General

If you have been approved as an eNotary for Pennsylvania and have not heard back from or received your electronic notarization equipment, you CANNOT perform electronic notarizations by using Skype, Zoom or and video cam device. You MUST only use the platform, i.e., the software, of the approved RON vendor.

Temporary registrations are included in the extension dates of those which expire between March 16, 2020 through April 30, 2020. The expiration date is now extended through May 31, 2020, a PennDOT spokesperson said.

“While the order extended all registrations, including the Form MV-120, I did want to highlight information related to Form MV-120 Temporary Cardboard Intransit Registration Plate Card or Temporary Registration Transfer Card. As a reminder, intransit plates are a temporary registration provided to residents of other states to allow them to get the vehicle back to their home state to register them there. Since it is a temporary registration, the extension is technically covered. However, these are vehicles which will be taken out of the state and it is really a question of how other states will treat them. To know how another state would deal with the Pennsylvania extension, an out-of-state owner would need to contact their home state to find out how their state would deal with the extension.”

As you know, the Riverfront Office Center (ROC), which includes motor vehicle services at the ROC, Driver Licensing and Photo Centers remain closed.

As we have additional information, we will continue to update you. As you may already be aware, we have managers that are teleworking and responding to inquiries.

 While the ROC remains closed, you may begin to see us able to do the following limited functions.

• Process customer mailed-in VR renewals, DL renewals and placard renewals.
• Restore Financial Responsibility customers who paid their restoration fees/civil penalty online. 
• Fulfill online inspection station sticker orders.
• Handle phone call inquiries from inspection stations.
• Provide limited help desk services for online registration integrators with problem tickets.
• Mail titles generated by online business partners.

As the ROC remains closed, the following services will not be available:

• No drop-off or pick-up services for applications and products for business partners.
• No counter services for messengers, dealers, commercial registration, customers.
• No central office data entry of initial title work for new or used car sales or transfers.

Thank you for your patience.  Please all remain well.  We will update you when we have additional information. 

For more information about extensions and for updates from PennDOT and our mitigation efforts, please visit penndot.gov/Pages/News.aspx. For Guidance for business on COVID-19 Mitigation Efforts urged by Governor Tom Wolf, please visit governor.pa.gov/newsroom/.  

If your county Recorder of Deeds office is closed as ordered by the Governor, Secretary of Health, and/or county officials, then all notary deadlines (oaths of office and recording bonds, etc.) will be extended by operation of law to the next business day. Long-term closures will mean long-term extensions of time.

If a Recorder’s office is still open but trying to limit foot traffic, a potential work-around could be to have the notary take the oath of office before another official authorized to take oaths (any fellow notary public, judge, etc.). The notary oath of office is not required to be taken before the Recorder of Deeds. Once the notary has taken the oath and it is indicated on the bond form, the Recorder may follow through with the recording process. If there is a long-term closure of a Recorder’s office to the public, perhaps notaries could mail their original executed documents to the Recorders and a copy of their signature card to the Prothonotary.

The Department will work with individual notaries to extend deadlines or reappoint notaries as warranted.