IL Notary IL-Notary Notary Journal Record-Keeping Standards 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Illinois Notary Public Act, an Illinois RON electronic journal must be maintained in what type of format?
- Standard Microsoft Word or PDF format
- A tamper-evident electronic format (Correct answer)
- A format approved by the county clerk
- Any format as long as it is printed and stored monthly
Correct answer: A tamper-evident electronic format
Illinois law requires the electronic journal to be maintained in a tamper-evident format so that any unauthorized alterations can be detected.
Question 2: If an Illinois RON notary discovers their electronic journal has been accessed or compromised without authorization, what is the appropriate action?
- Delete the compromised entries and create corrected replacements
- Notify the Illinois Secretary of State of the security breach (Correct answer)
- Destroy the old journal and immediately start a new one
- Report only to the local county clerk's office
Correct answer: Notify the Illinois Secretary of State of the security breach
A notary whose journal is compromised must notify the Illinois Secretary of State, who oversees notary commissions and the integrity of notarial records.
Question 3: Which statement is TRUE about which RON acts must be recorded in an Illinois electronic journal?
- Only acknowledgments must be recorded
- Only jurats and oaths must be recorded
- Only acts for which a fee was charged must be recorded
- All notarial acts performed as a RON must be recorded without exception (Correct answer)
Correct answer: All notarial acts performed as a RON must be recorded without exception
Every notarial act performed as a Remote Online Notary in Illinois must be recorded in the electronic journal — there are no exemptions by act type.
Question 4: The 10-year retention requirement for an Illinois RON electronic journal is measured from:
- The date the notary's RON authorization expires
- The date of each individual notarial act recorded (Correct answer)
- The date the notary first received their RON authorization
- The date the notarized document is filed with a court or agency
Correct answer: The date of each individual notarial act recorded
The 10-year retention period runs from the date of each individual notarial act, not from the commission expiration date.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of the audio-visual recording required for Illinois Remote Online Notarizations?
- It replaces the need for a written electronic journal entry
- It serves as evidence of the remote session and the identity verification process (Correct answer)
- It must be submitted to the county courthouse after each notarization session
- It is used solely to verify the notary's identity for the Secretary of State
Correct answer: It serves as evidence of the remote session and the identity verification process
The audio-visual recording documents the remote session and provides evidence that proper identity verification and notarization procedures were followed.
Question 6: For Illinois Remote Online Notarizations, the audio-visual recording must be retained for:
- 3 years from the date of the notarial act
- 5 years from the date of the notarial act
- 10 years from the date of the notarial act (Correct answer)
- 7 years from the expiration of the RON commission
Correct answer: 10 years from the date of the notarial act
Audio-visual recordings must be retained for 10 years from the date of the notarial act, the same period required for the electronic journal.
Question 7: Who bears primary responsibility for the security of an Illinois RON notary's electronic journal?
- The RON technology platform provider is solely responsible for all journal security
- The notary must take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access to the journal (Correct answer)
- The Illinois Secretary of State is responsible for storing and securing all RON journals
- Security is optional since the audio-visual recording is the primary legal record
Correct answer: The notary must take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access to the journal
The notary bears personal responsibility for maintaining the security of their electronic journal and preventing unauthorized access.
IL Notary IL-Notary Notary Journal Record-Keeping Standards 3
Under the Illinois Notary Public Act, an Illinois RON electronic journal must be maintained in what type of format?