If a Virginia property deed is notarized in another state via remote online notarization (the signer was not in the physical presence of the notary), can the deed still be recorded in a Virginia circuit court?

Subject

Va. Code § 47.1-13.1 does permit an authorized person to perform notarial acts outside the Commonwealth via a remote online notarization.

Plain-English summary

A Virginia circuit court clerk was declining to record real-estate documents (deeds, deeds of trust) that had been notarized out-of-state via remote online notarization, where the signer was on a video call with a notary located in another jurisdiction. Delegate Webert asked whether the Virginia Notary Act permits that practice.

Yes. § 47.1-13.1 expressly allows notarial acts to be performed outside Virginia for use in Virginia, with the same effect as if performed by a Virginia notary. Virginia law permits Virginia electronic notaries to perform remote online notarizations under § 47.1-15. A remote online notarization is just an electronic notarization where the signer is not in the notary's physical presence. § 47.1-13.1 covers acts performed with respect to tangible or electronic documents by notaries authorized to perform them in their own jurisdiction. The clerk must record the document if it appears on its face to have been properly notarized in accordance with applicable rules.

What this means for you

For circuit court clerks

If a deed, deed of trust, or other recordable document appears on its face to have been properly notarized via remote online notarization by an out-of-state notary, record it. § 17.1-223(D) directs you to record documents that appear properly notarized in accordance with the Virginia Notary Act. § 47.1-13.1 brings out-of-state remote online notarizations within that scope. You may still decline for reasons unrelated to notarization (e.g., document format issues). You are immune from suit under §§ 17.1-227 and 55.1-606 absent gross negligence or willful misconduct.

For real estate attorneys and title agents

You can accept and record documents notarized out-of-state via remote online notarization, as long as the notary was authorized to perform that act under the laws of their jurisdiction. The notarization should appear regular on the face of the document. For chain-of-title and title insurance, verify that the notary was properly commissioned and authorized for remote online notarization in their jurisdiction.

For out-of-state notaries

If you are authorized to perform remote online notarizations under your jurisdiction's laws (most states permit this now), your notarization can be used for Virginia documents, including land recordings.

For property buyers and sellers

This means you can sign Virginia closing documents while located in another state (or another country), as long as the notary you connect with is authorized to perform remote online notarizations. Convenient for cross-state transactions, but verify with your closing attorney or title company.

Common questions

What is remote online notarization?

A notarization where the signer is not physically present with the notary; instead they connect via real-time audio-video. The notary verifies identity, witnesses the signing, and applies an electronic seal/signature. The result is an electronic document with electronic notarization.

Does the document have to be electronic?

Under § 47.1-13.1(A), "notarial act" covers acts "with respect to a tangible or electronic document." For a remote online notarization specifically, the document is electronic by definition (§ 47.1-2).

What if my state allows remote online notarization but uses different procedures?

§ 47.1-13.1 grants the same effect as a Virginia notarization as long as the person is "authorized to perform notarial acts under the laws of that jurisdiction." It does not require identical procedures.

Does the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act apply?

Yes. Va. Code §§ 55.1-661 to 55.1-666 cover electronic recording of land records, and § 55.1-662(C) provides that the notarization requirement for land documents can be satisfied with an electronic notarization performed by an authorized person.

What about Hague apostille certifications for foreign notarizations?

This opinion covers out-of-state but in-the-United-States notarial acts. For acts performed in a foreign jurisdiction, the apostille/legalization framework under the Hague Convention applies separately.

What can the clerk still refuse?

Anything wrong with the document itself: wrong format, missing required information, conflicting prior recordings, or other defects unrelated to notarization. The clerk is also immune from liability for recording absent gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Background and statutory framework

The Virginia framework around notarial acts:

• §§ 47.1-1 to 47.1-30: Virginia Notary Act. Governs Virginia notaries.
• § 47.1-7, § 47.1-13: Electronic notary authority; § 47.1-15 allows electronic notarizations even when signer is not in physical presence.
• § 47.1-13.1: Out-of-state notarial acts for use in Virginia. Covers tangible and electronic documents.
• § 17.1-223(D): Clerks must record documents appearing properly notarized.
• § 17.1-227, § 55.1-606: Clerk immunity absent gross negligence or willful misconduct.
• §§ 55.1-661 to 55.1-666: Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act.

The 2025 Acts ch. 209 amended § 47.1-13.1 to clarify the scope of "notarial act."

Citations

• Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-505 (advisory opinion authority)
• Va. Code Ann. § 17.1-223 (clerk's recording duty)
• Va. Code Ann. § 17.1-227 (clerk immunity)
• Va. Code Ann. § 17.1-258.4 (electronic filings)
• Va. Code Ann. § 47.1-2 (definitions including "remote online notarization")
• Va. Code Ann. § 47.1-3 (commissioning)
• Va. Code Ann. § 47.1-7 (electronic notary commission)
• Va. Code Ann. § 47.1-8 (electronic notary authority)
• Va. Code Ann. § 47.1-12 (notary powers)
• Va. Code Ann. § 47.1-13 (electronic notarization)
• Va. Code Ann. § 47.1-13.1 (out-of-state acts)
• Va. Code Ann. § 47.1-15 (presence requirement and exception)
• Va. Code Ann. § 47.1-16 (electronic notarial certificate)
• Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-602 (notarization required for recordation)
• Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-604 (recording procedure)
• Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-606 (clerk immunity)
• Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-616 (Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgements Act)
• Va. Code Ann. §§ 55.1-661 to 55.1-666 (Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act)
• Conyers v. Martial Arts World of Richmond, Inc., 273 Va. 96 (2007)
• 2025 Va. Acts ch. 209

Source

• Landing page: https://www.oag.state.va.us/annual-reports-opinions/official-opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2025/25-002-Webert-issued.pdf

Original opinion text

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Office of the Attorney General
Jason S. Miyares
Attorney General
December 31, 2025

The Honorable Michael J. Webert
Virginia House of Delegates
Post Office Box 469
Warrenton, Virginia 20188

Dear Delegate Webert:

I am responding to your request for an official advisory opinion in accordance with § 2.2-505 of the Code of Virginia.

Issue Presented

You ask whether the Virginia Notary Act ("the Act")[1] allows an authorized notary public of another jurisdiction to perform notarial acts outside the Commonwealth of Virginia to be used for document recording in the Commonwealth. Your inquiry stems from a clerk of court's reluctance to record documents that have been notarized out of state via a remote online notarization, i.e., an electronic notarization where the signer is not in the physical presence of the notary.[2]

Response

It is my opinion that a document notarized outside the Commonwealth via a remote online notarization in accordance with § 47.1-13.1 is eligible for recordation in the Commonwealth.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Clerks of circuit courts are charged with recording every writing authorized by law to be recorded.[3] A document generally is not assumed to be in proper form for recordation unless it is notarized,[4] but when a writing "appears on its face to have been properly notarized in accordance with the Virginia Notary Act," the document "shall be presumed to have been notarized properly and shall be recorded by the clerk."[5]

In general, the Act governs the qualifications, powers, and responsibilities of notaries public who are commissioned in the Commonwealth ("Virginia notaries").[6] The Act empowers Virginia notaries to perform notarial acts, including such acts as taking acknowledgements; administering oaths and affirmations; and certifying that a copy of a document, other than a document in the custody of a court, is a true copy thereof.[7] Upon meeting additional requirements, Virginia notaries also may be commissioned as electronic notaries[8] and thereby be authorized to perform electronic notarizations in the Commonwealth, including remote online notarizations.[9] Upon commissioning, "[a]n electronic notary public may act as a notary public in all respects" in Virginia,[10] but "electronic notaries perform [notary] functions in the context of transactions involving electronic documents."[11]

Although Virginia law generally prohibits a Virginia notary from notarizing a document if the signer is not in the notary's presence at the time of notarization,[12] the General Assembly has made an express exemption for electronic notarizations that are conducted with "satisfactory evidence of the identity of the signer . . . ."[13] Because a remote online notarization is an electronic notarization, it falls under this exemption, and a writing so notarized by a Virginia notary is eligible for recording by the clerk of court.[14]

Your inquiry specifically regards the recordation of documents notarized via a remote online notarization by individuals outside the Commonwealth. The Act also addresses the powers of individuals performing notarial acts outside the Commonwealth for use in the Commonwealth.[15] Per § 47.1-13.1,

Notarial acts may be performed outside the Commonwealth for use in the Commonwealth with the same effect as if performed by a notary public of the Commonwealth by the following persons . . . [:]

1. A notary public authorized to perform notarial acts under the laws of that jurisdiction;

2. Any person authorized to perform acts in the place in which the act is performed.[16]

"Notarial act" is defined for purposes of § 47.1-13.1 as an "act, whether performed with respect to a tangible or electronic document, that a notary public commissioned in the Commonwealth may perform under the laws and regulations of the Commonwealth."[17]

When the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, the legislature is presumed to have intended what it has plainly expressed.[18] The plain language of the statute must be given effect.[19] Because a remote online notarization is an electronic notarization, and the language of § 47.1-13.1 includes notarial acts performed with respect to tangible and electronic documents, a remote online notarization is a notarial act under § 47.1-13.1.[20] Additionally, as specified above, Virginia notaries may perform remote online notarizations, and § 47.1-13.1 permits authorized individuals outside the Commonwealth to perform notarial acts that a Virginia notary may perform.[21]

Further, § 47.1-13.1 expressly allows notarial acts, which includes remote online notarizations, to be performed "outside the Commonwealth for use in the Commonwealth" by an authorized notary public of another jurisdiction, or any person authorized to perform notarial acts where the act is performed.[22] These notarial acts are to be given the "same effect" as a document notarized by a Virginia notary.[23] A document notarized via a remote online notarization conducted by a Virginia notary in the Commonwealth is eligible for recordation.[24] Thus, a document notarized via a remote online notarization conducted by an authorized individual outside the Commonwealth in accordance with § 47.1-13.1 is also eligible for recordation.[25]

Conclusion

Accordingly, it is my opinion that, because a document notarized via a remote online notarization by a Virginia notary is eligible for recordation in the Commonwealth, a document notarized outside the Commonwealth via a remote online notarization in accordance with § 47.1-13.1 is eligible for recordation in the Commonwealth.

With kindest regards, I am,
Very truly yours,

Jason S. Miyares
Attorney General

1. VA. CODE ANN. §§ 47.1-1 to 47.1-30 (2020 & Supp. 2025).

2. Section 47.1-2 (Supp. 2025) (defining "remote online notarization"). You express particular interest in the recording of vesting deeds and deeds of trust or mortgage.

3. See VA. CODE ANN. § 17.1-223(A) (2025) ("Every writing authorized by law to be recorded . . . shall, when admitted to record, be recorded by or under the direction of the clerk . . . ."); VA. CODE ANN. § 55.1-604 (2022) ("Except when it is otherwise provided, . . . the clerk . . . shall record any such writing as to any person whose name is signed thereto with an original signature, when it shall have been acknowledged by him, . . . or [proved in] the manner prescribed in Articles 2 (§ 55.1-612 et seq.), 3 (§ 55.1-616 et seq.), and 4 (§ 55.1-624 et seq.)"). See also § 17.1-227 (2025) (setting forth the types of instruments, including deeds, deeds of trust, and mortgages, that "shall . . . be recorded in a [deed] book").

4. See § 55.1-602 (2022) ("A writing that is not properly notarized in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth shall not invalidate the underlying document; however, any such writing shall not be in proper form for recordation."). For electronic filings, "[a]ny statutory requirement for a document to be notarized shall be deemed satisfied by the appropriately executed electronic signature of such notary pursuant to the [Act]." Section 17.1-258.4 (2025).

5. Section 17.1-223(D). A clerk may decline to record a document for reasons unrelated to notarization. See, e.g., §§ 17.1-223; 55.1-604 (2022).

6. See § 47.1-3 (2020) ("Any person who acts as a notary in the Commonwealth shall be . . . commissioned by the Secretary of the Commonwealth and otherwise be in compliance with the provisions of [the Virginia Notary Act].").

7. Section 47.1-12 (2020). A Virginia notary also may certify affidavits or depositions of witnesses, perform verification of fact, and perform such other acts as may be specifically permitted by law. Id.

8. See § 47.1-7 (2020). See also SEC'Y OF THE COMMONWEALTH, Learn About Becoming an Electronic Notary, https://www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/official-documents/notary-commissions/enotary/ (last visited Dec. 16, 2025).

9. See § 47.1-2 (defining "electronic notary public" as "a notary public who has been commissioned . . . with the capability of performing electronic notarial acts" and further defining "electronic notarial act" and "electronic notarization" as "an official act by a notary under § 47.1-12 or as otherwise authorized by law that involves electronic documents"). Such notarizations are "deemed to have been performed within the Commonwealth . . . ." Section 47.1-13 (2020).

10. Section 47.1-8 (2020); see also § 47.1-13(D) (2020).

11. 2008 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 123, 124; see § 47.1-13. "Electronic document" refers broadly to "information that is created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means." Section 47.1-2. By definition, remote online notarization is limited to such documents. See id. and supra note 9.

12. Section 47.1-15 (2020).

13. Id. (directing that the identity of the signer be established in accordance with Code § 47.1-2).

14. Under the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, §§ 55.1-661 to 55.1-666, the notarization requirement for land record documents can be satisfied with an electronic notarization, provided it is performed by a person authorized to perform such notarizations. Section 55.1-662(C) (2022). Clerks of court are immune from suits arising from "the recordation of any document . . . in the land records pursuant to this or any other applicable provision of this Code unless the clerk was grossly negligent or engaged in willful misconduct." Section 17.1-227; see also § 55.1-606 (2022).

15. See § 47.1-13.1 (Supp. 2025).

16. Section 47.1-13.1(B). Notarial acts performed outside the Commonwealth by the following groups may be used within the Commonwealth: a judge, clerk, or deputy clerk where the notarial act is performed, any agent or officer of the United States Department of State authorized to perform notarial acts, and a commissioned officer of the United States authorized to perform notarial acts. Id. A document notarized outside the Commonwealth that appears on its face to be properly notarized is presumed to be in accordance with the laws and regulations of the jurisdiction in which it was notarized. Section 47.1-13.1(C).

17. Section 47.1-13.1(A); see 2025 Va. Acts ch. 209. The Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgements Act contains a similar provision, specifically for acknowledgements, regarding notarial acts performed outside the Commonwealth for use in the Commonwealth. Section 55.1-616 (2022).

18. 1993 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 139, 140; see Conyers v. Martial Arts World of Richmond, Inc., 273 Va. 96, 104 (2007).

19. 1997 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 80, 81.

20. See § 47.1-13.1(A) (emphasis added).

21. See § 47.1-13.1.

22. Section 47.1-13.1.

23. Id. Cf. 2002 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 230, 231 (noting that the Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgements Act, which uses language similar to Code § 47.1-13.1, "authorizes notarial acts performed outside the Commonwealth for use in the Commonwealth to have the same effect as if performed by a [Virginia notary], if the notary public performing such acts is 'authorized to perform notarial acts in the place in which the act is performed'" (quoting Code § 55.1-118.1, predecessor statute to current § 55.1-616)); 1983-84 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 275, 276 (opining that a power of attorney document in Luxembourg could be admitted to record because it carried the "same effect" as a document notarized in Virginia under the Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgements Act); 1977-78 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 125. Whether a specific individual is properly authorized in another jurisdiction to perform notarial acts, either with respect to a tangible or electronic document, is a factual question beyond the scope of an opinion of this Office. See, e.g., 2009 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 80, 81; 1997-98 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 1, 2-3.

24. See § 17.1-223(D); see also § 47.1-16 (requiring electronic notarial certificates to indicate whether the notarization was done in person or by remote online notarization).

25. See § 17.1-223(D) (directing the clerk to record documents properly notarized in accordance with the Act).