied if the electronic signature of the person authorized to perform that act, and all other information required to be included, is attached to or logically associated with the document or signature. A physical or electronic image of a stamp, impression, or seal need not accompany an electronic signature” (ACA 14-2-303[c]).
Electronic Notary Public Act: In 2017, Arkansas enacted the Arkansas Electronic Notary Public Act (Act No. 306 — House Bill 1479). The provisions of the Act are summarized below.
Electronic Notary Commission: For the requirements to obtain an Electronic Notary Public Commission, see “Electronic Notary Pubic Public Commission” under “Commission and Appointment,” above.
Approved Solution Providers
Definition: “‘Solution provider’ means a business entity that has submitted an application, meets standards, and has been approved by the Secretary of State to offer electronic notarial acts or online notarial acts or solutions to duly commissioned electronic notaries public” (ACA 21-14-302[12]).
Approval of System Providers: “An electronic notarial act shall be executed through an approved solution provider” (ACA 21-14-306[a]). The standards and an application for providers may be found on the Secretary of State’s website.
“Only companies who have registered to become Approved Solution Providers are eligible to provide eNotary services to Arkansas eNotaries” (website, “eNotary Public FAQs”). A list of all currently-approved solution providers may be found on the Secretary of State’s website.
“Electronic notarizations will take place through a web portal that has been setup (sic) by your approved solution provider. Any document to be electronically notarized will need to be in a digital format such as a PDF, Word Document, etc. If a hard copy is presented to the eNotary, the eNotary may scan in the document to create the digital document. The signatures applied to the digital document will be done through some electronic means such as a keyboard, touchscreen, touchpad, or other similar object. The solution provider you use will depend upon the signature capture method” (website, “eNotary Public FAQs”).List of Approved Providers: Provided.
The Secretary of State maintains a list of current remote notarization system providers whose technologies have been approved for use by Arkansas Notaries at the Secretary’s website at https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/business-commercial-services-bcs/enotary.
Fees: For the fees that an Electronic Notary may charge, see “Fees for Notarial Acts,” below.
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