A person outside the United States may be able to have an eligible U.S. affidavit notarized through a commissioned U.S. remote online notary. The applicable rules depend on the notary's commissioning state, the required notarial act, identity verification, the document, and the receiving party.
Published and reviewed by iRemoteNotary
Last reviewed August 15, 2026
Often, yes. A person located outside the United States may be able to have an eligible U.S. affidavit notarized through a commissioned U.S. remote online notary. Whether the session can be completed depends on the law governing the notary's commission, the required notarial act, identity-verification requirements, the document itself, and the receiving party's acceptance requirements.
Remote online notarization is governed primarily at the state level, so the online notary must follow the law and procedures applicable to the notary's commission. Florida law, for example, expressly permits a Florida online notary operating under Florida law to perform an online notarization for a remotely located principal when the statutory requirements are satisfied. Affidavits commonly require an oath or affirmation rather than an acknowledgment, so confirm the required act, keep the document unsigned when appropriate, and verify recipient acceptance before the session.
Affidavits are among the most common U.S.-related documents that people need while living, working, studying, traveling, or handling business overseas. A court, attorney, employer, school, title company, government agency, insurance carrier, business, or private party may ask for a sworn written statement even though the signer is thousands of miles from the United States.
A commissioned U.S. online notary may be able to help in many situations, but an affidavit should not be treated as simply “a document that needs a stamp.” The notary must perform the correct notarial act under the law governing the notary's commission.
For a signer abroad, the best preparation is to determine what the affidavit requires, keep it unsigned unless instructed otherwise, confirm the receiving party accepts the proposed remote notarization, and complete the required international identity-verification workflow.
An affidavit is generally a written statement of facts that the signer declares to be true under oath or affirmation. Affidavits are used in many settings, including litigation, property matters, financial transactions, identity matters, business disputes, insurance claims, family matters, immigration-related supporting documentation, and administrative proceedings.
The notary does not determine whether the facts in the affidavit are true. The notary's role is to perform the requested notarial act, identify the signer as required, administer an oath or affirmation when the document requires one, witness the signing when required, and complete the notarial certificate.
A signer should not ask the notary to draft the affidavit, decide what facts belong in it, or determine whether the affidavit is legally sufficient for the underlying matter.
Read the general guide to sworn affidavit online notarization.
A remote notarization of an affidavit is a notarial act. An unsworn declaration executed outside the United States under 28 U.S.C. §1746, when that pathway actually applies, is a different paper and is not a substitute for every affidavit abroad. See the §1746 guide.
That distinction is important for affidavits.
With a jurat or oath, the signer generally signs or confirms the document in the notary's presence and swears or affirms that the statements are true.
An acknowledgment serves a different purpose. In an acknowledgment, the signer acknowledges executing the instrument voluntarily for its stated purpose; the signer is not necessarily swearing that the factual contents are true.
The exact notarial act must follow the document instructions and the law governing the commissioned notary. Florida law, for example, expressly prohibits substituting an acknowledgment when an oath is required.
If the affidavit already contains a notarial certificate, review it before the session.
If the document does not specify the required notarial act, the signer should obtain direction from the receiving agency, attorney, document preparer, or other authorized party rather than asking the notary to make a legal decision about which certificate is required.
A commissioned U.S. online notary may be able to serve a remotely located signer when the notary's commissioning-state law authorizes that form of remote notarization.
The notary remains subject to the territorial, identity, recording, certificate, and other requirements imposed by that state.
For example, Florida law expressly provides a framework for a Florida online notary to notarize for a principal located outside Florida when the principal confirms that the act is to be performed under Florida law. Other states maintain their own RON statutes and procedures.
This means a signer's physical location outside the United States does not automatically prevent a compliant remote online notarization session.
However, the document and recipient can still impose additional conditions. The recipient may require a particular jurisdiction, in-person notarization, consular notarization, original paper, apostille, authentication, or another execution procedure.
U.S. notaries are commissioned under state law, and remote online notarization rules vary by state.
The commissioning state governs how the online notary may perform the act, including rules about signer location, notary location, identity verification, audio-video requirements, recordkeeping, and certificate format.
Identity methods, witness rules, and journal or recording obligations can also differ.
The receiving party may impose separate requirements beyond those imposed on the notary by state law.
There is no single federal RON statute that applies identically in every state, and this article does not attempt a state-by-state survey. National legal-development work, such as the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts published by the Uniform Law Commission, can help explain common notarial concepts, but it is not federal law and does not automatically control every state. Before scheduling, confirm that the proposed session can be completed under the law governing the commissioned notary and accepted by the recipient.
International signers are sometimes surprised when a remote notarial certificate uses a U.S. venue even though the signer is physically in another country.
The venue generally reflects the jurisdiction legally associated with the notarial act under the law governing the commissioned notary; it does not necessarily identify where the remote signer is sitting.
For a Florida RON performed under Chapter 117, Florida law treats the online notarization as performed in Florida, so the certificate venue reflects the appropriate Florida location of the notarial act.
Other states may handle venue differently. The venue should not be changed simply to match the signer's foreign city or country unless the document preparer or applicable law provides an appropriate different certificate.
Before the live notarial act, an international signer must complete the supported identity-verification process required for the session.
For iRemoteNotary's supported international workflow, this means credential analysis and biometric identity verification using an acceptable government-issued credential.
A foreign passport may be usable when it is supported by the verification technology.
The identity process is separate from the oath itself. Passing credential analysis does not make the affidavit true, and taking an oath does not replace the identity-verification requirements.
Learn how a foreign passport may be used for an international online notarization.
Before the session, review:
If the affidavit requires the signer to swear or affirm and sign before the notary, signing it before the session can create a problem.
The safest approach for an international remote online notarization request is to send the document unsigned unless the document preparer or receiving party has specifically instructed otherwise.
Commissioning-state law may also prohibit a notary from notarizing a signature on an incomplete or blank document. Florida law, for example, includes that restriction.
The notary should not fill in substantive legal information for the signer.
Provide the complete document before the appointment so the requested notarization and any obvious witness or certificate issues can be reviewed.
Tell iRemoteNotary whether the affidavit is going to a court, attorney, agency, employer, school, title company, insurer, financial institution, business, or another recipient.
Determine whether the document requires an oath or affirmation, acknowledgment, or another certificate. If the document is unclear, obtain instructions from the party that prepared or will receive it.
Use the supported government-issued credential and complete credential analysis and biometric verification.
The commissioned U.S. online notary confirms identity, location and required consent, administers the oath or affirmation when required, observes the electronic signing, and completes the electronic notarial certificate under the law governing the notary's commission.
The completed electronic affidavit is delivered through the service workflow.
If the affidavit will be used outside the United States or a recipient requests further certification, determine whether apostille, authentication, legalization, or another process is required.
Notarization and international document authentication are separate processes.
A properly notarized affidavit may still require an apostille or authentication certificate before it can be used in another country.
The destination country and receiving authority determine what follows the notarization.
Do not obtain an apostille automatically simply because the signer is abroad. The important question is where the completed affidavit will be used.
Learn when an online-notarized document may need an apostille or authentication.
Remote notarization may not be the correct solution when:
Resolve these questions before the session rather than assuming that every affidavit can be converted to an electronic RON workflow.
Send the unsigned affidavit, your physical country, and the receiving-party information so the requested international session can be reviewed before scheduling.
Potentially, yes. A commissioned U.S. remote online notary may be able to notarize an eligible affidavit for a signer outside the United States when the law governing the notary's commission authorizes that session, the correct notarial act is used, identity requirements are satisfied, and the receiving party accepts the execution method.
Affidavits commonly require an oath or affirmation because the signer is making a sworn statement. The exact act must follow the document instructions and the law governing the commissioned notary. Florida law, for example, does not permit an acknowledgment to substitute when an oath is required. If the document does not clearly state the required act, obtain instructions from the receiving party or document preparer.
Usually not when the document requires signing under oath or in the notary's presence. Send the affidavit unsigned unless you have specific instructions from the document preparer or recipient.
The venue generally reflects the jurisdiction legally associated with the notarial act under the law governing the commissioned notary, not necessarily the signer's physical location abroad. For a Florida RON performed under Chapter 117, for example, Florida law treats the compliant online notarization as performed in Florida, so the certificate venue reflects the appropriate Florida location of the notarial act.
Potentially. A supported foreign passport may be used for an international identity-verification workflow when the credential can be successfully analyzed and the signer completes the required biometric verification.
Acceptance depends on the receiving court, agency, attorney, business, or other recipient. Confirm the required form of notarization before signing, especially for time-sensitive or high-stakes matters.
Only when the destination and receiving authority require one. Apostille or authentication is a separate post-notarization question and generally depends on where the document will be used.
The following primary sources support the legal and procedural information in this guide. Requirements can change, so confirm current rules with the receiving organization before relying on a notarized document.
Florida Statutes § 117.03 — Administration of Oaths(opens in a new tab)
Florida Senate
Accessed August 15, 2026
Florida Statutes § 117.05 — Notarial Certificates and Duties(opens in a new tab)
Florida Senate
Accessed August 15, 2026
Florida Statutes § 117.265 — Online Notarization Procedures(opens in a new tab)
Florida Senate
Accessed August 15, 2026
Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (2021)(opens in a new tab)
Uniform Law Commission
Accessed August 15, 2026
Notarial and Authentication Services at U.S. Embassies and Consulates(opens in a new tab)
U.S. Department of State
Accessed August 15, 2026
Submit the unsigned affidavit, your physical location, and any receiving-party instructions. iRemoteNotary can review the international session requirements before scheduling.