Mississippi Remote Online Notarization

If you've seen platforms advertising remote online notarization services in Mississippi, the situation is more complicated than their marketing suggests. Mississippi-commissioned notaries cannot legally perform remote online notarizations — but there is a legal electronic option that works differently.

RON Is Not Authorized in Mississippi

Remote online notarization (RON) — where a signer appears via live video call and signs documents electronically without being in the same room as the notary — is not legal for Mississippi-commissioned notaries as of 2026.

The state briefly allowed remote notarizations during the COVID-19 emergency under Governor Tate Reeves's Executive Order 1467 in April 2020. That temporary order has fully expired and was never replaced by permanent legislation.

The legislature has tried to pass permanent RON authorization. House Bill 1154 and Senate Bill 2456 were both introduced during the 2025 session. HB 1154 passed both chambers with amendments but ultimately failed to produce a signed law. No permanent RON framework exists.

What Happens If You Do It Anyway

Performing a remote notarization without the signer's physical presence violates Mississippi Code Section 25-34-15. The consequences are serious:

• The notarial act is void — legally meaningless
• The Secretary of State can immediately revoke your commission
• You face civil liability for any damages caused by the invalid notarization
• Criminal prosecution is possible under the state's unauthorized practice statutes

RON Platforms and Mississippi Consumers

Platforms like Notarize and OneNotary can still serve Mississippi residents — but the notary performing the remote act must be commissioned in a state that authorizes RON (like Virginia, Texas, or Florida). Mississippi recognizes these out-of-state remote notarizations under interstate recognition laws.

If you hold only a Mississippi commission, you cannot use these platforms as a notary. The platform license doesn't override your state's physical-presence mandate.

IPEN Is the Legal Electronic Option

In-Person Electronic Notarization (IPEN) is fully authorized for Mississippi notaries. The critical distinction: IPEN still requires the signer and notary to be physically in the same room. The "electronic" part refers to how the document is signed and sealed — digitally instead of with wet ink — not to the parties being remote.

To perform IPEN, you need:

1. An active Mississippi notary commission
2. Separate IPEN registration through the Secretary of State's E-Notary portal at sos.ms.gov
3. An account with an approved technology vendor (examples include Secured Signing, Stavvy, and DocVerify)
4. A digital certificate and electronic seal configured through your vendor

Registration is free at the state level — there's no additional fee beyond what the technology vendor charges for platform access and digital certificates. Your IPEN authorization is tied to your traditional commission term and renews with it automatically, provided there's no lapse.

The Mississippi notary commission guide includes an IPEN registration checklist that walks through the vendor selection process and portal setup so you can add electronic capability without risking a compliance mistake.

See more Mississippi guides →