Allow Sign Ahead for a Transaction – Proof Help Center
The Proof Help Center explains that Sign Ahead, enabled by default for business organizations and available upon request for real estate organizations, allows signers to complete and sign non-notarized documents before their scheduled meeting, streamlining the notarization process by focusing the meeting solely on notarized documents, with the option to select which documents require Sign Ahead during transaction creation and a note that Sign Ahead cannot be used concurrently with concurrent signing.
How Sign Ahead Works
Sign Ahead saves time for signers by letting them complete the easy part—filling out and signing non-notarized documents—before their scheduled meeting. This means they can focus entirely on the notarization when they connect with their notary.
1. Enable Sign Ahead for Your Organization
Sign Ahead is automatically enabled for business organizations. For real estate organizations, reach out to your Customer Success Manager or the support team to turn it on.
2. Allow Sign Ahead When Creating a Transaction
When you create a transaction, you choose which documents can use Sign Ahead. Under Documents, make sure the Signing requires meeting check box is not checked for documents that don't require notarization.
For more details on setting document requirements, see the related documentation on setting document requirements for notarizations.
3. Signer Completes Documents Before the Meeting
Once the transaction is sent, the signer can choose to use Sign Ahead or skip it. If they use Sign Ahead, they'll fill out and sign all documents that don't require a meeting. The total number of fields to complete appears in the upper right corner, so they know exactly how much is left.
For a detailed walkthrough of the signer's experience, see the related documentation on filling out documents before a meeting.
4. Signer Meets with a Notary to Complete Notarization
During the meeting, the signer and notary complete any documents requiring notarization, witness signatures, or identity verification. Because the signer already handled the non-notarized documents, the meeting is faster and more focused.
Note: Sign Ahead and concurrent signing cannot be used together. If concurrent signing is enabled, Sign Ahead won't be available for that transaction.
Summary Checklist
- Sign Ahead must be enabled for real estate organizations (on by default for business organizations)
- Signers can complete non-notarized documents before meeting with a notary
- Documents requiring notarization or witnesses must be signed during the meeting
- Sign Ahead cannot be used with concurrent signing
If you need further assistance, the support team is available to help.
Related
Fully Online Closing Overview
A fully online closing allows you to complete all signing and notarization steps remotely using a device with camera and microphone, requiring identity verification via SSN/ITIN or photo ID, a U.S. address, and a live video session with a notary, all facilitated through the Proof platform without any printing or in-person appointments.
Skip Identity Verification if Notary Personally Knows Signer – Proof Help Center
The Proof Help Center explains that for single-signer transactions where the notary personally knows the signer, Notaries Sourcing Transactions (NST) and enabled In-House Notaries (IHN) can use the Personally Known to Notary (PKN) method to bypass Knowledge-Based Authentication and Credential Analysis, streamlining the process by selecting the "Personally known to notary" option during transaction setup, though this method is restricted to new, internal transactions with single signers and is unavailable to On-Demand Notaries (ODNs) or overflowed transactions.
Prepare and Tag Documents for Recipients – Proof Help Center
The Proof Help Center explains that tagging documents with fields—action items like signatures, dates, or initials—before a notarization session streamlines the process by allowing creators to place, move, resize, delete, and bulk-edit these fields in the Document Preparation window after uploading files, thereby reducing errors and improving the experience for all participants.
Recipient Experience FAQs
The Business Pro plan on Proof supports multi-signer transactions through co-located signing (multiple signers together on one device), split signing (signers in different locations signing separately with separate fees), and concurrent signing (signers in different locations signing simultaneously in one meeting), requires individual identity verification for each signer, allows inclusion of representative signers, and supports various types of witnesses via the Notarize Network.
On-Demand Witness – Proof Help Center
On-Demand Witness is a feature that allows notaries to instantly summon up to two witnesses from the Notarize Network during a remote online notarization when a witness is required by the document or state law, enabling seamless witness participation without the signer needing to arrange one, with the notary managing witness involvement and signature fields either pre-placed by the sender or added during the meeting.
Proof for Financial Services
Proof is a comprehensive digital platform for financial services that accelerates business by enabling 24/7 online notarization, simplifying compliance with automated eSign processes, enhancing security through robust identity verification and anti-fraud measures, and supporting enterprise-grade reliability, while pioneering fully virtual transactions and adapting to new regulations like California Senate Bill 696 to streamline real estate closings and save millions in customer time and costs.