South Carolina · S.C. Code §26-2-50South Carolina electronic notarization: electronic records, but the signer appears in person

South Carolina's Electronic Notary Public Act, in force since May 18, 2021, lets a notary who registers with the Secretary of State as an electronic notary perform notarial acts on electronic documents (S.C. Code §26-2-5(5), (8)), including acknowledgments, oaths and affirmations, jurats, signature witnessing, verifications of fact and certified copies of electronic records (§26-2-40). An electronic notary may perform an electronic notarization only if the principal appears in person before the electronic notary at the time of notarization and is personally known to the notary or identified by satisfactory evidence under Chapter 1 (§26-2-50(A)). The notary keeps an electronic journal of each act, recording the date and time, the type of act, the document, each principal's name and how identity was established (§26-2-90). The Act states that nothing in it contravenes the South Carolina law requiring a licensed South Carolina attorney to supervise a closing (§26-2-210). For a South Carolina closing, a signer who cannot attend in person needs another route, such as a recorded power of attorney or an out-of-state notary where the closing attorney accepts it.