Can I Sell My Home in the U.S. and Use a Canadian Notary Service?

Key Takeaways

• Owners of properties in the U.S. can sell while living abroad, but may face additional legal hurdles depending on state-specific real estate laws.
• Prospective sellers should contact a real estate agent or lawyer before calling a notary.
• Notaries can only process documents within their jurisdiction and cannot notarize documents out of state.
• Many U.S. real estate entities accept online notary services for closing documents, which can address the need for Canadian authentication/legalization.
• Work with providers of secure and convenient online notary solutions like NotaryPro to ensure U.S. real estate transactions go according to plan.

It is important to note that notary laws apply to where the signing takes place. Notaries may only notarize documents within their jurisdiction which should be noted when finding a notary. A notary may not notarize documents out of state. Virginia is the one exception. It is currently the only state that permits remote online notarization for signers in other states or in other countries. If the seller is out of country, it’s important to find out whether the local laws in the country they’re in allow for online notarization. For example, in Canada all documents must be notarized in person, they can only be commissioned online.

U.S. professionals will most likely ask you to have Canadian documents validated with an apostille certificate, or also known as Authentication in Canada. This process for validating a document comes from the U.S. being a participant in The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (“The Hague Apostille Convention”), which Canada is not part of.

To meet the requirements that your documents will be accepted as the equivalent to a U.S. Apostille Certificate Seal, they must go through, what is known in Canada, as the authentication and legalization process (see: Is a Canadian Notary Seal Recognized Outside of Canada?).

However, many American states and real estate companies will accept closing documentation signed online, without requiring the authentication and legalization process noted above. NotaryPro’s industry-leading Remote Online Notary service allows you to securely and confidently sign your US real estate sale documents while remaining in Canada. Try our remote online notary service today.

Disclaimer

NotaryPro does not provide legal advice or assistance. Consult with your real estate agent and lawyer for guidance on your specific situation with the legal requirements of your individual documents. This blog post is designed to provide helpful information only.