Mandatory Changes to Florida Notary Laws
For those of you who are unaware, on January 1, 2020 Florida’s new Remote Online Notarization Law came into effect, allowing for the performance of notarial acts using electronic means. With the change in the law, a principal is now permitted to appear before a notary public by means of audiovisual communication technology.
What is important to note about the changes in the law is that the Legislature has revised the formats of the respective jurat / notarial certificates, requiring that they now include language indicating whether the principal appeared before the notary by physical presence or by means of audiovisual technology (the particular format depends on the status of the principal…e.g. individual; corporation; LLC; partnership; attorney-in-fact; public officer, trustee, or personal representative). It is imperative that any documents you have notarized subsequent to January 1, 2020 reflect the changes in the law; this is particularly important in terms of notarized documents affecting title to property that are recorded in the public record. To view the new jurat / notarial certificate requirements and formats, please click on the links below to the applicable statutes.
