NOTARIES: Urges and requests the Louisiana State Law Institute to study the use of remote online notarization for executing certain authentic acts.
SCR 35 is a concurrent resolution that does not itself change Louisiana law, but instead asks the Louisiana State Law Institute to study and draft proposed legislation to expand the state’s Remote Online Notarization Act. The study would focus on whether remote online notarization should be allowed for executing certain authentic acts under Civil Code Article 1833, while continuing to exclude instruments already prohibited under R.S. 35:623(B) and any other acts deemed unsuitable for remote execution.
The resolution explains that Louisiana’s current remote online notarization framework already sets rules for notary authorization, participant locations, identity verification, digital signatures, and record retention. It also notes that technology has improved since the 2020 enactment of the Remote Online Notarization Act and that remote notarization could help address notary shortages, especially in rural areas, while making commerce, banking, and land-title transactions easier to complete. The Law Institute is directed to report findings and proposed legislation to the Legislature by March 1, 2027.
SCR 35 has no immediate effect on the Civil Code or the Remote Online Notarization Act; its legal impact is advisory and preparatory. It directs the Louisiana State Law Institute to study possible amendments that could expand remote online notarization to certain authentic acts, which would affect notaries public, parties to notarized transactions, banks, title companies, clerks of court, and other users of authentic acts if future legislation is enacted.
The bill appears to have broad support and little visible opposition. It passed the Senate 32-0 and the House 88-0, indicating unanimous approval in both chambers. The resolution’s findings frame the proposal positively, emphasizing modernization, access in rural areas, and improved commercial efficiency.
There is no recorded committee debate or floor controversy in the provided materials, but the resolution itself identifies the main policy issue: whether remote online notarization should be expanded to authentic acts that traditionally require in-person execution before a notary and two witnesses. Potential concerns likely center on document security, fraud prevention, witness reliability, and whether some instruments should remain excluded, while supporters emphasize access, convenience, and alignment with practices in other civil law jurisdictions. The required study group includes a broad set of stakeholders, suggesting the Legislature expects input from notaries, bankers, lawyers, title professionals, clerks, and the secretary of state before any substantive change is proposed.