The signer can be anywhere. The notary cannot.

Florida has allowed remote online notarization since the law took effect on 1 January 2020.⁸ Almost every explanation of it starts with the signer: your seller does not have to be in the room. That is true, and it is not the rule. The rule reads the other way around.

An online notary public physically located in this state may perform an online notarization that meets the requirements of this part regardless of whether the principal or any witnesses are physically located in this state at the time of the online notarization.

Fla. Stat. s. 117.265(1)¹

One location is fixed and it is the notary's. The principal's location is expressly irrelevant, and so is each witness's.¹ That single sentence answers the two questions a listing agent actually brings to a closing, and it answers them in opposite directions. A seller signing from Madrid is squarely within the statute. A notary sitting in Georgia is not performing a Florida online notarization under this part at all.

What makes someone a Florida online notary

Not every Florida notary can do this. It is a separate registration on top of the commission, and Florida Statute 117.225 sets out what it takes: holding a current commission as a notary public under part I of the chapter, completing a course covering the duties, obligations and technology requirements, paying the registration fee, submitting a sworn registration to the Department of State, identifying the RON service provider or providers whose technology will be used, obtaining a bond in the amount of $25,000 payable to any individual harmed as a result of a breach of duty, and carrying errors and omissions insurance in the minimum amount of $25,000.³

The Department of State requires the online education course and a certificate of completion attached to the registration, and it publishes a list of approved online notaries that can be checked.⁸ That list is the answer to "is this person actually registered for this," and it is public.

A RON service provider, in the statute's words, is a person that provides audio-video communication technology and related processes, services, software, data storage or other services to online notaries public for the purpose of directly facilitating their performance of online notarizations.² The statute also settles who picks it: the online notary public selects the provider, and a person may not require the online notary public to use a particular one.¹

The identity sequence is three steps, not one

A video call is not the identity check. It is where the identity check happens. Florida Statute 117.265 allows the notary to rely on personal knowledge of the principal, and otherwise requires three distinct things for each principal: remote presentation of a government-issued identification credential, credential analysis of that credential, and identity proofing in the form of knowledge-based authentication or another conforming method.¹

Those are defined terms rather than loose description. Remote presentation is the transmission of an image of a government-issued identification credential of sufficient quality to enable the notary to identify the individual and to perform credential analysis. Credential analysis is a process in which a third party aids the notary in affirming the validity of the credential and the data on it. Identity proofing is a process in which a third party affirms the identity of an individual through public or proprietary data sources.² Two of the three involve a third party, which is why this runs through a provider's platform rather than over a plain video call.

The out-of-state signer has one extra step

When the principal is not in Florida, the statute adds a confirmation that is easy to overlook because it is not about technology at all:

In performing an online notarization of a principal not located within this state, an online notary public must confirm, either verbally or through the principal's written consent, that the principal desires for the notarial act to be performed by a Florida notary public and under the general law of this state.

Fla. Stat. s. 117.265(3)¹

This is the provision that makes remote online notarization useful on the files where nothing else works: an out-of-state seller, an heir who moved away, a foreign owner who cannot travel. On that last category the notarization is rarely the hard part of the file anyway, because a foreign seller brings FIRPTA withholding with them, and that obligation is on its own track entirely.

Witnesses, and the one place the rules tighten

Florida Statute 117.285 allows a witness to be in the physical presence of the principal or remote from the principal, provided the witness and principal are using audio-video communication technology.⁵ A remote witness's identity, and the principal's, are verified using the same procedures that identify a principal under 117.265(4). A witness who is physically with the principal instead confirms identity by stating their name and current address on the audio-video recording.⁵

Subsection (5) of that section is where a stricter regime applies when fewer than two witnesses are in the physical presence of the principal, including screening questions and a rule that remote witnessing by audio-video communication technology is not effective for witnessing the signature of a principal who is a vulnerable adult as defined in s. 415.102.⁵ Worth reading the introductory language before assuming it applies to a closing: subsection (5) is addressed to a will under chapter 732, a revocable trust with testamentary aspects, a health care advance directive, an agreement concerning succession or a waiver of spousal rights under s. 732.701 or s. 732.702, and a power of attorney authorizing transactions enumerated in s. 709.2208.⁵ A deed and a mortgage are not in that list. Where a power of attorney is being used to sign for a party, it is worth knowing which list it falls on, and that is a question for the lawyer who drafted it.

Every session is recorded, and kept

This is the part most people learn after the fact. Florida Statute 117.245 requires an electronic journal of online notarizations recording the date and time, the type of notarial act, a description of the record, the name and address of each principal, the evidence of identity for each principal, and the fee charged if any. Separately, the RON service provider is required to retain an uninterrupted and unedited copy of the recording of the audio-video communication, covering the appearances, the identity confirmation, the recitation of the notarial act, and a declaration by the principal that the signature is knowingly and voluntarily made.⁴

The retention obligation is specific. The journal and the recordings are to be maintained for at least 10 years after the date of the notarial act, with a separate rule for electronic wills held by a qualified custodian.⁴ An online notarization therefore leaves considerably more evidence behind than a signature witnessed across a conference table, which is a point in its favour and not a caution.

What the recorder does with it

A deed only does its job once it is recorded, so the recording office is the question that matters. Florida Statute 695.28 speaks to it squarely. A document otherwise entitled to be recorded, submitted electronically or by other means and accepted for recordation, is deemed validly recorded and provides notice to all persons notwithstanding that it was notarized by an online notary public outside the physical presence of the signer through audio-video communication technology, that witnessing may have been done outside the physical presence of the notary or principal, or that what was recorded was a certified printout of a document to which electronic signatures were affixed.⁷

That section has a limit, and it is the honest half of the answer:

This section does not preclude a challenge to the validity or enforceability of an instrument or electronic record based upon fraud, forgery, impersonation, duress, incapacity, undue influence, minority, illegality, unconscionability, or any other basis not in the nature of those matters described in subsection (1).

Fla. Stat. s. 695.28(3)⁷

So the statute forgives technical imperfection in how an electronic instrument was executed or submitted. It does not forgive a forged signature or an impersonated signer. That is the same exposure described in our guide on deed fraud in Florida, where the question is not whether a document was accepted at the counter but whether the instrument was true. Remote identity proofing is a serious check against impersonation. It is not a cure for it, and 695.28 does not pretend otherwise.

Whether a given document reaches the recorder electronically at all is a county matter. Miami-Dade publishes eRecording as an option through approved submitters, listing Corporation Service Company, e-Docs Solutions, eRecording Partners, Hopdox, Simplifile and Swift-E Recording, and notes that no special equipment is required beyond a computer with high-speed internet access and a scanner.⁹ Outside Miami-Dade the available submitters and systems differ by county.

What the act itself can cost

Florida Statute 117.275 provides that an online notary public, or the employer of such online notary public, may charge a fee not to exceed $25 for performing an online notarial act under that part.⁶ That is a statutory cap on the notarial act, and it is worth knowing because it is one of the few numbers around a closing that the legislature has actually fixed.

What a realtor can establish early

Three things are checkable before anybody is on a deadline. Whether the notary is registered as an online notary with the Department of State, which is a public list.⁸ Whether the signer is outside Florida, which is not a problem under the statute but does add the 117.265(3) confirmation. And whether the instrument being signed is a deed or mortgage, or something from the 117.285(5) list, because the witnessing regime is not the same.

One thing is not checkable from the statute, and it is the one that stops deals: a lender's own requirements for accepting a remotely notarized closing package are set by the lender and its investors, not by chapter 117. Florida law permitting the notarization and a particular lender being willing to fund on it are separate questions, and the second one gets asked of the lender. Remote ink notarization by a notary commissioned in another state is a different analysis again, governed by that state's law rather than by part II of chapter 117, and it belongs with the attorney on the file.

The short version

Florida's remote online notarization law fixes the notary's location, not the signer's: an online notary physically in Florida may notarize for a principal and witnesses located anywhere.¹ It takes a separate registration with a bond and errors and omissions coverage,³ a three-step identity sequence rather than a video call,¹ and it produces an audio-video recording and journal kept for at least 10 years.⁴ A recorded instrument notarized that way is protected against technical challenge but not against forgery or impersonation.⁷

If you have a seller who cannot get to a closing table, call us early and we can talk through how the signing would be structured.

Common questions

Can a Florida remote online notarization be done for a signer who is out of state or out of the country?

Yes. Florida Statute 117.265 provides that an online notary public physically located in Florida may perform an online notarization that meets the requirements of that part regardless of whether the principal or any witnesses are physically located in Florida at the time of the notarization. The constraint the statute imposes is on the notary's location, not the signer's.

Does a Florida notary need a separate registration to perform remote online notarizations?

Yes. Under Florida Statute 117.225, registering as an online notary public requires holding a current notary commission under part I of chapter 117, completing a course covering the duties, obligations and technology requirements, paying the registration fee, submitting a sworn registration to the Department of State, identifying the RON service provider or providers whose technology will be used, obtaining a $25,000 bond payable to any individual harmed by a breach of duty, and being covered by an errors and omissions insurance policy in the minimum amount of $25,000. The Department of State publishes a list of approved online notaries.

How is a signer's identity confirmed in a Florida online notarization?

Florida Statute 117.265 permits confirmation either through the notary's personal knowledge of the signer or through three steps applied to each principal, which are remote presentation of a government-issued identification credential, credential analysis of that credential, and identity proofing in the form of knowledge-based authentication or another method of identity proofing conforming to the standards of the chapter.

Are remote witnesses allowed on a Florida online notarization?

Florida Statute 117.285 provides that a witness may be in the physical presence of the principal or remote from the principal, provided the witness and principal are using audio-video communication technology. A remote witness's identity, and the principal's, must be verified using the same procedures that identify a principal under Florida Statute 117.265(4). A witness who is physically with the principal confirms identity by stating their name and current address on the audio-video recording.

Is there a recording of a Florida online notarization, and how long is it kept?

Yes. Florida Statute 117.245 requires an electronic journal of online notarizations and requires the RON service provider to retain an uninterrupted and unedited copy of the recording of the audio-video communication. The statute provides that the journal and the recordings be maintained for at least 10 years after the date of the notarial act, with a separate rule for electronic wills held by a qualified custodian.

Will a Florida county recorder accept a deed that was notarized online?

Florida Statute 695.28 addresses this directly. A document otherwise entitled to be recorded, submitted electronically or by other means and accepted for recordation, is deemed validly recorded and provides notice notwithstanding that it was notarized by an online notary public outside the physical presence of the signer through audio-video communication technology, or that what was recorded was a certified printout of a document bearing electronic signatures. That section expressly does not preclude a challenge based on fraud, forgery, impersonation, duress, incapacity or undue influence.

Is there a cap on what a Florida online notary can charge per notarial act?

Florida Statute 117.275 provides that an online notary public, or the employer of such online notary public, may charge a fee not to exceed $25 for performing an online notarial act under that part. That is the statutory cap on the notarial act itself and is separate from any other charge in a transaction.

Sources

Every factual claim above is drawn from the sources below. Statutory figures and deadlines were read from the official source rather than from secondary coverage. Sources last checked October 8, 2026.

1. Fla. Stat. s. 117.265 — Online notarization procedures. The location rule, the out-of-state consent requirement and the identity sequence The Florida Senate, official statutes Retrieved October 8, 2026
2. Fla. Stat. s. 117.201 — Definitions, part II of chapter 117 The Florida Senate, official statutes Retrieved October 8, 2026
3. Fla. Stat. s. 117.225 — Registration; qualifications for an online notary public The Florida Senate, official statutes Retrieved October 8, 2026
4. Fla. Stat. s. 117.245 — Electronic journal of online notarizations, and the audio-video retention period The Florida Senate, official statutes Retrieved October 8, 2026
5. Fla. Stat. s. 117.285 — Supervising the witnessing of electronic records The Florida Senate, official statutes Retrieved October 8, 2026
6. Fla. Stat. s. 117.275 — Fees for online notarization The Florida Senate, official statutes Retrieved October 8, 2026
7. Fla. Stat. s. 695.28 — Validity of recorded electronic documents The Florida Senate, official statutes Retrieved October 8, 2026
8. Remote Online Notary Public (RON), registration requirements and the approved online notaries list Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations Retrieved October 8, 2026
9. Official Records, including the county's eRecording options and approved submitters Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court and Comptroller Retrieved October 8, 2026