According to Delaware Governor Jack Markell an initiative to move notary applications and processing into the digital age is making progress.
The governor said more than 40 percent of the state’s notary publics have signed up for the streamlined service since being launched last October. The state has nearly 10,000 notary publics, and Gov. Markell says the new system is a great way to show how the internet and related technologies are making government more efficient.
”This is a great example of how we are using e-Government to lower costs and improve the quality of government services,” he said in a statement. “This new system allows Delaware to move the centuries-old institution of notary public into the 21st century.”
Even though many business and legal documents are created and delivered electronically, most of those documents have to be presented in paper formats to be notarized. This duplication costs time and money for businesses and the government. The Microsoft-based eNotary system will provide advantages over a paper system by increasing speed, lowering costs, and enhancing document security and the trustworthiness of the notarial seal by ensuring that document signers are authentic and appear in person before the notary, says Jeffrey Bullock, Delaware Secretary of State.
“Delaware’s Division of Corporations prides itself on delivering world-class business formation services and our new, online notary system not only saves time and money, but it also creates a platform for launching electronic notary services in 2011.”
The state hopes the new eNotary system will provide a complete suite of products and services, including electronic notarization, electronic archiving of notarized documents, and authentication.
Built on a Microsoft SharePoint platform, eNotary eventually will allow qualified Delaware notary publics to acknowledge digital documents, manage journal records and archive transactional data over a web-enabled network, officials said.
