Guide · About a 3 minute read

What actually happens in a remote notary session.

Remote online notarization means getting a document notarized over a secure video call instead of hunting down a stamp in person. It's legal, it's fast, and in New York the fee is capped by law. Here's the whole thing, demystified.

The short version

You book a time, join a video call from your phone or computer, hold up your ID, sign, and the notary applies an electronic seal. Most sessions take about fifteen minutes. The finished document is just as valid as one stamped across a counter, and a New York remote notarization can be done for a signer in any state.

Step by step

Book a timeEvenings and weekends included. You send the document ahead so everything's ready when the call starts.

Join the video callAny phone, tablet, or computer with a camera works. No software to buy.

Show your IDA government-issued photo ID, verified on screen the way the law requires. This is the part that makes the seal mean something.

Sign, seal, doneYou sign electronically, the notary seals it, and the finished document comes back to you the same day.

What it costs in New York

$25 per notarial act. That's the New York State maximum, set by law, and it includes everything: the video platform, the identity check, the seal. Anyone charging a separate "technology fee" on top is padding the bill.

When remote is the right call

You're far from any notary, it's 8pm and the document is due tomorrow, mobility or health makes travel hard, or you simply don't want to spend a lunch break in a shipping store. The common thread: the document matters and the errand doesn't deserve a whole afternoon.

A few document types still require in-person notarization depending on the situation, and some receiving parties have their own rules. The fastest way to find out is to ask; you'll get a straight answer either way, including "you don't actually need a notary for that," which happens more often than you'd think.

Ready, or just have a question?

Ask about your document

Tell Levee what you're signing and when it's due. A real person reads it and writes back, usually within a day.

More detail, including the in-person mobile option, lives on the online notarization page.