Glossary

Commonly Used Terms on Notary Hub

Authenticator - The app on your phone, usually Google or Microsoft, the contains the 6-digit revolving security code that you will be prompted to enter when applying your digital certificate to notarized documents during the finalize process of the signing session. 

Digital Signature - Your drawn or typed signature of your name as it is listed on your Notary Commission.

Digital Signing Certificate - The digital signing certificate often gets confused with the Digital Stamp/Seal, but it is something entirely seperate. Think of your digital signing certificate as your "online fingerprint"; it is a code specific to you and your identity as a commissioned notary. It is code that gets embedded in the documents you notarize online, and is applied when you finalize at the end of signing sessions. It can be viewed in the downloaded document by opening the signature panel in your PDF viewer, there you will also see a timestamp of when the certificate was applied, and if any changes were made to the document after the fact, therefore rendering the notarization invalid. The purpose of the document signing certificates is to ensure it is you as the notary actualy performing the notarization, and to make the document tamper-evident in case it ever got called into question. 

Digital Stamp/Seal - The digital image of your physical/"wet-ink" notary stamp. This image is an exact reflection of all the information shown on your physical notary stamp/seal. 

eSigner - The label for your SSL digital certificate's 6-digit revolving security code in your authenticator app 

RON - Remote Online Notary/Notarization