Remote online notarization in South Dakota

South Dakota law recognizes two distinct ways for a notary to work with a signer who isn't physically in the room, and they are easy to conflate. Video-witnessed notarization (SDCL 18-1-11.1), in place since 2019, lets a notary watch a signer execute a tangible, paper document over video and then notarize it once the original reaches the notary. Remote online notarization, or RON (SDCL 18-1-11.2 through 18-1-11.8), added in 2024, is broader: it lets the entire act — document, signature and seal — happen on an electronic record, with nothing ever printed or mailed. This page covers both, with the statute behind every requirement.

What SDCL 18-1-11.2 requires for a fully electronic RON act

To perform a remote online notarization on an electronic record, a South Dakota notarial officer, while physically located in this state, must:

• Already hold a South Dakota notary commission. RON is an added capability layered onto an existing commission, not a separate credential.
• Verify identity with two different methods of identity proofing — SDCL 18-1-11.2(1) requires two, not one, before performing a fully electronic act. This is a higher bar than the “personal knowledge” standard that can satisfy video-witnessed notarization of a tangible document.
• Affix the notary's signature to the electronic record the signer executed (SDCL 18-1-11.2(2)).
• State the signer's remote location and the use of video technology in the notarial certificate, per SDCL 18-1-11.2(3)–(4) and SDCL 18-4-30.
• Use a tamper-evident electronic notarization system (SDCL 18-1-11.2(4)) that the notary selected in advance.
• Create an audio-visual recording of the entire notarial act (SDCL 18-1-11.2(5)) and retain it, or have a designated repository retain it, for ten years (SDCL 18-1-11.3).

South Dakota doesn't issue a separate license for RON — it's an endorsement added to an existing notary commission. To register:

1. Choose a tamper-evident electronic notarization system. The choice, and the diligence behind it, is the notary's own responsibility. Per the Secretary of State's e-notary page, “South Dakota does not require electronic notarization platform providers to seek approval for providing their services to their customers,” and the office keeps no list of approved vendors.
2. File a Notary Change Form naming the platform(s) selected, as required by SDCL 18-1-11.4.
3. Attach an image of your electronic seal. If the platform requires an active commission before it will issue a seal image, the Secretary of State's guidance is to file that image on a later change form once it's available, rather than delaying registration.
4. Wait for confirmation. The Secretary of State issues a certificate confirming e-notary status. Until that confirmation arrives, the notary may not notarize using the new seal or platform — the same rule that applies to any seal or name change.

Once registered, an e-notary is flagged as such in the Secretary of State's own Notary Public Search tool, which has a checkbox to show only e-notaries.

An electronic seal must meet the same minimum content required of any South Dakota notary seal under SDCL 18-1-3.1: the notary's name, the words “South Dakota” and “notary public,” and a surrounding border, with the seal and required words placed inside that border. The commission expiration date belongs outside it. The state doesn't provide or sell the seal — the chosen RON platform typically generates the electronic seal image, and some platforms add their own elements (a commission number, the expiration date positioned a particular way) on top of the statutory minimum. If an image doesn't meet the minimum requirements, the Secretary of State's office will not accept it.

A register of deeds must accept a printed copy of an electronically notarized record as satisfying an original-signature requirement, but only if the notary attaches a specific authentication certificate under SDCL 18-1-11.5 and 18-1-11.6. The statute sets out the required wording:

What if my recording obligation outlives my commission?

SDCL 18-1-11.3 doesn't end with the commission. If a notarial officer's commission is suspended or revoked, or the notary dies or becomes incapacitated, the notary (or their guardian, conservator, or personal representative) must still retain each electronic audio-visual recording for the full ten years from the date it was made — or have it held by a designated repository instead, which the statute allows in place of the notary's own retention at any time.

Rulemaking authority

SDCL 18-1-11.7 lets the Secretary of State promulgate administrative rules covering credential analysis, identity proofing and the communication technology used for online notarial acts, and to help ensure the integrity of those acts. The office's existing notary rule, Administrative Rule 5:04:03, currently governs the content of the application, oath and change-record forms (most recently amended effective September 29, 2025) rather than RON procedure itself — check the Secretary of State's site directly for any RON-specific rule adopted after this page's review date.