IL Notary IL-Notary Notary Journal Record-Keeping Standards 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Illinois Notary Public Act, an Illinois RON electronic journal must be maintained in what type of format?
- Standard Microsoft Word or PDF format
- A tamper-evident electronic format (Correct answer)
- A format approved by the county clerk
- Any format as long as it is printed and stored monthly
Correct answer: A tamper-evident electronic format
Illinois law requires the electronic journal to be maintained in a tamper-evident format so that any unauthorized alterations can be detected.
Question 2: If an Illinois RON notary discovers their electronic journal has been accessed or compromised without authorization, what is the appropriate action?
- Delete the compromised entries and create corrected replacements
- Notify the Illinois Secretary of State of the security breach (Correct answer)
- Destroy the old journal and immediately start a new one
- Report only to the local county clerk's office
Correct answer: Notify the Illinois Secretary of State of the security breach
A notary whose journal is compromised must notify the Illinois Secretary of State, who oversees notary commissions and the integrity of notarial records.
Question 3: Which statement is TRUE about which RON acts must be recorded in an Illinois electronic journal?
- Only acknowledgments must be recorded
- Only jurats and oaths must be recorded
- Only acts for which a fee was charged must be recorded
- All notarial acts performed as a RON must be recorded without exception (Correct answer)
Correct answer: All notarial acts performed as a RON must be recorded without exception
Every notarial act performed as a Remote Online Notary in Illinois must be recorded in the electronic journal — there are no exemptions by act type.
Question 4: The 10-year retention requirement for an Illinois RON electronic journal is measured from:
- The date the notary's RON authorization expires
- The date of each individual notarial act recorded (Correct answer)
- The date the notary first received their RON authorization
- The date the notarized document is filed with a court or agency
Correct answer: The date of each individual notarial act recorded
The 10-year retention period runs from the date of each individual notarial act, not from the commission expiration date.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of the audio-visual recording required for Illinois Remote Online Notarizations?
- It replaces the need for a written electronic journal entry
- It serves as evidence of the remote session and the identity verification process (Correct answer)
- It must be submitted to the county courthouse after each notarization session
- It is used solely to verify the notary's identity for the Secretary of State
Correct answer: It serves as evidence of the remote session and the identity verification process
The audio-visual recording documents the remote session and provides evidence that proper identity verification and notarization procedures were followed.
Question 6: For Illinois Remote Online Notarizations, the audio-visual recording must be retained for:
- 3 years from the date of the notarial act
- 5 years from the date of the notarial act
- 10 years from the date of the notarial act (Correct answer)
- 7 years from the expiration of the RON commission
Correct answer: 10 years from the date of the notarial act
Audio-visual recordings must be retained for 10 years from the date of the notarial act, the same period required for the electronic journal.
Question 7: Who bears primary responsibility for the security of an Illinois RON notary's electronic journal?
- The RON technology platform provider is solely responsible for all journal security
- The notary must take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access to the journal (Correct answer)
- The Illinois Secretary of State is responsible for storing and securing all RON journals
- Security is optional since the audio-visual recording is the primary legal record
Correct answer: The notary must take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access to the journal
The notary bears personal responsibility for maintaining the security of their electronic journal and preventing unauthorized access.
