Last updated 2026-08-18
TL;DR
Colorado notaries perform remote online notarization under C.R.S. § 24-21-514.5. You need an active Colorado notary commission first, then notify the Secretary of State of the RON technology you will use. State fees are low. Most notaries who already hold a commission are operational within two weeks of finishing platform onboarding. Starting from zero, budget four to six weeks.
What is the legal basis for remote online notarization in Colorado?
Colorado authorized remote online notarization through the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, codified at Colorado Revised Statutes § 24-21-501 through § 24-21-530 [1]. The remote notarization authority sits at C.R.S. § 24-21-514.5, and the Colorado Secretary of State adopted implementing rules under 8 CCR 1505-11 that set the technology, recordkeeping, and identity-proofing standards both notaries and RON platforms must meet [2].
The statute defines a "remotely located individual" as a person who is not in the physical presence of the notary at the time of the notarial act. Colorado does not require the signer to be physically in Colorado. The notary is the one with the location rule: you must be commissioned in Colorado and physically present in Colorado when you perform the act. That trips up notaries who travel or work across state lines. Keep it front of mind.
Colorado's RON statute follows the Uniform Law Commission's model act, so its bones look a lot like Arizona's and Alaska's. If you have set up in one of those states, this will feel familiar. For readers building a practice across the Mountain West, the how to start remote online notarization in Arizona guide walks the parallel process next door.
Do you need a license for remote online notarization in Colorado?
Yes, but the word "license" is wrong. Colorado does not issue a separate RON license. What you need is an active Colorado notary public commission, and then you notify the Secretary of State that you intend to perform remote notarizations and identify the technology you will use. Two distinct steps, and the second one is impossible without the first [1][2].
A Colorado notary commission lasts four years and comes from the Secretary of State's office. New applicants pass a state-approved training course and an exam through the state's online system. Renewal applicants take the training again. Those requirements apply to every notary in Colorado, whether or not you ever touch a RON session.
Once you hold a valid commission, you complete the remote notarization notification through the Secretary of State's portal and identify your technology provider. Colorado publishes standards the technology must meet under 8 CCR 1505-11 rather than pre-approving a fixed menu, so read your vendor's compliance attestation carefully [2]. Using technology that fails the state standard is a commission violation.
Short version: commission plus RON notification. The commission is your credential. The notification is your operational green light. Our deeper breakdown lives at remote online notarization license in Colorado.
How much does remote online notarization cost in Colorado?
The costs come in layers. Separate them or you will overpay.
State fees. Colorado's notary program fees run through the Secretary of State's Notaries program [3]. The commission and the RON notification are inexpensive state charges compared with what you spend on private services, so most of your budget goes elsewhere.
Education and exam. Colorado runs new-notary training and testing through the Secretary of State's online system. The state's own training and exam are low cost, but private course providers also offer prep and charge their own fees, commonly $30 to $75. Confirm current pricing on the Secretary of State's Notaries program page before you pay a third party for something the state may offer directly [3].
RON platform fees. This is your biggest ongoing variable. Notary-facing RON platforms charge monthly subscriptions, per-transaction fees, or both. Monthly plans commonly run $25 to $150 depending on features and volume. Pay-per-notarization models sit around $5 to $25 per transaction. Colorado sets no price cap on what a platform can charge you.
Your fee to signers. Colorado caps the fee a notary may charge per notarial act. Confirm the current figure on the Secretary of State's fees guidance because the cap is set by rule and can be adjusted [3]. Some notaries charge the max; others price under it to win volume.
First-year budget. Combine state fees, any private course, and a mid-range platform, and year one commonly lands between $400 and $800 before revenue. Platform choice drives most of the spread.
| Cost item | Typical range | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Notary commission and RON notification | State fee, see SOS | Colorado SOS [3] |
| Education / exam prep (private) | $30 to $75 | Approved vendor |
| RON platform (annual) | $300 to $1,800 | Platform vendor |
| Per-notarization model | $5 to $25 per act | Platform vendor |
| E&O insurance (optional) | $100 to $300 | Private insurer |
How long does remote online notarization take in Colorado?
"How long does it take" means one of two things: how long setup runs before you can start, or how long a single RON session lasts. Both deserve an answer.
Setup timeline. The Secretary of State processes commission applications and RON notifications online. The state does not publish a guaranteed turnaround, so plan for a few business days up to two or three weeks depending on volume. Confirm current processing times before you book paying clients.
Platform onboarding stacks on top of state review. Platforms usually want you to upload your commission credentials, set up your electronic seal, and finish their internal training. That runs one to five business days for most vendors, with some offering near-instant onboarding when your credentials verify automatically.
A realistic path from scratch: training (one to three days online), exam (same day or next-day), commission processing (one to three weeks), RON notification (same day to a few days), platform onboarding (one to five business days). Someone who already holds a valid commission and just needs the RON notification and platform setup can be live in under two weeks. Starting with no commission at all, budget four to six weeks.
Session length. A single RON transaction typically runs 15 to 30 minutes end to end, covering identity proofing (knowledge-based authentication plus credential analysis), the live audio-video session, and document execution. Multiple signers or long document sets stretch that. Identity proofing is the wild card. A signer who fails KBA may force a reschedule.
What are the step-by-step requirements to start RON in Colorado?
Here is the real sequence. Each step is a prerequisite for the next, so do not reorder them.
Step 1: Meet baseline eligibility. You must be at least 18, a Colorado resident or have a place of employment or practice in Colorado, able to read and write English, and free of a disqualifying criminal history. Colorado law at C.R.S. § 24-21-504 lists the disqualifying grounds [1].
Step 2: Complete the required training. Take the state's notary training through the Secretary of State's system, or an approved course, and keep your completion record for the application.
Step 3: Pass the exam. Pass the Colorado notary exam. It covers Colorado notary law, proper notarial acts, and ethical standards.
Step 4: Apply for your commission. Submit through the Secretary of State's online portal at sos.colorado.gov, pay the state fee, and upload your training record [3]. If approved, you get a commission certificate valid for four years from issuance.
Step 5: Get your notarial tools. You need an official stamp or seal and, for RON, an electronic seal and digital certificate that meets the tamper-evident technology requirements under 8 CCR 1505-11 [2].
Step 6: Choose your RON technology. Compare vendors on pricing, reliability, and support. Read each one's Colorado compliance attestation. Do not sign a long contract before running a few test transactions.
Step 7: Notify the Secretary of State. File the remote notarization notification through the SOS portal and identify your technology provider [2].
Step 8: Finish platform onboarding. Upload your credentials and electronic seal, configure your account, and complete the vendor's orientation. Some platforms have Colorado-specific checklists. Work through them before live clients.
Step 9: Set up recordkeeping. Colorado requires a journal of notarial acts and retention of electronic records, including the session recording, for at least five years. Confirm your platform's storage meets the retention rule under 8 CCR 1505-11 [2].
Step 10: Start taking sessions. Test with a colleague first. Check audio, video, lighting, document sharing, and your identity-proofing flow before a paying client is on the line.
What technology standards do Colorado RON platforms have to meet?
Colorado's rules under 8 CCR 1505-11 require RON technology to provide real-time audio-visual communication, identity proofing through both knowledge-based authentication (KBA) and credential analysis, and a tamper-evident seal applied to electronic documents [2]. All three happen in every session.
KBA means the signer answers questions pulled from public and private data sources, the kind a stranger would rarely get right. Credential analysis means the platform optically or digitally checks a government-issued ID to confirm it is genuine. Both run before you notarize.
The electronic record of the act, including the audio-visual recording, must be retained. The rules set a five-year minimum. If your platform hosts those records, get a contractual right to export them when you switch vendors, because the retention duty follows you, not the platform.
Colorado also requires the digital certificate on your electronic seal to come from a certificate authority meeting specific technical standards. Your vendor should name the certificate authority and confirm compliance without hesitation. A vendor that fumbles that question is a red flag.
What identity proofing rules apply to Colorado RON sessions?
Colorado requires you to confirm a remote signer's identity through one of three paths: personal knowledge, a credible witness who personally knows the signer and appears in the session, or the combination of KBA and credential analysis [1]. The rule text and process live in the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts and the implementing rules under 8 CCR 1505-11 [2].
Personal knowledge means you have known the signer long enough to confirm their identity without leaning on documents. A credible witness is a third person who knows both you and the signer, or who is identified through their own credential analysis, vouching during the session.
Most online sessions use the KBA plus credential analysis path, because personal knowledge and credible witnesses rarely fit when you serve strangers. KBA usually involves five to six questions on a short timer. A signer who fails often gets one retry, and a second failure ends the session. Platforms handle this automatically.
Here is what catches new RON notaries off guard: if credential analysis flags the ID as possibly altered, or the image is too poor to analyze, you must stop. Colorado does not let you override a failed credential analysis because the person seems honest.
How does Colorado's RON fee cap affect what you can charge?
Colorado sets a maximum fee per notarial act by rule, and you confirm the current figure through the Secretary of State's fees guidance [3]. A notarial act is a single act, one acknowledgment or one jurat, not the whole session. A document with three signatures needing three acknowledgments can generate three separate fees.
You may charge less than the cap. You cannot charge more. Colorado's law does not add a travel component for RON since nobody drives anywhere, so some notaries bundle other services separately. Careful here. If a bundled fee is really a workaround for the per-act cap, that can be treated as a violation. When in doubt, stay at or below the cap for the notarial acts and keep any other service genuinely separate.
The cap is per act. Not per document. Not per session. Track your acts accurately in your journal.
What ongoing compliance requirements apply after you start?
Getting started is the easy half. Staying compliant across a four-year term takes more attention.
Journal keeping is required. Colorado law requires a chronological journal of every notarial act. Your platform likely generates a transaction log, but confirm it captures the fields required under 8 CCR 1505-11, and keep your own backup copies [2].
Recording retention is required. Each RON session recording must be kept at least five years [2]. If you change platforms, make sure the recordings travel with you or download them before you close an account.
Renewal means another training course and the state application fee, filed through the Secretary of State's system [3]. Your commission runs four years from issuance.
Changes of address or name must be reported to the Secretary of State within the required window. Check the current requirement on the SOS site, because missing it can open a commission gap.
Switch or add RON technology and you notify the Secretary of State again for the new provider [2]. You cannot swap vendors quietly and assume the old notification covers you.
How does Colorado compare to neighboring states for RON setup?
Colorado's RON framework sits mid-range for complexity among Western states. Here is a quick comparison across states where RON is authorized.
| State | Separate RON authorization required? | Notary fee cap (RON) | Commission term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | Yes, RON notification | Per act, see SOS [3] | 4 years |
| Arizona | Yes, RON authorization | $10 per act | 4 years |
| Alaska | Yes, application to Lt. Governor | $15 per act | 4 years |
| Alabama | RON permitted, confirm current status | Varies | 4 years |
Confirm Arizona and Alaska figures with their own Secretary of State offices before you plan a budget around them. The how to start remote online notarization in Alaska and how to start remote online notarization in Arizona guides cover those states in detail.
Colorado's state RON fees are among the lowest in the country. The training requirement for first-timers and renewals is comparable to Arizona and stricter than Alaska. The per-act fee cap sits on the lower end nationally. Some states allow $25 or more per act, which changes how much volume you need to cover platform costs.
What tools and resources do you actually need on day one?
Forget the bloated setup lists some guides push. Here is what you genuinely need before your first Colorado RON session.
A computer with a camera, microphone, and stable internet. Most platforms publish minimum speeds. 10 Mbps symmetric is a safe baseline, and faster is better. A wired connection beats Wi-Fi for professional sessions.
A well-lit, quiet workspace. Both the platform and the signer need to see your face and your seal clearly. A dark or cluttered background hurts credibility and can choke the video stream.
Your electronic seal and digital certificate, installed through your platform. Test it before your first live session.
A journal, either the platform's built-in log (if it meets state requirements) or a separate electronic or paper journal.
A document delivery system. Platforms usually handle upload and download, but you need a reliable way to receive documents from clients and return completed ones. Know that workflow before a client is waiting.
Errors and omissions insurance is optional under Colorado law, but worth it. Premiums are small next to the liability, commonly $100 to $300 per year for a basic policy. If you touch real estate closings, treat E&O as a practical requirement, not a nicety.
RONPath publishes a $99 one-time State RON Add-On Kit for Colorado that pulls the state-specific checklist, platform comparison, and journal templates into one file. Visit /start for a structured starting package. Everything here is also free on the Colorado Secretary of State's site if you would rather build your own file.
Common mistakes new Colorado RON notaries make and how to avoid them
Starting RON without an active commission in hand. You cannot legally perform RON until your commission certificate issues. Some applicants set up a platform account and try to run sessions while the application is still processing. That is unauthorized practice.
Using technology that does not meet Colorado's standard. Read your vendor's Colorado compliance attestation and confirm it is current right before you start, not months earlier when you were shopping around.
Skipping the RON notification. A valid commission does not automatically authorize RON. You file the remote notarization notification with the Secretary of State separately. Skip it and every RON session you run is unauthorized, commission or not.
Sloppy journal practices. New notaries lean entirely on the platform's transaction log without checking it. Pull a sample entry and compare it line by line against the fields required in 8 CCR 1505-11 [2].
Not testing identity proofing before going live. KBA failure among legitimate signers is more common than beginners expect, especially for older adults, recent immigrants, and people with thin credit files. Know your platform's retry policy and have a calm script ready for a failure so you do not embarrass the client.
Overselling what RON can do. Some documents carry requirements outside the notary statutes. Wills and certain court filings may need more. When a client asks whether their document is eligible for RON, confirm with a licensed Colorado attorney if you are not sure.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for remote online notarization in Colorado?
Colorado does not issue a separate RON license. You need two things: an active Colorado notary public commission from the Secretary of State, and a remote notarization notification filed with the Secretary of State identifying your technology. The commission requires an approved training course and an exam. You cannot legally perform RON without both pieces in place.
How much does remote online notarization cost in Colorado?
Colorado's state notary and RON fees are low and posted on the Secretary of State's Notaries program page. Add optional private course prep at $30 to $75. Your biggest ongoing cost is the RON platform, typically $300 to $1,800 per year depending on vendor and plan. Total first-year costs commonly land between $400 and $800.
How long does remote online notarization take in Colorado?
Setup from scratch takes four to six weeks: training, exam, commission processing, RON notification, and platform onboarding. If you already hold a valid Colorado commission, notification and platform setup can have you operational in under two weeks. Individual RON sessions with a signer typically run 15 to 30 minutes, including identity proofing and document execution.
What is the maximum fee a Colorado notary can charge for a RON session?
Colorado caps notary fees per notarial act by rule, and you confirm the current figure through the Secretary of State's fees guidance. A single session with three acknowledgments generates three separate fees. You may charge less than the cap; you cannot charge more. Confirm the current amount with the Secretary of State's office because the cap can change by rule.
Which RON technology can I use in Colorado?
Colorado sets technology standards under 8 CCR 1505-11 rather than a fixed approved list, requiring real-time audio-visual communication, KBA plus credential analysis, and a tamper-evident seal. Choose a vendor that provides a current Colorado compliance attestation and can name its certificate authority. Using technology that fails the state standard is a commission violation regardless of the vendor's reputation elsewhere.
Can a Colorado notary perform RON for signers located in other states or countries?
Yes. Colorado law allows the remotely located individual to be anywhere, as long as the notary is commissioned in Colorado and physically located in Colorado at the time of the act. The law of the notary's commissioning state generally governs the act. Check whether the receiving jurisdiction, meaning the state where the document will be used, accepts Colorado RON.
How long must Colorado RON records be kept?
Colorado requires notaries to retain electronic records of RON transactions, including the audio-visual recording of each session, for a minimum of five years under 8 CCR 1505-11. If you use a platform for storage, confirm you can export records before closing an account or switching vendors, because the retention duty follows the notary, not the platform.
Does Colorado require errors and omissions insurance for RON notaries?
No. Colorado does not require E&O insurance for notaries performing RON. If you plan to handle real estate closings or other high-value work, the practical risk is real. Basic E&O policies for notaries typically cost $100 to $300 per year, a small expense next to the liability exposure from a botched closing or an identity fraud claim.
What happens if a signer fails knowledge-based authentication during a Colorado RON session?
If a signer fails KBA, you cannot proceed using that identity method. Most platforms allow one retry. A second failure ends the session without the act being performed. You may offer alternatives such as an in-person notarization where you can examine a physical ID. Do not attempt to override a KBA failure with personal judgment about the signer.
Can I perform RON in Colorado if I am commissioned in another state?
No. To perform RON under Colorado law, you must hold a current Colorado notary commission. A commission from another state does not authorize notarial acts under Colorado law. If you want to serve Colorado clients remotely and are commissioned elsewhere, apply for a Colorado commission first.
Does the Colorado RON notification expire or need to be renewed?
Your notary commission expires after four years and renews with a new training course and the state fee. The RON notification itself is tied to your active commission. If your commission lapses and you renew, confirm with the Secretary of State's office whether you must re-file your remote notarization notification or whether it carries over.
Are there document types that cannot be notarized remotely in Colorado?
Colorado law does not publish a blanket exclusion list, but some documents carry requirements outside the notary statutes. Wills may have witness requirements that complicate electronic execution, and certain court filings may require wet signatures. If a client brings an unusual document, research the governing statute for that document type or recommend they consult a Colorado attorney.
How do I register a new RON platform if I switch vendors in Colorado?
File an updated remote notarization notification with the Colorado Secretary of State identifying the new technology provider. Your prior notification does not automatically cover the new vendor. Before closing your old platform account, export or download all session recordings and journal records to meet the five-year retention requirement.
Sources
- Colorado General Assembly, C.R.S. § 24-21-501 et seq. (Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts): Colorado's legal authorization for notarial acts and remote notarization, eligibility requirements under § 24-21-504, and identity proofing methods for remote signers
- Colorado Secretary of State, Notaries Public program and rules under 8 CCR 1505-11: Technology standards, KBA and credential analysis requirements, tamper-evident seal, remote notarization notification, and five-year record and recording retention
- Colorado Secretary of State, Notaries Public program (fees, training, and forms): Notary commission application and renewal process, state fees, training and exam requirements, and per-act notary fee guidance
- National Conference of State Legislatures, remote notarization legislation overview: State-by-state context showing Colorado authorized permanent remote online notarization alongside neighboring Western states
- Uniform Law Commission, Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts: The model act Colorado adopted, defining a remotely located individual and the framework for identity proofing and technology standards
- Colorado General Assembly, Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 index: Location of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts within Title 24, including the remote notarization and fee provisions
- National Notary Association, state notary law guide: Third-party practitioner context on Colorado RON implementation, platform compliance requirements, and commission-plus-notification framework