As we all are aware, on April 1, 2020, Governor Tom Wolf ordered all non-essential businesses across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to close their physical locations. Many Pennsylvania businesses have successfully transitioned from working face-to-face with customers to conducting business strictly electronically from the safety and comfort of their own homes. Communication with co-workers or customers using services such as Zoom and Skype have become the new norm. However, while other businesses have been able to continue their operations in seamless fashion, certain business whose transactions require the face-to-face services of a notary have faced a great deal of difficulty. That is, until now.

Since the beginning of the crisis, Pennsylvanians seeking to buy a car or purchase a home, or wishing to update a will, power of attorney or advanced health directive, have experienced difficulties completing these transactions simply because the law requires certain types of documents to be notarized. Under Pennsylvania law, a notary must be physically present at the signing of a document in order to legally affix his or her stamp or seal to the document.

Fortunately, the Pennsylvania Legislature recently approved a Bill (Senate Bill 841) that will now allow notaries to perform notarizations remotely. The bill was signed into law on April 20, 2020 by Governor Wolf. The new law expires 60 days after the termination or expiration of the Governor’s COVID-19 Disaster Emergency declaration.

The new law imposes specific requirements on notaries performing remote notarial acts, including the requirement that notaries use approved audio-visual software and keep a video recording of each transaction. With this new law, pending real estate transactions and car sales may now be completed from your home. In this way, SB841 will assist both businesses and customers by facilitating the closing of transactions that might otherwise have been hampered by the need to have a notary physically present.

While it remains unclear when Pennsylvania and the country will begin to reopen, it is good to know that, at least for now, the Commonwealth has made it a bit easier to conduct important transactions remotely.

If you or someone you know needs assistance with a remote notarization, or in other areas, Lamb McErlane is here to assist you – our notaries and attorneys are working remotely to keep ourselves and our clients safe. 610-430-8000.

William R. “Bill” Christman III concentrates his practice in municipal law, election law and litigation.  He specifically focuses on municipal, land use, property tax, administrative, finance and election law matters. 610-701-3271. bchristman@lambmcerlane.com.