Guidelines for Providing Publisher Electronic Affidavits for Newspaper Legal Ads
Current law requires the publisher’s affidavit to be printed on paper with a pasted clipping of the public notice or legal advertisement in the margin. The new effective notice law (HB 937) passed in 2012 allows, as an alternative to the paper affidavit, that the affidavit be provided in electronic form, provided the electronic notarization of the digital affidavit complies with the requirements of section 117.021 of the Florida Statutes.
Section 117.021 Requirements
The section 117.021 requirements pertain to security measures for the type of electronic signature the notary can use and what the seal information in the electronic signature must contain. The practical steps in meeting this requirement involve obtaining an electronic notary certificate and then creating and notarizing the digital affidavit. The basic steps to accomplish this are outlined below.
Obtaining Electronic Notary Certificate
To comply with the new law, newspapers must first have their notary obtain from a trusted third party a level 3 assurance certificate (also referred to as an ACES certificate)that verifies the notary’s identity. The certificate becomes the notary’s electronic credential to use an electronic digital signature.
There are several companies that specialize in providing such certificates. One company provided by way of example is Identrust. The company’s website is found at the following link: http://www.identrust.com/index.html Contacts at Identrust are Paige Corbo and Richard Jensen: 703-724-9009.
Applying, purchasing, and obtaining the certificate is apparently a fairly straightforward process.
Creating the Digital Affidavit
Once the digital certificate is obtained, the next step is to apply it to a digital affidavit created using Adobe or similar type software to create a pdf file with the seal and signature information. Purchasing the software and creating the pdf file is something the paper should do internally, with support from the certificate provider, if needed.
Once the pdf file is set up, the certificate holder can then, using a flash drive or other memory device containing the certificate and password or key, apply the holder’s notary signature and seal image. This will appear on the pdf affidavit.
A similar process is also required to produce a secure image of the publisher representative’s signature on the affidavit. For example, the newspaper could use Adobe software to embed the signature using a password.
Providing the Digital Affidavit to the Clerk
Some publisher affidavits—such as those relating to foreclosure notices—must be filed with the county clerk, and this is largely being done using paper versions. Several county courthouses, however, have begun to accept e-filed documents, including digital affidavits. In counties that do accept digital affidavits, the newspaper must follow the requirements mandated by the individual clerk’s office for e-filing. Each county has a different process. E-filing in some counties is easy but in others, the process is much more difficult.
Batch document e-filing is not yet available in most if any of the Florida courthouses and each document (affidavit proof) must be e-filed individually.
Archiving the Affidavit
Finally, newspapers that use electronic affidavits should archive them in secure, long-term storage allowing the newspaper to retrieve copies if requested (with a reasonable fee, if appropriate).