MISMO Announces Certification Program for Remote Online Notarization

(Originally published Apr. 21)  

MISMO®, the mortgage industry’s standards organization, announced a new Remote Online Notarization certification program for RON providers and mortgage industry participants.

“Digital mortgage closings, especially during this time of social distancing and state stay-at-home orders, provide a safe, fast and convenient experience for all parties involved in a real estate transaction,” said Mike Fratantoni, President of MISMO and Mortgage Bankers Association Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research and Industry Technology. “Expanding the availability of RON is a priority for MBA and MISMO, and this new certification program is intended to provide comfort to lenders and others that certified vendors are complying with MISMO’s RON standards.” 

The MISMO RON Software Compliance Certification Program is designed to increase adoption of RON-enabled digital mortgage closings and support the integrity and scalability of eMortgages. The program provides assurances that RON technology providers will meet a common set of standards; reduces or eliminates the burden of individual assessment, certification and approval processes of RON providers; and gives a consistent assessment process across all providers.

Released in 2019, MISMO RON standards provide a common set of requirements, including credential analysis, borrower identification, capturing and maintaining a recording of the notary process electronically, audio and video requirements, record storage and audit trails.

For more information about MISMO RON standards or to download them, visit http://www.mismo.org/standards-and-resources/emortgage-specifications/remote-online-notarization-standards

For more information on MISMO’s RON Software Certification Program, visit http://www.mismo.org/education-and-certification/product/software-certification/ron-domain-description.

For information about the MBA-ALTA State Model RON Bill, visit https://www.mba.org/audience/state-legislative-and-regulatory-resource-center/remote-online-notarization.

Release and use of MISMO standards and other resources are governed by the MISMO Intellectual Property Rights Policy. For more information on the policy, click here.

Industry participants who have comments or questions can contact MISMO at info@mismo.org.

For more information about MISMO, visit www.mismo.org.

About MISMO 

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization is the standards development organization for the residential and commercial finance industry. Today, MISMO standards are accepted and deployed by every type of entity involved in creating mortgages, and they are required by most regulators, housing agencies and GSEs that govern the exchange of information. Use of MISMO standards has been found to lower per loan costs, improve margins, reduce errors and speed up the loan process by reducing manual, paper-based processes. MISMO is managed by the Mortgage Bankers Association. For more information, visit www.mismo.org.