Frequently Asked Questions

It is a combined package through which members can access DocuSign and apply a Qualified Electronic Signature via integration with QES provider ID Now. This is the same combined system used by the French notariat.

 

NotarySign has worked with DocuSign to ensure that the system is set up to meet the requirements of the English notariat for remote electronic notarisation.

Cost

Providers such as DocuSign and IDNow require an advanced purchase of the number of envelopes (including QES uses) that a user estimates that they will use over a set contract term (e.g. 1 year). The more envelopes and QES uses that a user pre-purchases, the cheaper the rate per use is.

The aim of NotarySign is to combine the buying power of Society members to pre-purchase envelopes and QES uses, thereby obtaining better pricing than members could obtain for themselves if buying individually.

Standards & Consistency

It is important to use systems of the highest standards and that notaries create electronic notarial acts in a consistent manner to ensure acceptability of notaries’ acts internationally and to protect the reputation and standing of the English and Welsh notariat.

There are various e-signature providers in the market of varying quality. The Society has reviewed the available options and concluded that the combination of DocuSign and IDNow provide an integrated solution of sufficiently high standards for use by members whose use by members will provide the necessary consistency in the form of English notarial acts. These providers are internationally known and recognised and are used by other notariats including the French notariat where they are the chosen partners having been approved by the French National Information Systems Security Agency.

Training

The Notaries Society will offer specific training on using the NotarySign system.

Therefore, by using NotarySign you benefit most from this training.

An “envelope” is the term DocuSign uses to describe a group of documents uploaded to DocuSign to be sent to signatories to sign in a single session. An envelope can contain a single document or multiple documents.

QES is a Qualified Electronic Signature. It is an electronic signature certified by a specially authorised certification provider (called a Qualified Trust Service Provider or QTSP) as being linked to a signatory whom the certifier has identified by examination of ID and via specific type of hardware and software that takes specific steps to ensure that is in the control of the signatory.

A QES Use, is the use in relation to a DocuSign envelope of a signatory’s QES.

NotarySign is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Notaries Society and its directors are members of the Council of the Society.

Yes. NotarySign is only available to Notaries Society members.

No. NotarySign is not intended to be a profit making company. The aim of NotarySign ensure that the membership of The Notaries Society as a whole can benefit from the discounts and features available to large-scale users of providers of technology that can be used for remote electronic notarisation, rather than members using various different systems in different ways.

The pricing model of NotarySign is designed simply to cover costs and overheads. If any surplus is incidentally made, it will either be used by NotarySign to provide its services or will be paid to The Notaries Society for use for the benefit of its members.

Via the NotarySign tab on the members’ side of the Society website.

Each year there will be an “initial sign up period” during which time members can use a form on the signup tab to commit to pre-purchasing envelopes at a discounted indicative price. At the end of the initial sign up period, NotarySign will use members’ pre-purchase commitments received up to that date to obtain a discounted price from DocuSign and IDNow for the pre-purchase of envelopes (including QES use).

Once NotarySign has received a discounted price from DocuSign and IDNow, it will pre-purchase the envelopes for those who have signed up and will, in turn, issue invoices to those who have signed up, confirming details of the final price per envelope achieved.

Please note that due to the way the contracting process works, a member’s purchase commitment cannot be withdrawn once the submission period is over as NotarySign will then enter into a contract with DocuSign and incur the costs of doing so based on members’ commitments.

Yes. However, the discounted rates will not be available after the initial signup period. Instead, standard higher rates will apply.

The exact cost will depend on how many people sign up to pre-purchase uses and how many envelopes they commit to pre-purchase.

The initial indicative discounted price along with the non-discounted standard price will be emailed to members in September in advance of the start of the NotarySign contracting year.

The prices will also be shown on the NotarySign tab on the Society’s website.

No. At this time, NotarySign does not charge VAT.

If at any time, NotarySign exceeds the VAT threshold, it will begin to charge VAT. Users will be given advanced notice if NotarySign intends to start charging VAT.

No, this is included in your envelope use cost.

You will be charged (or rather you will use one of your pre-purchased combined envelope and QES uses) once you send an envelope.

You are charged even if you do not subsequently complete the signing process. Therefore, we recommend that if you find an error, if possible, you do not scrap the envelope and start again but instead use DocuSign’s “correct” feature which leaves the envelope intact.

You are not charged for simply creating a draft envelope if you do not send it.

Please note that users are charged on the basis of the number of envelopes used, not the number of documents signed. Therefore, a user will be charged the same price for an envelope containing 1 document as an envelope containing 10 documents.

You will be charged at the higher standard rate for each use outside of your pre-purchase amount.

NotarySign will run use audits on a regular basis and invoice you for any envelopes used outside of your pre-purchased amount as necessary following each audit.

Currently, the proposed subscription term is 1 year.

Buying larger numbers of envelopes over a longer period results in greater discounts from DocuSign and IDNow. Therefore, NotarySign will consider extending the subscription term in the future. However, prior to doing so, it would consult with users.

All unused envelopes and QES uses will expire at the end of the subscription term. Unused envelopes cannot be carried forward to future periods and no refunds can be given in relation to unused envelopes.

Towards the end of a subscription period, NotarySign will open up a new signup period for the following period.

Once NotarySign has purchased envelopes from DocuSign for all members and sent you an invoice, an account will be created for you and the details emailed to you.

The first time you apply a QES to a DocuSign envelope, IDNow will prompt you to create an account.

As part of IDNow signup and QES creation, IDNow will hold a video call with you and will inspect your ID documents to verify your identity.

Your QES must be renewed every 2 years. The cost of doing so is covered by the admin fee charged by NotarySign.

At the most basic, you take a scan of your signature and seal from a paper document, create jpeg files of each and upload them to DocuSign.

As to stamps, you can either take a scan of a stamp from a paper document or simply re-create it in Word and create an image which you then upload to DocuSign.

A free setup training video is available on the Webinars tab of the Society website which walks users through the process.

This is a matter for each notary to decide. You may wish to verify identity via a video call or by insisting on an in-person meeting on the first occasion acting for a client. You may wish to use DocuSign’s AES function to supplement your ID checks.

There are also various companies that offer remote identity checking services including chip-reading mobile phone technology. Examples include ThirdFort (https://www.thirdfort.com/) and ReadID (https://www.readid.com/). However, neither NotarySign nor The Notaries Society recommend any particular product and notaries will need to decide for themselves how they can satisfy themselves as to the identity of a signatory.

As technology develops and further integrations become available with DocuSign, NotarySign may make available an integrated tool with such features.

Yes. It is possible to “share” envelopes so that administrative support staff are able to set up envelopes for signature by clients and notaries and also download the completed documents.

This must be set up centrally by us. If you wish to enable this feature, please contact us to discuss user viability permissions.

Please note that it is only possible to share envelopes within a single notary practice.

All draft envelopes and all completed envelopes (which contain the completed documents and DocuSign summary certificates) are set to be deleted from DocuSign after 30 days. They may remain on the system for a few days longer than this due to the way DocuSign processes “purging” items marked for deletion.

Yes.

Free training videos covering setup and issuing electronic notarial acts are available on the Webinars tab of the Society website.

In addition, the Society is including training on the NotarySign system at its in-person and online events where possible.

All members are urged to log on and explore how the system works to gain confidence in using envelopes.