Remote Online Notaries Professional Liability Insurance in Kentucky

Remote Online Notaries in Kentucky at a glance

Primary RON Statute

KRS 423.455

Governs notarial acts for remotely located individuals in the Commonwealth.

Recording Retention Period

10 Years

Applies to the audio-visual recording of the remote session.

Identity Verification Method

Two Identity-Proofing Processes

Usually involves credential analysis and dynamic KBA.

Kentucky's Digital Notary Landscape and KRS 423.455

Kentucky updated its notarial laws with the passage of Senate Bill 114, which established the framework for remote online notarization under KRS 423.455. This statute allows a notary public located in Kentucky to perform notarial acts for individuals who appear via audio-visual communication technology. To become an online notary, a professional must already hold a traditional commission and then file a registration with the Kentucky Secretary of State that identifies the technology they intend to use.

The law requires the communication technology to allow the notary and the remotely located individual to communicate simultaneously by sight and sound. Furthermore, the technology must be able to facilitate communication for individuals with vision, hearing, or speech impairments. This inclusive standard ensures that Kentucky's digital services are accessible while maintaining the legal rigor required for document authentication.

Verification Standards and Credential Analysis

Kentucky notaries must have satisfactory evidence of a signer's identity before proceeding with a remote act. If the individual is not personally known, the notary must use at least two different types of identity-proofing processes. In Kentucky, this typically involves a combination of remote presentation of a government-issued ID, credential analysis by a third-party service to confirm the ID's validity, and a dynamic Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA) assessment.

The use of dynamic KBA is particularly important in Kentucky, as it requires the signer to answer questions generated from their credit history or other public records within a narrow time window. This prevents 'bots' or unauthorized individuals from successfully impersonating a signer. For the notary, ensuring these systems are functioning correctly is a vital part of their professional duty, as failure to properly verify an identity is a leading cause of notary-related litigation.

Session Recording and Ten-Year Retention Mandate

KRS 423.455(2)(c) mandates that the notary, or a person acting on their behalf, creates an audio-visual recording of the performance of the notarial act. Kentucky law requires that this recording be retained for at least ten years. The notary must also maintain an electronic journal of all online acts, ensuring that every digital transaction is backed by a robust and searchable audit trail. This long retention period aligns Kentucky with national best practices for digital record integrity.

Storage of these recordings must be secure, protecting the privacy of the participants and the sensitivity of the documents notarized. As a result, Kentucky online notaries often face unique technical risks related to data management. Professional liability insurance for these practitioners typically covers the legal consequences of an improperly performed act, while cyber insurance covers the risks associated with the storage and potential breach of the ten-year recording archive.

Remote Online Notaries FAQs for Kentucky