Proof Digital Certificates Now Available for Notaries on the Proof Platform

We are thrilled to announce our latest advancement - the introduction of the highest standard of digital certificates for notaries on our platform, available exclusively with Proof.

Proof Certificates represent the new platinum standard in notarization security. Our certificates have undergone rigorous auditing against WebTrust standards and have earned a coveted spot on the Adobe Authorized Trust List (AATL). 

Your digital certificate serves as your digital identity. When you notarize documents online, Proof adds your notary stamp and digitally signs the documents with your digital certificate. This digital signature ensures that your notarization and the document's integrity is always protected.

When you notarize a document using your Proof Digital Certificate, your signature will be distinguished by a visible green checkmark in Adobe Acrobat. This mark indicates that your signature has been applied with a higher level of security. With a Proof Certificate, it’s impossible for somebody to replicate your notary seal on a document, because nobody else will have access to your digital certificate. Your notarizations will be easy to discern as valid and your reputation as a notary is protected. Businesses will trust your notarizations more when they see a green check mark.

We’re dedicated to making our platform accessible - and affordable - for the notaries who make it possible for us to continue doing our best and most ground-breaking work. Proof certificates uphold the integrity of a notarization and will continue to ensure a remote online notarization is even more traceable and secure than a paper-based notarization.

‍

What is a digital certificate?

A digital certificate is a unique cryptographic key that has been issued to you personally as a notary. You must validate your identity in order to get a digital certificate. 

A digital certificate is used to cryptographically “seal” documents that you sign with your notary stamp. It ensures that digital documents cannot be tampered with or altered after the fact. It prevents people from copying your digital notary stamp onto other documents because no one else can affix the cryptographic seal to a document. 

‍

Why are digital certificates important?

There’s only one thing that makes it possible for millions of notaries to provide their service every day: trust. Therefore we’re doing everything we can to advance the industry and never compromise on protecting the integrity of a notarization.   

As strong advocates for notaries and remote online notarization, we believe that safeguarding a notary’s reputation is one of our most important responsibilities. It shouldn’t be easy to forge a notary’s digital signature or seal. We believe that businesses should be able to open a notarized document and instantly see that the document has not been tampered with. With the advancement of AI and proliferation of misinformation, it’s now even more important than ever to advance the security behind every notary’s signature. 

‍

I just got a digital certificate from another vendor. Is that still usable?

Proof will continue to support Identrust digital certificates for now. In the future, we will require notaries on our platform to use Proof Certificates to ensure all notarized documents on Proof meet the same level of security. 

‍

Is there a deadline for me to get a Proof Certificate? 

If you get a Proof Certificate between now and spring 2025, you’ll get access to promotional discounts. By the end of 2025, we anticipate all notaries on the Proof platform will use Proof Digital Certificates. 

‍

How are Proof Certificates different from what is provisioned by my current provider?

Proof is providing notaries with a more secure method of creating and managing their digital certificate. Here are a few ways in which our certificates are different:

• Proof is the only platform that verifies a notary’s identity to meet US Federal's Digital Identity Standard (NIST 800-63B: Identity Assurance Level 2) in order to issue a digital certificate. 
• Proof certificates are securely managed in the cloud and  exceed every state's notarization requirements.
• Proof is the only notary platform that has been certified by an accredited, third party auditor (Schellman) to meet WebTrust standards. 
• Your signatures on Proof will be distinguishable with a green checkmark in Adobe Acrobat, instead of the yellow mark that appears without Proof’s digital certificate. This increases confidence, enabling business to accept and trust a notarization which has been marked with a green checkmark instead of a yellow warning sign. It’s validation that your notary seal has not been tampered with. 
• With a Proof certificate, if somebody tries to copy your notary seal or signature, it will not show a green checkmark in Adobe Acrobat. That means you’ll have evidence that this was not notarized by you.
• Notaries will have a more seamless experience onboarding and renewing their certificate all in one platform. You’ll no longer need to navigate multiple systems to maintain compliance.

‍

Can notaries have more than one certificate?

Yes, notaries are allowed to have multiple certificates according to state remote online notarization laws. Some states require a notary to register their certificate with the Secretary of State.   

‍

Can I use my Proof Digital Certificate on other platforms?

Proof Digital Certificates cannot be exported. In order to maintain our WebTrust certification, which achieves the green checkmark in Adobe Acrobat, we have to prove to auditors that certificates are maintained in secure hardware at all times. These specialized servers are resistant to malware and physical tampering. They are designed to store sensitive cryptographic key material. Therefore downloading and storing a certificate on a notary’s personal computer would not be sufficient to maintain compliance with these strict security standards.

‍