Document Handling, Confidentiality, and Retention

2. CONFIDENTIALITY

We treat the contents of your documents as confidential. We do not discuss a matter with anyone other than you, a party you authorize in writing, or the party that engaged us for a signing. We do not use the contents of a document for any purpose other than performing the service. We do not sell or share client information.

Illinois law reinforces this. A notary public may not sell, rent, transfer, or otherwise make available to a third party the contents of a notarial journal, an audio-video recording, or any other record associated with a notarial act. A qualifying written request that identifies a specific transaction may be answered only with that line item, with personally identifiable information redacted.

Confidentiality has limits set by law. We comply with a subpoena, a court order, a law enforcement investigative request, or a request from the Illinois Secretary of State in the manner specified in the request, as Illinois rules require.

3. PHYSICAL DOCUMENT CUSTODY

Documents in our custody are kept secured and are never left unattended in a vehicle or a public space. Documents are transported directly between the pickup point, our secured workspace, the government office, and the return destination. Physical custody is logged for every authentication order, including the date received, the date submitted, the date retrieved, and the date and method of return.

Original documents required by the Illinois Secretary of State for authentication must be physical originals. We return every original we receive, either in person or by the trackable method you select.

4. THE NOTARIAL JOURNAL

Illinois law requires a notary public to maintain a journal of each notarial act. The journal records the information the Secretary of State prescribes, including the name of the principal, any credible witness used to establish identity, other signatories, a description of the document, the date, the method of notarization, the fee charged, and the physical location of the notary and the principal.

Illinois rules prohibit recording certain information in the journal, including identification numbers, biometric identifiers, and financial information. If prohibited information is inadvertently recorded, it must be redacted before any access or copy is provided.

A journal may be inspected only under the procedure Illinois rules establish. Inspection occurs in the notary's presence, the person inspecting must be identified and must sign a separate dated entry, the request must describe the specific document sought, and only the requested entries may be viewed.

5. ELECTRONIC AND REMOTE NOTARIZATION RECORDS

Illinois law requires an electronic notary public to make and keep an audio-video recording of each electronic notarial act performed by audio-video communication. Every participant is told at the start of the session that the session is being recorded.

Retention is set by law, not by us. An electronic journal is retained for at least 7 years after the last electronic or remote notarial act recorded in it. An audio-video recording of an electronic notarial act is retained for at least 7 years after it is made, whether or not the act was completed. Both are stored so that they are protected against unauthorized access by password or cryptographic process, and reasonable steps are taken to maintain a secure backup. The recording and any personally identifiable information disclosed during the act must be protected from unauthorized access by both the notary and the electronic notarization system provider.

Illinois separately recognizes a remote notarial act in which the two-way audio-video communication is recorded and preserved by the signatory or the signatory's designee for at least 3 years, with the signed document transmitted to the notary and returned within the periods the statute sets. That pathway carries a different retention period and a different responsible party. We tell you which pathway your signing will use before the session, and where that pathway applies, the recording is yours to preserve rather than ours.

Illinois rule limits who may receive an electronic notarization recording: the principal, the Secretary of State, a law enforcement or federal, state, or local governmental agency in the course of an enforcement action, a recipient under a court order or subpoena, the notary who performed the act, any person the parties to the act authorize, and the notary's employer or the system provider for compliance purposes. The portion of a recording that contains biometric information or an image of the identification card used to identify the principal is separately confidential and is not released absent the individual's consent, a court order, or a Secretary of State request.

6. IDENTITY VERIFICATION IN REMOTE SESSIONS

Identity proofing and credential analysis in a remote session are performed by an electronic notarization system provider approved for use in Illinois. That provider, not Illini Notary, determines and controls its verification process and presents its own disclosures and consent before the session proceeds. Illini Notary does not collect, capture, purchase, or store biometric identifiers or biometric information for identification purposes. Where the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act applies to a process performed by the provider, the provider is responsible for its own compliance with that Act.

7. LOAN AND REAL ESTATE SIGNINGS

A closing package contains nonpublic personal financial information. Packages are handled under the instructions of the title company, lender, or other institution that engaged us and under the data-security and confidentiality requirements that apply to that engagement, which may include the safeguarding and use-and-redisclosure requirements flowing from the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and its implementing rules. Packages are printed and stored securely, scanbacks are transmitted only through the channel the engaging party designates, and printed materials not returned to the engaging party are shredded once the engagement is complete.

8. RETENTION AND DISPOSAL

We retain matter records for 7 years. We do not retain copies of client documents beyond what is necessary to complete the engagement and to comply with law, unless you instruct us to hold a file. Paper records that are no longer required are cross-cut shredded. Electronic records that are no longer required are deleted from active systems and from backups on the ordinary backup cycle.

9. IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG

If a document in our custody is lost or damaged, we tell you immediately, we document what happened, and we work with you and, where applicable, with the issuing authority on replacement. We carry errors and omissions coverage. If a security incident affects personal information as defined by the Illinois Personal Information Protection Act, we provide notice in the manner and within the time that law requires.

10. QUESTIONS

Questions about document handling go to support@illininotary.com or (217) 397-5833.