Colorado Electronic Notary: Application, DAN, and Penalties

To meet the Colorado electronic notary requirements, you first need an active Colorado notary public commission, and then you apply separately through the Secretary of State’s online system for electronic notarization authorization. Once approved, you receive a Document Authentication Number (DAN) that must appear on every document you notarize electronically.¹ The electronic authorization runs on the same four-year clock as your underlying commission.²

Electronic Notarization Is Not Remote Notarization

Colorado treats these as two different authorizations, and mixing them up causes real compliance problems. Electronic notarization means the signer is physically in the room with you; the document is signed digitally rather than on paper, and no audio-video connection is involved.¹

Remote notarization is a separate authorization for situations where the signer appears through real-time audio-video communication. It has its own $10 application, its own recording and identity-proofing requirements, and its own list of documents it cannot be used for.³⁴ If you want to notarize for signers who are not in the room with you, electronic authorization alone is not enough.

The Standard Commission Comes First

You cannot apply for electronic authorization without an active Colorado notary commission. Getting that commission requires completing a training course and passing an exam on Colorado’s notarial laws and procedures.⁵ The Secretary of State offers a free training course through its eLearning platform, and several approved vendors provide training as well.⁶

The initial commission application costs $10, and renewals cost $10 every four years. You can renew up to 90 days before your commission expires.³² Colorado does not require a surety bond, though the Secretary of State suggests considering one for liability protection.⁷

Applying for Electronic Authorization

Once your commission is active, log in to the Secretary of State’s online notary system and use the eNotary Application link on the left sidebar.⁸ The Secretary of State’s published fee schedule lists $10 for the base commission and $10 for remote notary authorization but does not list a separate fee for electronic notary authorization, so check the online system for the current fee at the time you apply.³

Your electronic authorization is tied to the underlying commission. If the commission lapses or is revoked, the electronic privilege ends with it. When you renew your four-year commission, make sure your electronic authorization is renewed or reauthorized at the same time so you do not perform an electronic notarization during a gap.

Signature, Certificate, and DAN

Electronic notaries have to use a digital certificate and electronic signature that meet the state’s security standards. Colorado law requires the electronic signature to include your name exactly as it appears on your commission along with your notary ID number, so every electronically notarized document can be traced to the specific notary who performed the act.⁹

Every electronic notarization must also carry the Document Authentication Number the Secretary of State issued to you. The DAN is unique to the notary and works as an extra verification layer confirming the notarization came from someone authorized to perform it.¹ Leaving it off can put the validity of the notarization in question, so build it into your workflow rather than treating it as a last step.

The platform you use should support tamper-evident technology, so any alteration after notarization is detectable. Verify your platform meets the Secretary of State’s standards before you perform any electronic notarial acts.

Verifying the Signer’s Identity

Before you perform an electronic notarization, you must verify who is signing. Colorado law gives you two paths: satisfactory evidence through identification documents, or personal knowledge of the person.

For identification documents, the statute accepts a passport, driver’s license, or government-issued non-driver ID, each of which must be current or expired no more than one year before the notarization. Other government-issued identification also works under the same one-year window, as long as it contains the individual’s signature or photograph. An ID that expired 14 months ago does not qualify, even if it otherwise looks legitimate.¹⁰

If a qualifying document is not available, a credible witness who personally knows the signer can vouch for their identity under oath. The witness must either be personally known to you or present their own qualifying identification. You can also request additional identification if something raises doubt.¹⁰

Personal knowledge means an established relationship with the signer that gives you reasonable certainty about their identity. It is permitted, but relying on documentation when you can protects you if the notarization is later challenged.

What You Can Charge

Colorado caps the fee for a traditional paper notarization at $15 per document. For an electronic or remote notarization, the maximum fee is $25 per document.⁷ That fee covers the whole act: verifying the signer, administering any oath or affirmation, and applying your signature, certificate, and stamp. You cannot break those pieces into separate charges.

Your Journal

Every Colorado notary must keep a journal of all notarial acts. If you keep it in electronic form, it has to be permanent and tamper-evident and comply with the Secretary of State’s rules. Notaries who perform remote notarizations must use an electronic journal for those acts. If you are only performing in-person electronic notarizations, you may choose between a bound physical register with numbered pages and an electronic format.¹¹

Make each entry at the time you perform the act. Every entry needs the date and time, a description of the record and the type of notarial act, the full name and address of each person for whom you performed the act, that person’s signature or electronic signature, your identity verification method (a statement that you relied on personal knowledge, or a description of the identification document presented), and the fee charged, if any. If an interpreter helped, include the interpreter’s full name, address, and certification or credential number.¹¹

Retain the journal for ten years after the last entry. It stays under your exclusive control, no other notary may use it, and the Secretary of State can audit or inspect it without restriction, or demand you surrender it in writing.¹¹

One point that trips people up: audio-video recording is not part of electronic notarization. Because the signer is physically present, there is no video session to record. That requirement applies only to remote notarizations.¹

What You Cannot Do

Unless you are a licensed Colorado attorney, you cannot draft legal documents, give legal advice, or otherwise practice law. You cannot act as an immigration consultant or represent anyone in immigration proceedings. Non-attorney notaries are also barred from using the title “notario” or “notario publico,” because those terms imply legal authority in many Spanish-speaking countries that Colorado law does not grant.¹²

Non-attorney notaries who advertise notarial services must include a disclaimer, in every language used in the advertisement, stating they are not licensed to practice law and are not immigration consultants, and directing people to the Colorado Attorney General’s office or Supreme Court if they suspect fraud.¹²

You cannot notarize a document that is blank or contains unfilled blanks in its text, and you cannot withhold a signer’s original document. The answer to a request to notarize a partial form and let the signer fill in the rest later is always no.¹²

One boundary worth knowing even though it lives on the remote side: certain documents, including wills, codicils, and anything purporting to be a will or codicil (with a narrow exception under the Colorado Uniform Electronic Wills Act), and documents related to the electoral process, cannot be notarized remotely. These restrictions do not apply to electronic notarizations where the signer is physically present with you.⁴

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

The Secretary of State can audit journals, investigate complaints, and suspend or revoke a commission. Consequences range from mandatory retraining for minor issues to permanent loss of the commission for serious misconduct.

Willful violations, such as falsifying notarized documents or knowingly facilitating fraud, can bring criminal charges. A class 2 misdemeanor in Colorado carries up to 120 days in jail and a fine of up to $750.¹³ If the conduct rises to identity theft, financial fraud, or real estate fraud, felony charges under separate statutes can apply with harsher penalties.

For most electronic notaries, the practical risk is administrative rather than criminal. Failing to keep a proper journal, using an unapproved platform, or omitting the DAN are the kinds of errors that lead to Secretary of State investigations. Keep your platform current, keep the journal complete, and verify identification on every transaction.

1
Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public FAQs – Remote Notarization
2
Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public FAQs – Application
3
Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public Fee Schedule
4
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 Section 24-21-514.5 – Audio-Video Communication
5
Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public Examination
6
Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public Training
7
Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public FAQs – General Questions
8
Colorado Secretary of State. Electronic Notary Public
9
Colorado Secretary of State. Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA) Changes
10
Colorado Secretary of State. Colorado Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts – Section 24-21-507
11
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 Section 24-21-519 – Journal
12
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 Section 24-21-525 – Prohibited Acts
13
Colorado General Assembly. SB21-271 Misdemeanor Reform