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Laws: Most Notary statutes are in the Connecticut General Statutes (CGS): Title 3, Chapter 33, “Notaries Public”; Title 1, Chapter 6, “Uniform Acknowledgment Act”; Title 1, Chapter 8, “Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgments Act.
Guidelines: Other guidelines for Notaries are in the “Notary Public Manual” (NPM) (Revised February 2023-2) issued by the Secretary of the State and available online.
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Applicable law: Public Act No. 23-28 provides the authorization for Connecticut Notaries Public to perform notarial acts for remotely located individuals. The provisions of this Act are summarized below.
Technology Systems
Approval of System Providers: Not required.
List of System Providers: Not provided.
Authorization: “Except as provided in subsection (i) of this section, a document may be notarized for an individual who is not in the physical presence of the notary public at the time of the notarization if … [t]he individual and the notary can communicate simultaneously, in real time, by sight and sound using communication technology” (CGS 3-95b[b][1]).
“(1) ‘Communication technology’ means an electronic device or process that: (A) Allows a notary public and a remotely located individual to communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound; and (B) When necessary and consistent with other applicable law, facilitates communication with a remotely located individual who has a vision, hearing or speech impairment” (CGS 3-95b[a][1]).Remotely Located Individual Outside the United States: “When an individual who is physically located outside of the state of Connecticut or outside the United States seeks a remote notarization pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the record being notarized shall:
“(1) Be intended for filing or presentation in a matter before a court, governmental entity, public official or other entity subject to the jurisdiction of the state of Connecticut;
“(2) Involve property located in the territorial jurisdiction of the state of Connecticut or a transaction substantially connected to the state of Connecticut; or
“(3) Otherwise not be prohibited by law of the state of Connecticut to be notarized outside the state” (CGS 3-95b[c]).Delivery or Mailing of Record: “Once the record notarized pursuant to subsection (b) of this section is signed by the individual in accordance with the procedures set forth in this section, the individual shall mail or otherwise cause to be delivered the signed original copy of the record to the notary public for certification and execution with the notary's commission signature and official stamp or seal” (CGS 3-95b[d]).
Date and Time of Remote Notarial Act: “The date and time of a notarization conducted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be the date and time when the notary witnessed the signature being performed by means of communication technology” (CGS 3-95b[e]).
Authority to Refuse Remote Notarial Act: “Nothing in this section shall affect the authority of a notary public to refuse to perform a notarial act or require a notary public to perform a notarization remotely:
“(1) With respect to an electronic record;
“(2) For an individual not in the physical presence of the notary; or
“(3) Using a technology that the notary has not selected” (CGS 3-95b[f]).Prohibited Records: The following records are prohibited from being acknowledged remotely (Public Act 23-28, Section 1CGS 3-95b[i]).
A will, codicil, trust or trust instrument
A health care instructions pursuant to CGS 19a-575a,
A designation of a standby guardian pursuant to CGS 45a-624,
A designation of a person for decision-making and certain rights and obligations pursuant to CGS 1-56r,
A living will, as defined in CGS 19a-570,
A power of attorney, as defined in CGS 1-350a,
A self-proving affidavit for an appointment of health care representative or for a living will under CGS 1-56r and 19a-578,
A mutual distribution agreement under CGS 45a-433,
A disclaimer under CGS 45a-479 or 45a-583, and
A real estate closing, as defined in CGS 51-88a.
“The performance of any such acknowledgment in connection with any of the acts described in this subsection shall be ineffective for any purpose and shall constitute a violation of section 51-88 of the general statutes” (CGS 3-95b[i]).
Electronic Records: “Can I notarize the document electronically? – Our office is researching whether the Act can be interpreted as allowing a notary and signer to execute the document electronically. Until this issue is resolved, we strongly recommend that all remote notarizations be done on paper and that the notary sign and certify the document by hand” (NPM).
Rules: “The Secretary of the State may adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes regarding the performance of a notarial act pursuant to this section. Such regulations may:
“(1) Prescribe the means of performing a notarial act involving a remotely located individual using communication technology;
“(2) Establish standards for communication technology and identity proofing; or
“(3) Establish requirements or procedures to approve providers of communication technology and the process of identity proofing” (CGS 3-95b[g]).
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“If there is no such form (on a document), the notary may attach and complete an acknowledgment form on the document. This form may be a preprinted attachment, a rubber stamp, or may be printed or typed on the document” (NPM).
Remote Notarial Certificate
Should I use a different acknowledgement block if I’m conducting a remote notarization? – Yes, the acknowledgement block (aka the notarial certificate) must indicate that the signer appeared by means of communication technology, rather than in-person. Where the standard acknowledgement says “personally appeared” the following should substituted, “appeared by means of communication technology.” We also suggest that the block identify the means of communication technology (e.g., via Zoom)” (NPM).
SEAL AND SIGNATURE
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Out-of-State Deed or Conveyance: Can a Connecticut Notary notarize an out-of-state deed or real estate conveyance? – Yes, there is no explicit prohibition on a Connecticut notary executing a deed or land conveyance for property located out-of-state. However, it is recommended that the notary take the following precautions:
“• The notary should confirm with the signer that the signer is being instructed to execute the deed/conveyance before a Connecticut notary at the instruction of an attorney licensed to practice law in the state/jurisdiction where the property is located. Although the notarial act itself is governed by Connecticut law, the real estate transaction is governed by the law of the jurisdiction where the property is located. So the notary should take measures to ensure they he/she is not engaging in the unauthorized practice of law in that jurisdiction.
• “• The notary should confirm that the deed/conveyance truly relates to property located outside of Connecticut. Notaries must be cautious with documents transferring real property because (a) Public Act 23-28 prohibits remote notarizations for most such transactions if they involve property in Connecticut; and (b) notarizing a Connecticut land record without explicit direction of an attorney licensed in Connecticut may constitute the unauthorized practice of law.
• “• If done remotely, the notary should ascertain the connection between the transaction and the state of Connecticut. Because the property is located outside of Connecticut, such a connection would include that either the seller or the buyer are Connecticut residents. If both the seller and buyer are out-of-state residents, the notary should not sign the deed/conveyance unless the notary confirms that the signer is physically located in the state of Connecticut at the time of the notarial act. If the signer is not a Connecticut resident and is not located within the state at the time of the notarial act, the transaction would have no connection to Connecticut and therefore a remote notarization would not be appropriate under these circumstancescircumstances” (NPM).
Recording Requirements
“Each instrument for record shall have a blank margin, that shall be not less than three-fourths of an inch in width, surrounding each page of the instrument. Each such instrument that is to be recorded in the land records shall have a return address and addressee appearing at the top of the front side of the first page of the instrument. The town clerk shall not refuse to receive an instrument for record that does not conform to any requirement set forth in this subsection, and the fact that the town clerk records an instrument that does not conform to any requirement set forth in this subsection shall not affect its priority or validity” (CGS 7-24[f]).
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