AZ Notary Electronic Notarization and Remote Online Notarization 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA) used in Arizona RON requires the signer to:
- Provide a fingerprint scan through the device camera
- Answer dynamic questions generated from their personal history in public records databases (Correct answer)
- Present a government-issued ID directly to the camera for inspection
- Type their full legal name and social security number into a secure form
Correct answer: Answer dynamic questions generated from their personal history in public records databases
KBA presents the signer with questions drawn from public records (such as prior addresses, vehicles, or relatives) that only the true identity holder would be likely to answer correctly.
Question 2: Credential analysis as required by Arizona's RON identity verification process refers to:
- Verifying that the notary's commission is currently active
- Technology that examines a government-issued ID to confirm it bears genuine security features (Correct answer)
- Reviewing the signer's professional licenses and credentials
- Analyzing the legal sufficiency of the document being notarized
Correct answer: Technology that examines a government-issued ID to confirm it bears genuine security features
Credential analysis uses technology to review the security features, fonts, and characteristics of a government-issued ID presented to the camera to confirm it is authentic.
Question 3: When a credible witness is used to establish a signer's identity during an Arizona RON session, the credible witness must:
- Be a licensed Arizona attorney or currently commissioned notary
- Personally know the signer and take an oath or affirmation before the notary attesting to the signer's identity (Correct answer)
- Present three forms of government-issued identification to the notary
- Be related to the signer by blood or marriage
Correct answer: Personally know the signer and take an oath or affirmation before the notary attesting to the signer's identity
A credible witness must have personal knowledge of the signer's identity and must swear or affirm an oath before the notary confirming that knowledge.
Question 4: An Arizona notary's electronic seal used in remote online notarizations must:
- Be a full-color replica of the official Arizona state seal
- Contain the same information as the physical notary seal and be uniquely attributable to that notary (Correct answer)
- Include the notary's photograph and a biometric identifier
- Be re-created and re-registered every year at commission renewal
Correct answer: Contain the same information as the physical notary seal and be uniquely attributable to that notary
The electronic notarial seal must contain the same information required of a physical seal — such as the notary's name and commission expiration — and must be uniquely linked to that notary.
Question 5: Which of the following provides a valid reason for a notary to REFUSE or TERMINATE a remote online notarization session in Arizona?
- The signer is physically located in another country
- The signer fails to successfully complete knowledge-based authentication (Correct answer)
- The signer's primary language is not English
- The signer requests that the document be read aloud in full before signing
Correct answer: The signer fails to successfully complete knowledge-based authentication
Failure to pass identity verification — such as failing KBA — is a lawful basis to refuse or terminate a RON session because the notary cannot confirm the signer's identity.
Question 6: For each remote online notarization, an Arizona notary's electronic journal entry must include, at minimum:
- The signer's credit score and current employment status
- The date, time, type of notarial act performed, and the identity verification method used (Correct answer)
- The names and contact information of all parties to the underlying transaction
- The fee charged and the payment method accepted by the notary
Correct answer: The date, time, type of notarial act performed, and the identity verification method used
Arizona's RON journal requirements mandate that each entry record the date and time, the type of notarial act, and the method used to verify the signer's identity.
Question 7: What happens to an Arizona notary's RON audiovisual recordings if the notary's commission expires without renewal?
- The recordings must be immediately deleted to protect signer privacy
- The recordings must be surrendered to the Arizona Secretary of State
- The former notary must continue to maintain the recordings for the remainder of the five-year retention period (Correct answer)
- The recordings automatically become the legal property of each signer
Correct answer: The former notary must continue to maintain the recordings for the remainder of the five-year retention period
Record-keeping obligations survive the expiration of a notary's commission; the former notary must retain RON recordings until the full five-year period from each notarization has elapsed.
AZ Notary Electronic Notarization and Remote Online Notarization 2
Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA) used in Arizona RON requires the signer to: