SF 3107-2 & SF 2801-2 Spousal Consent: Can It Be Notarized Online?

SF 3107-2 is the Spouse's Consent to Survivor Election associated with the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) application, SF 3107. SF 2801-2 is the corresponding spouse-consent form associated with the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) application, SF 2801.

The forms serve a similar purpose, but they are not interchangeable. Confirm whether the applicant is retiring under FERS or CSRS and use the spouse-consent page included in the current OPM application package.

A married FERS or CSRS retirement applicant generally must provide the current spouse with the maximum survivor annuity unless the spouse consents to a different election or OPM grants an applicable exception. The applicant records the survivor election in the retirement application; the spouse-consent form documents the spouse's knowing consent to that election.

The spouse should read the election shown on the application and the consent statement before signing. Notarization verifies the spouse's signature process. It does not choose the survivor benefit, explain its financial effect, or prove that a reduced election is advisable.

OPM Benefits Administration Letter 22-101, Appendix A, says applicants may use remote or electronic notaries for documents submitted to OPM that require notarization. That express agency guidance covers the spouse-consent notarization within the SF 3107 and SF 2801 retirement application packages.

A commissioned U.S. online notary can therefore perform an eligible remote online notarization when the signer, document, identity evidence, and session satisfy the law governing the notarial act and the platform can complete the required certificate. Remote online notarization is performed under the law of the online notary's commissioning state.

The spouse should have the final, completed consent page available before the session. The notary does not complete the applicant's survivor election or advise the couple which election to make.

Do not alter the survivor election, spouse-consent statement, signature, date, or notarial certificate after notarization. OPM warns that changes or corrections in the consent can cause the consent to be rejected because the agency cannot know whether the spouse consented to the revised election.

If information is wrong, stop before submission. The safer process is to prepare a clean replacement consent reflecting the final election and have the spouse execute it through a new notarial act. Do not use correction fluid, overwrite an answer, or detach and reuse a notarial certificate from an earlier version.

OPM's post-retirement FAQ explains that an eligible retiree may request to cancel or reduce a current-spouse survivor election within 30 days after the date of the first regular monthly annuity payment. That window is measured from the first recurring regular payment after OPM finalizes the annuity rate—not from interim or adjustment payments.

OPM states that the cancel-or-reduce request uses SF 3107-2 for a FERS retiree or SF 2801-2 for a CSRS retiree, completed by the retiree and current spouse before a notary public or other person authorized to administer oaths. Do not treat that 30-day cancel/reduce path as unlimited later flexibility; OPM's FAQ describes different, narrower options after the 30-day period and within 18 months of retirement, and states that the election generally becomes irrevocable after those periods elapse.

Confirm the current OPM FAQ and submission address before acting. This section does not calculate deadlines for an individual claim or advise whether to cancel or reduce a survivor election.

The spouse signs the consent as part of the witnessed notarial act. The notarial certificate should identify the date on which the spouse appeared before the notary. Do not pre-sign unless the notary and applicable law expressly permit the requested notarial act for a previously signed record.

Review every date before submitting the application. A missing date, a notarial date that does not match the actual appearance, or a consent signed before the underlying election was final can create an avoidable OPM review issue.

OPM's guidance is recipient-specific. It means OPM permits remote or electronic notarization for its covered retirement documents. It does not mean one state's notary commission creates nationwide jurisdiction, and it does not make every pension, 401(k), IRA, TSP, or private benefits form eligible for remote notarization.

In particular, do not apply BAL 22-101 to a private ERISA plan. Private-plan spouse consent may be governed by Internal Revenue Code section 417, final Treasury regulations, plan terms, and recipient procedures that present a different witnessing analysis.

This guide addresses OPM's SF 3107-2 and SF 2801-2 spouse-consent process. It does not determine whether spouse consent is required in an individual case, calculate survivor benefits, replace OPM instructions, or provide retirement or legal advice.

An online notary verifies identity and completes the authorized notarial act. The notary cannot select a survivor election, certify benefit calculations, fix an incomplete OPM application, or promise agency approval.

See the retirement notary document center for separate guides to private plans, TSP forms, rollovers, and Medallion Signature Guarantees.

OPM expressly allows remote or electronic notaries for these covered forms. If the correct SF 3107-2 or SF 2801-2 is complete, final, and ready for the spouse's notarized signature, start a secure online notary session.