What steps must a remote online notary public take regarding backups of their electronic journal?

The essential requirement for a remote online notary public concerning backups of their electronic journal is to take reasonable steps to ensure that a secure backup exists. This duty emphasizes the importance of maintaining the integrity and availability of the electronic journal, as these records are crucial for verifying the authenticity of notarized documents and ensuring compliance with legal standards. Ensuring a secure backup allows the notary to prevent loss of critical data due to hardware failures, cyber incidents, or other unforeseen circumstances.

While backing up data regularly is a good practice, the phrase "reasonable steps" indicates that the notary is expected to use their judgment to determine the frequency and method of backup that ensures protection without imposing an unrealistic burden. Such measures might involve using secure cloud services, encrypted storage options, and following best practices in data management to safeguard journal entries effectively.

The context within the industry underscores the necessity of securing notarial records while balancing the practicality involved in these operations. This understanding reinforces the notary's responsibility to maintain their records, emphasizing that negligence in this area could lead to legal challenges or the inability to verify a notarization in the future.