ELECTRONIC notarization is finally here. While this may be the case, the signatory’s appearance before the notary public remains a legal requirement – only this time, it may be virtual.
On February 4, 2025, the Supreme Court en banc has approved the Rules on Electronic Notarization or A.M. No. 24-10-14-SC, which marks a significant development in the Philippine legal landscape and demonstrates that the law indeed looks forward, not backward (“lex prospicit, non respicit”).
The Rules were published on March 9, 2025 and took effect 15 days later, or on March 24, 2025. The development and accreditation process of e-notarization facilities took around a year from mid-2025 to mid-2026. On August 10, 2026, applications formally opened for qualified lawyers seeking to be commissioned as electronic notaries public. According to the Supreme Court, electronic notarization will become fully operational come October 19, 2026, when the first batch of commissioned e-notaries public are deployed.
E-Notarization
The Supreme Court’s official website defines electronic notarization as a “digital process wherein electronic documents are signed and notarized through a secure Electronic Notarization Facility (ENF) Provider, administered by an Electronic Notary Public (ENP).”
With this development, documents may now be notarized online so long as the act of notarization strictly follows the relevant Rules.
How it works
Electronic notarization can either be in-person or remote. In both cases, the use of the e-notarization facility is indispensable. This means that not only the notary public, but also the person who intends to have their electronic document notarized, must have access to any of the accredited e-notarization facilities.
That being said, it is important to emphasize that electronic notarization cannot be carried out via Google Meet, Zoom, MS Teams, or any other videoconferencing platforms that are not accredited by the Supreme Court. There must accreditation to ensure that the act of electronic notarization complies with the strict security and identification verification standards under the relevant Rules.
Currently, there are three accredited e-notarization facilities, such as: Twala by Ohelio, Inc., QLegal by Quanby Solutions Inc., and NotarizeIT by Unawa Inc. The e-notary public and the person who intends to have a document notarized must use the same platform in order to facilitate the electronic notarization.
Most legal documents can be e-notarized, like affidavits, special and general powers of attorney, and contracts, among others. Scanned copies of the paper documents fall under the definition of “electronic document” under the Rules on Electronic Notarization, but they have to be in Portable Document Format (PDF) or Portable Document Format Archival (PDF/A).
Remote v. in-person e-notarization
Their names basically speak for themselves. Remote electronic notarization refers to the “notarization of electronic documents through the use of an accredited ENF where the principal and/or their witness(es), if any, virtually appear before the ENP through the use of the same ENF.” [par. (s), Section 4, A.M. No. 24-10-14-SC]
In-person electronic notarization, meanwhile, refers to the “notarization of electronic documents through the use of an accredited ENF where the principal and/or their witness(es), if any, physically appear before the ENP.” [par. (p), Section 4, A.M. No. 24-10-14-SC]
As long as the principals and/or witnesses are in the Philippines, remote and in-person electronic notarization can be done. The exception to this is Section 5 of the Rules on Electronic Notarization, which allows “limited extraterritorial performance of electronic notarial acts” or notarization of electronic documents when the principal and/or witnesses are outside the Philippines. The requirement is that the principal and/or witnesses must be within the premises of any Philippine embassy or consular office abroad during the execution of the notarial act, subject to confirmation by the e-notary public himself/herself and a designated officer of the Philippine embassy or consulate.
Supplement, not supplant
The Rules on Electronic Notarization does not supplant the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice or A.M. No 02-8-13-SC, as amended. Rather, the former supplements the latter. This is made unequivocally clear by Section 2 of A.M. No. 24-10-14-SC, which states that notarization of electronic documents shall be governed by the Rules on Electronic Notarization while notarization of paper documents shall continue to be governed by the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice, as amended. (To be continued)/PN
