California Codes, Civil Code - CIV, Division 2 — Property, Part 4 — Acquisition of Property, Title 4 — Transfer, Chapter 4 — Recording Transfers, Article 3 — Proof and Acknowledgment of Instruments, Section 1181.1

(a) Section 1181 shall not be construed to authorize any person, other than a notary public authorized by the Secretary of State to perform online notarizations pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 8231) of Chapter 3 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to take a proof or acknowledgment of an instrument by means of appearances using audio-video communication, as that term is defined in subdivision (a) of Section 8231.1 of the Government Code.

(b) A California notary public shall not provide online notarization for any principal, and an online notarization platform shall not be authorized for use by a California notary public, until the earlier of the following:

(1) Certification by the Secretary of State on its internet website that the Secretary of State’s technology project necessary to implement statutes related to online notarization is complete.

(2) January 1, 2030, unless the Secretary of State informs the Legislature and the Governor in writing on or before January 1, 2029, that the technology project necessary to implement statutes related to online notarization will not be completed by January 1, 2030, including a detailed status of the technology project.

(c) This section shall remain in effect until the attainment of paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (b), and as of that date is repealed.