Notarize Blog

The current government shutdown has lasted an historic 24 days, leaving federal employees searching for answers while their world has been flipped upside down.

We want to do our small part to help. Beginning today, Notarize is offering free notarizations during the government shutdown for all federal employees who sign up for an account with a .gov email address.

In the summer of 2017, we made history. On a Friday in July, an Illinois resident bought a home in Texas using a Texas title company, a Michigan lender, and a Virginia notary. The buyer completed their closing online, saving thousands of dollars in travel, hundreds of sheets of paper, and days in shipping.

Notarize has done over 1,000 online mortgage transactions since then, and we’ve learned a few things. The most obvious lesson is that no two stories are alike.

Remote online notarizations allow anyone in any state (except Iowa) to get their documents notarized through a remote notary online, and the number states adopting notary laws is growing faster than we could have ever anticipated.

In 2018, Texas and Nevada began enforcing online notarization laws, and six additional states enacted laws that will allow their notaries to perform remote online notarizations in 2019: Minnesota, Michigan, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, and Vermont.

Technology is unlocking opportunity throughout the mortgage industry. Lenders and realtors alike are leveraging technology that streamlines the mortgage transaction and puts the customer first.

Title agents are following suit. Sixty-five percent of title agents expect to soon adopt technology that helps home buyers close online faster and more efficiently.

Following unanimous support from the Ohio State Senate, Governor John Kasich signed Ohio Senate Bill 263 into law on December 19. The law makes Ohio the 10th state to recognize remote online notarization, empowering anyone to notarize documents online from anywhere at any time.

Real estate agents helped sell nearly six million homes in 2017, guiding buyers through one of life's most stressful moments. But as competition rises across the mortgage industry, agents are feeling the pressure to connect clients to a simpler, more seamless home buying experience.

Last year, a Chicago couple made history when they closed on their home online using a Virginia notary and a Texas title company. It was the start of a revolution.

Since then, homeowners from across the country have used the Notarize for Mortgage platform to complete their closings at their convenience and on their terms. Today, we're proud to add the first southwest Florida closing to the list.

Half of all homebuyers today use technology to research and purchase the home of their dreams. That’s why companies like Redfin expect digital closings to become more common in the near future.

As the home buying process moves online, there are plenty of questions about what’s next for the mortgage industry.

Our mission at Notarize is to build technologies that support life’s most important moments. We completed the first online mortgage closing, and continue to develop and refine our focus to get people into the home of their dreams sooner.

Today, we're excited to share that Redfin customers can now close on their homes using Notarize, no matter where they are. 

Notaries have held important roles in society dating back to ancient Egypt. They've had front-row seat to history, and over thousands of years, have made a little history of their own.