Remote online notarization will continue in Massachusetts through July 15, 2022. Originally approved on April 23, 2020, Chapter 71 of the Acts of 2020 “An Act Providing for Virtual Notarization to Address Challenges Related to COVID-19” gives Massachusetts residents the ability to use videoconferencing technologies to meet virtually with a notary public to sign documents during the COVID-19 state of emergency. Although wet signatures are still required, remote notarization has been extremely helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic to those who cannot leave home due to health concerns. The act was originally set to expire on June 15, 2021, but has since been extended on two separate occasions since the COVID-19 state of emergency terminated back in June of 2021.
It remains to be seen whether the Massachusetts legislature will permit remote online notarization to continue after July 15th, and it remains critical that the stringent requirements governing virtual notarization in Massachusetts are followed. For more information on the requirements, please see our previous alert “Virtual Notarization and Witnessing of Your Documents During COVID-19 Emergency.”
