Maine e-signature and notarization law

Maine's electronic signature law: the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (10 M.R.S. §§ 9401 et seq. (ch. 1051)). Electronic signatures are also valid under the federal ESIGN Act for most transactions. Some documents are excluded, such as wills, divorce and adoption documents, court orders and certain official notices.

The fuller federal list is in our guide to e-signing in the United States.

What Maine's e-signature law does not cover

10 M.R.S. § 9403 says the Act does not apply to transactions governed by:

• Laws on making and executing wills, codicils and testamentary trusts.
• The Uniform Commercial Code, other than Title 11, section 1-1306 and Articles 2 and 2-A.

How Maine's law treats electronic records

Section 9407 of Title 10 carries Maine's writing rule: if a law requires a record to be in writing, an electronic record satisfies the law.

Remote online notarization in Maine

Remote online notarization: allowed in Maine since July 1, 2023, but not for solemnizing a marriage or certain other acts the statute lists.

Maine's notary law is the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, 4 M.R.S. chapter 39. Under § 1915, a notarial officer located in Maine may use communication technology to perform a notarial act for a remotely located individual.

Maine's statute asks the officer to tell the Secretary of State, before starting, that the officer will be performing notarial acts for remotely located individuals. It frames this as notice, not a distinct remote commission.

Section 1915 also lists notarial acts a notarial officer may not perform for a remotely located individual, and it says a notarial officer may not solemnize a marriage under Title 19-A this way. The chapter took effect July 1, 2023.

Maine also handles paper. A notarial officer may take an acknowledgment of a signature on a tangible record that is physically with the officer, if the signer displays and identifies it during the audiovisual recording.

When the paper record is with the signer instead, the signer signs it and a declaration on camera and sends both to the officer not later than 4 days after the act. That notarial act is effective on the date the declaration was signed.

The election matters on the barred list include witnessing the marking and sealing of an absentee ballot and administering an oath or affirmation to a candidate for office.

Recordings must be retained for at least 10 years. A provider of the communication technology, identity proofing or storage appoints the Secretary of State as its agent for service of process in any civil action in Maine related to the notarial act.

SignAndGo doesn't notarize documents. A commissioned notary does that, using a remote notarization platform where the state allows it.

Where to read Maine's law

• Electronic signatures: 10 M.R.S. §§ 9401 et seq. (chapter 1051), exclusions at § 9403.
• Remote notarization: 4 M.R.S. § 1915, in chapter 39.

Checked against Maine's published law on November 2, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.