The first month of implementing electronic notarization: Positive impressions

(Chinhphu.vn) - After 1 month since the 2024 Notary Law officially took effect (from July 1, 2025), electronic notarization - the most prominent and expected new point in the Law - has had its first effective implementation steps in a number of localities, marking a positive mark in the digital transformation process of the Judiciary sector.

Online notarization at Nguyen Nhat Quang Notary Office - Hai Phong . Photo: VGP/DA

Breakthrough in line with Party and State policies and social expectations

The 2024 Notary Law, passed by the National Assembly on March 26, 2024, has added the electronic notary regime - a breakthrough in administrative procedure reform, national digital transformation and modernization of notary activities. This provision is consistent with the orientation in Resolution No. 52-NQ/TW of the Politburo on national digital transformation, as well as the National Strategy for Digital Economy and Digital Society Development by 2030.

Electronic notarization is not only welcomed by the notary community, but is also expected by people and businesses to bring convenience, save costs and enhance the legal validity of remote transactions.

Just one month after taking effect, notary organizations in Hanoi , Phu Tho, Hai Phong, Da Nang, and Lao Cai have begun implementing electronic notarization forms, including direct electronic notarization and online electronic notarization.

Direct electronic notarization: The notary, the person requesting notarization and related parties are present at the notary practice organization, the transaction is made in electronic form, signed with a digital signature.

Online electronic notarization: Transactions are established through online video connections from multiple locations, especially useful in authorization transactions, helping parties avoid the need to travel.

One of the typical transactions directly recorded by reporters was the electronic notarization activity at Dong Anh Notary Office (Hanoi) with the bridge at Notary Office No. 01 of Phu Tho province. The notarization process was carried out online, with verification procedures, legal explanations and digital signatures carried out completely and in accordance with regulations.

In addition, this model has also been deployed at Notary Office No. 3 Phu Tho, Notary Office No. 2 (Hai Phong), Notary Office Nguyen Nhat Quang (Hai Phong), Notary Office Dao Duy An (Hanoi), Notary Office Pham Van Khanh (Da Nang)...

People are satisfied, notaries are proactive

Ms. NTH (Dong Anh, Hanoi), a customer who performed a real estate transaction authorization at Dong Anh Notary Office, shared: "I was really surprised because everything happened quickly. I didn't have to go to Phu Tho, I didn't have to wait. Registering a digital signature only took about 3 minutes, the total notarization time was less than 40 minutes, very convenient and economical. I want the electronic notarized document to automatically transfer to real estate and taxes so that people can pay taxes using Smartbanking and track the results of the red book issuance on their phones without having to go back and forth in line."

Notary Dao Thi Hong Nhung (Head of Notary Office No. 1 of Phu Tho Province), one of the first people to perform electronic notarization, said: "At first, I was a bit confused, but the support system was very good. We had easy access, and people were excited. Currently, transactions are mainly authorizations, but according to the new regulations, electronic notarization can be applied to most types of contracts and transactions."

Online notarization at Notary Office No. 1 of Phu Tho province. Photo: VGP/DA

Notary Hoang Thu Huong (Head of Dao Duy An Notary Office) said: "Before the 2024 Notary Law took effect, we also deployed the electronic copy certification service and received support from the people. Electronic copy certification aims to meet the needs of people and businesses when performing online public services, our activities also partly contribute to reducing the workload for the Ward People's Committee, especially during the period of administrative boundary merger".

Despite achieving many initial positive results, the implementation of electronic notarization has also revealed some practical difficulties. For example, the information on residence is not yet synchronized, because after the merger of administrative boundaries in some localities, in many cases the information on the place of residence on the citizen identification card has not been updated. This causes the verification and issuance of digital signatures for the first time to people in some localities at this time to be slower than usual because the digital signature service provider needs to compare and verify the information with the population database.

Many agencies receiving procedures are not ready. Although the Notary Law and the Law on Electronic Transactions have clearly stipulated the legal value of electronic notarized documents, in reality, many people are still wondering whether public administrative agencies will accept this type of document or not, because many agencies are still in the process of completing the process of receiving electronic records.

Many synchronous solutions are needed for electronic notarization to be effective.

To maximize the effectiveness of electronic notarization, experts and notaries believe that more synchronous solutions are needed. Accordingly, it is necessary to increase connectivity and data sharing among state management agencies, especially population data, residence registration, land data, etc. to serve the verification of information in transactions.

At the same time, update and publicize the process of receiving electronic documents at administrative procedure settlement agencies, ensuring that people do not encounter barriers in using electronic notarized documents in legal procedures.

Promote communication and training, not only for notaries but also for people and businesses, to raise awareness and trust in the legal value and safety of electronic notarization.

It can be seen that the successful implementation of electronic notarization after 1 month of the 2024 Notarization Law taking effect shows the great efforts of the Ministry of Justice, the Departments of Justice and the notary community in bringing the law into life.

Electronic notarization not only contributes to shortening transaction time and saving costs for people and businesses, but also creates a premise for building a safe, modern, and transparent legal infrastructure, gradually meeting the development requirements of the digital economy and digital society in Vietnam.

Dieu Anh

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/thang-dau-tien-thuc-hien-cong-chung-dien-tu-dau-an-tich-cuc-102250805180351404.htm