When and How do Notaries use Electronic Signatures?
These days electronic signatures are used in a wide variety of situations, replacing traditional handwritten signatures, or as the legal profession likes to call them, wet signatures.
How can we be sure that the potentially copied and pasted signature, is real? Afterall, a notary’s signature is respected across the world; especially when an Apostille issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office is attached.
The answer is that some signatures are more secure and tamper proof than others. You won’t be surprised to hear that notaries in England and Wales use the most secure: a QES or qualified electronic signature.
There is plenty information about the legalisation of documents – where an apostille must be attached to your notarised document – elsewhere, but did you know that this process can be done completely digitally? There are, as you may expect, caveats; but for now, let’s stick to when and how notaries use electronic signatures.
The notary obtains an electronic signature from a “trusted” electronic signature provider – a specialist company that creates and manages legally binding and secure electronic signatures.
You send the document you want notarised to the notary in digital format. The notary inserts their electronic signature into the document. The document is authenticated via a third party. This verified and notarised document can then be submitted to the FCDO. The notary will have previously registered their signature with the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).
The Foreign Office verify the notary’s signature and adds an electronic apostille or ‘digital stamp’ to the document. This E-Apostille service vastly speeds up the process of legalisation.
All good; but not all jurisdictions – receiving countries and lawyers – like the idea of not having a legally binding agreement or copy document in ‘hard copy’.
We have a lot more to say on this intriguing topic… watch this space or get in touch.