The NNA’s Electronic Notary Seal ProgramCreating and managing notarial acts electronically in real-time

Richard J. Hansberger, Director of eNotarization

National Notary Association

Introduction

• The National Notary Association announces the official launch of the Electronic Notary Seal Program

• A national effort

• A collaborative effort

• The Electronic Notary Seal (ENS) Program is an online web application (like online banking) that provides states and private industry with:

• Technologies to facilitate secure electronic notarization within and across jurisdictions

• Standards to promote interoperability across transactional partners relying on notarization

• The PRIMARY goal of the ENS Program is to authenticate Notaries in real time

• Must be FREE to participating states

• Must allow ANYONE to verify the status of an electronic notary seal at no cost in real time

ENS Program – Online Notary Management

• Enables state government to manage Electronic Notary Seals• State can issue, revoke, suspend, and renew Electronic

Notary Seals securely online• All relying parties can independently verify the status of

an ENS in real time using secure web services

• Enables private industry to develop electronic document management systems that incorporate:• Notary Authentication – verify status of ENS in real time• Notary Recordkeeping – record journal entries (1 or

1,000,000)• Notary Certificates – download compliant certificates for

electronic documents

• Enables development of competitive vendor solutions for electronic document management that depend upon trusted notaries• Relies on web services for interoperability across

systems• Relies on open standards for greater acceptance and

ease of use

ENS Program Justification

• Lack of uniform legislative/regulatory framework hinders progress.• Inconsistent (sometimes competing) state notary laws

and regulations lead to confusion in the marketplace (Is it legal? Will it “hold up” in court?)

• There is a need for effective, uniform electronic notary legislation.• The benefits could be enormous…

• Trust in the Notary office is compromised in the paper world, but the ENS Program can help resolve issues of abuse, misuse, and misrepresentation

• Electronically notarized transactions could realize significant cost savings for companies, government agencies

ENS Program Justification

• Industry complains our system lacks technological predictability.• Industry needs to do it “one way” across all 50 states, or

else the cost-saving benefits of electronic documents cannot be realized.

• To accomplish this goal, the NNA has confirmed with state government officials and industry leaders that…

• A consistent, interoperable technology for notary authentication is needed by industry to implement national electronic document systems.

• A consistent, interoperable approach will also fuel a competitive marketplace among vendors offering such solutions.

ENS Program Justification

• Presumption that costs to entry are formidable has negatively impacted progress in electronic notarization.• Lack of clear guidelines for authenticating notaries

means cost of compliance for business is too high.

• State governments are finding it difficult to shoulder the burden of providing this interoperable technology.

• A need for a no- or low-cost notary authentication technology is of paramount concern.

ENS Program Participants

• Industry• Early Adopters - mortgage banking, real estate, title

companies

• Countrywide, Stewart Title

• State Government• AZ (Secretary of State, Maricopa County Recorder)

• CA (San Bernardino and Orange County Recorders)

• Notaries• Only in corporate environments currently

• Carefully regulated through the ENS Program by state officials

ENS Program Components

• Notary Authority• Notary Registry

• Notary Digital Certificate Authority

• Electronic Notary Seal• Image, XML, digital certificate

• Secured in Notary Authority, accessible only by notary

• “Released” for use by notary upon proper authentication

• Electronic Journal• Web-based recordkeeping provides independent record

of transaction

• XML file format ensures access to data over time

• Mandated recordkeeping can be enforced

• Security of records greatly enhanced

• Electronic Notary Certificates• Provides XML store of compliant certificate data for use

by notaries

ENS Program Components

• Notary Exchange Standard (NES)• A secure exchange standard through which transacting

parties can access NES web services• Notary authentication

• Notary recordkeeping

• Notary certificates

• The NES is responsible for the secure exchange of data between the Notary Authority and a requesting party

• Relies on OASIS WS-Security specification for authentication

• The flexibility of the WS-Security specification allows different authentication methods to access NES services

• Interoperable with web and desktop clients developed by any vendor

Notary Authority

Vendor Web/Desktop Client DevelopmentNotary authentication AT NO COST to third parties.Electronic journal is optional licensed service.Notary certificates are optional licensed service.

Notary Exchange Standard Web ServicesNotary

AuthenticationElectronic

JournalNotary

Certificates

Notary Exchange StandardSecurity Interceptors

HTTPS / VPN

ENS Program Components

ENS Assurance Levels

• HIGH• Means the notary works for an NNA Trusted Partner

(corporate or government agency).

• Notary authenticates to the Notary Authority NES using a username/password.

• Recordkeeping is required.

• MEDIUM• Means the notary works independently using an NNA

web or desktop client.

• Notary authenticates to the Notary Authority NES using an NNA web or desktop client (with digital certificate).

• Recordkeeping is required.

• LOW• Means the notary works independently using a third-

party web or desktop client.

• Notary authenticates to the Notary Authority NES using a digital certificate (PKI) protocol.

• Recordkeeping is strongly recommended.

ENS State Services

• Online Administrative Portal (Online Banking)• Issuance, Revocation, Renewal

• State grants authority to perform electronic acts and authorizes notary to receive ENS

• State can suspend, revoke, renew the ENS at any time

• Suspension and revocation are immediately extended to all relying parties

• Auditing• State can review and report on all ENS issuance,

suspension, revocation, and renewal

• Online Verification of Electronic Notarial Acts• Enables third parties (when authorized) to verify the

facts of a notarial act online• When it was recorded…

• Transacting parties…

• Other pertinent details…

• Notary’s electronic journal records transaction for both paper and electronic documents

Benefits of ENS Program - Government

• Enables state government to regulate notaries in the electronic age

• Enables state government to support electronic notarization pilots securely

• Enables relying parties to verify facts of a notarial act performed on both paper and electronic documents

• Can support the certification of public documents between states and internationally (eApostilles)

• Prevents fraud and abuse of notarial office by enabling faster, more accurate investigations

• Protects citizens from identity crimes and document fraud

Benefits of ENS Program - Industry

• Provides a Service Oriented Architecture that allows private industry to focus on core technology development rather than eNotarization development

• Promotes development of competitive electronic transaction technologies relying on eNotarization

• Provides widely accepted standards and technologies to enable real-time authentication of notaries

• Promotes the use of PKI and non-PKI solutions using the same core technology, which provides a more realistic and stable foundation for further innovation

Benefits of ENS Program - Notaries

• Facilitates emergence of a burgeoning “eNotary” market where competitive solutions translate into competitive pricing for the average notary.

• Provides a common (national and international) notary authentication protocol.

• Further promotes the professionalization of the American notary office.

• Protects the public from fraud and abuse of the Notary office.

What is an Electronic Notary Seal?

• Paper Documents• Bar Code (CODE 39 BarCode format)

• Electronic Documents• XML (text)

• Image

• Digital Certificate (when required)

• Digital Certificates (when required)• Hardware Based

• Stored on USB-enabled device or “smart card”

• Browser Based• Stored in CAPI on Windows

• Roaming• Stored on split-key VeriSign server (cross-platform)

Vendor Web/Client Development

Notary authentication AT NO COST to third parties.

Web ServicesNotary

Authentication

Firewall Proxy Server

Electronic Notary Seal Authentication•Notary authenticates through NES to the Notary Authority• Authentication is a WSS protocol

• Username/Password (requires HIGH ENS Assurance Level)• X.509 Digital Certificate• SAML Token

• Proper authentication “releases” seal to requesting notary• Revocation controlled centrally and independently verifiable by state government and all relying parties

Notary Exchange Standard

Security InterceptorsHTTPS or VPN

What is an Electronic Notary Seal?

NOTARY AUTHORITY

How does a Notary receive an Electronic Notary Seal?

Web Services

NotaryAuthentication

Notary Completes Application through State

Notary must satisfy legal requirements and be identified in person

State authorizes Notary to receive ENS

Notary receives authorization to use ENS

* Notary authenticates to Notary Authority to release seal* ENS may be validated

independently by third parties

1

2

3

4

1. Meets with document signers,verifies signers’ identity, capacity and willingness to sign

2. Prior to notarizing document, electronic signing system verifies Notary’s ENS through the Notary Authority.

3. Electronically notarizes document using ENS.

4. Electronic Journal updated online with notary act details.

What happens when a Notary usesan Electronic Notary Seal?

NotaryAuthority

NotaryRegistry

SignerE-Signs Notary

Logs In

ReleaseNotarySeal

NotaryE-Signs

Document

OK?

NotarySeal

NotaryJournal

Journal contains transaction detailsDocument ID

“Digital Fingerprint” of Document (Hash)

What happens when a Notary usesan Electronic Notary Seal?

1

23

4

5

NOTARY AUTHORITY

How does the state revoke an Electronic Notary Seal?

Web Services

NotaryAuthentication

State Official authorizes revocation or suspension

Notary receives notification of revocation

* Notary’s attempt to authenticate is denied* ENS revocation/suspension may be validated independently by third parties

1

2

Call to Action

• The NNA is now asking more states and industry leaders to participate.

• The NNA urges states to consider adoption of the Model Notary Act, Article III as a “first step” if authorizing legislation does not already exist.

• Formation of state-specific eNotarization Task Force in California underway; other state task forces a possibility, or perhaps even a national task force

Demo - The ENS Portal

Demo - The ENS Portal

Demo - The ENS Portal

Demo - The ENS Portal

Demo - The ENS Portal

Demo - The ENS Portal

Demo - The ENS Portal

Demo - The ENS Portal

Demo - The ENS Portal

Demo - The ENS Portal

Demo - The ENS Portal