§ 14-14A-5 — Personal appearance required; exception authorized for

remote notarizations. A. If a notarial act relates to a statement made in or a signature executed on a record, the individual making the statement or executing the signature shall appear personally before the notarial officer. B. A remotely located individual may comply with this section or with any other requirement of the laws of this state that state that a person appear before a notarial officer at the time of a notarial act by using communication technology to appear before a notarial officer. C. A notarial officer located in this state may perform a notarial act using communication technology for a remotely located individual if: (1) the notarial officer: (a) has personal knowledge of the identity of the individual pursuant to Subsection A of Section 14-14A-6 NMSA 1978; (b) has taken the required class and has satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely located individual by oath or affirmation from a credible witness appearing before the notary public pursuant to Subsection B of Section 14-14A-6 NMSA 1978 or this section; or (c) has obtained satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely located individual by using at least two different types of identity proofing; (2) the notarial officer is able to reasonably confirm that a record before the notarial officer is the same record in which the remotely located individual made a statement or on which the individual executed a signature; (3) the notarial officer, or a person acting on behalf of the notarial officer, creates an audiovisual recording of the performance of the notarial act; and (4) for a remotely located individual located outside the United States: (a) the record: 1) is to be filed with or relates to a matter before a public official or court, governmental entity or other entity subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; or 2) involves property located in the territorial jurisdiction of the United States or involves a transaction substantially connected with the United States; (b) the notarial act is deemed to be performed in this state and therefore does not require an apostille in the form otherwise prescribed by the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961; and (c) the act of making the statement or signing the record is not prohibited by the foreign state in which the remotely located individual is located. D. If a notarial act is performed pursuant to this section, the certificate of notarial act required by Section 14-14A-15 NMSA 1978 and the short-form certificate provided in Section 14-14A-15 NMSA 1978 shall indicate that the notarial act was performed using communication technology. E. A short-form certificate provided pursuant to Section 14-14A-15 NMSA 1978 for a notarial act subject to this section is sufficient if it: (1) complies with rules adopted under Paragraph (1) of Subsection H of this section; or (2) is in the form provided in Section 14-14A-15 NMSA 1978 and contains a statement substantially as follows: "This notarial act involved the use of communication technology.". F. A notarial officer, a guardian, a conservator or an agent of a notarial officer or a personal representative of a deceased notarial officer shall retain the audiovisual recording created pursuant to Paragraph (3) of Subsection C of this section or cause the recording to be retained by a repository designated by or on behalf of the person required to retain the recording. Unless a different period is required by rule adopted pursuant to Paragraph (4) of Subsection H of this section, the recording must be retained for a period of at least ten years after the recording is made. G. Before a notarial officer performs the notarial officer's initial notarial act with a remotely located individual under this section, the notarial officer shall notify the secretary of state that the notarial officer will be performing notarial acts with respect to remotely located individuals and identify the technologies the notarial officer intends to use. If the secretary of state has established standards pursuant to Subsection H of this section and Section 14-14A-26 NMSA 1978 for approval of communication technology or identity proofing, the communication technology and identity proofing shall conform to the standards. H. In addition to adopting rules pursuant to Section 14-14A-26 NMSA 1978, the secretary of state may adopt rules under this section regarding performance of a notarial act. The rules may: (1) prescribe the means of performing a notarial act involving a remotely located individual using communication technology; (2) establish standards for communication technology and identity proofing; (3) establish requirements or procedures to approve providers of communication technology and the process of identity proofing; and (4) establish standards and a period for the retention of an audiovisual recording created pursuant to Paragraph (3) of Subsection C of this section. I. Before adopting, amending or repealing a rule governing performance of a notarial act with respect to a remotely located individual, the secretary of state shall consider: (1) the most recent standards regarding the performance of a notarial act with respect to a remotely located individual promulgated by national standard-setting organizations and the recommendations of the national association of secretaries of state; (2) standards, practices and customs of other jurisdictions that have laws substantially similar to this section; and (3) input from governmental officials and entities and other interested persons. J. By allowing its communication technology or identity proofing to facilitate a notarial act for a remotely located individual or by providing storage of the audiovisual recording created pursuant to Paragraph (3) of Subsection C of this section, the provider of the communication technology, identity proofing or storage appoints the secretary of state as the provider's agent for service of process in a civil action in this state related to the notarial act. K. As used in this section: (1) "communication technology" means an electronic device or process that: (a) allows a notarial officer and a remotely located individual to communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound; and (b) when necessary and consistent with other applicable law, facilitates communication with a remotely located individual who has a vision, hearing or speech impairment; (2) "identity proofing" means a process or service by which a third person provides a notarial officer with the means to verify the identity of a remotely located individual by a review of personal information from public or private data sources; (3) "outside the United States" means a location outside the geographic boundaries of the United States, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands and any territory, insular possession or other location subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; and (4) "remotely located individual" means an individual who is not in the physical presence of the notarial officer who performs a notarial act under Subsection C of this section.

Legislative History

Laws 2021, ch. 21, § 5; 2023, ch. 110, § 5.