NotaryCentral routes remote signer identity proofing through Stripe Identity. In the standard process, signers complete a single flow that combines checking their government ID with a biometric selfie match. Depending on state rules or specific signing requirements, they may also be asked to answer personal security questions in an additional knowledge-based step before entering the notary session.
Credential analysis
Stripe Identity checks the authenticity of a government-issued identity document and returns document status details for the signing record.
Biometric selfie match
When required by the verification flow, Stripe compares the signer’s selfie to the photo on the ID document to help confirm the document belongs to the signer.
What NotaryCentral asks the signer to complete
The signer experience begins with a consent screen explaining that remote identity verification may include knowledge-based authentication and biometric analysis of a government-issued ID. After consent, system checks, and any required payment step, NotaryCentral requests a Stripe Identity verification session and launches Stripe’s hosted identity flow in the signer’s browser.
In the standard flow, NotaryCentral starts a Stripe Identity session using the configured credential-analysis verification flow. This can collect document and selfie evidence, return a verification session ID, and provide a client secret that is used only to launch Stripe Identity for that signer.
Watch the signer identity verification experience
The video below is the same signer-facing walkthrough used in the Remote Online Notarization training module. It shows what the customer sees as they move through NotaryCentral’s identity verification process, including the Stripe-powered credential analysis and biometric steps.
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How Stripe Identity supports each step
NotaryCentral relies on Stripe Identity to securely manage and track the verification process. Instead of requiring notaries to manually evaluate credentials, Stripe's secure infrastructure automatically guides the signer, processes their information, and reports the final results directly to the signing record. You can learn more on Stripe's official Identity overview page.
The relevant Stripe Identity checks are:
- Document checks. Stripe verifies the authenticity of government-issued identity documents and can analyze document images for legibility, expiration, fraud-template signals, machine-readable consistency, and presentation-attack signals. Learn more in Stripe’s document-check documentation.
- Selfie checks. Stripe can compare biological traits, such as face geometry, from the ID photo and the signer’s selfie to help confirm both images belong to the same person. Learn more in Stripe’s selfie-check documentation.
- ID-number checks. Stripe can verify a signer’s name, date of birth, and national ID number using third-party data sources such as credit bureaus, utility databases, and government-issued databases. Learn more in Stripe’s ID-number-check documentation.
For signer-facing privacy language and frequently asked questions, Stripe also provides a reference page for platforms that need to explain Stripe Identity to customers, plus a support article about common identity verification questions.
What NotaryCentral records after Stripe completes verification
After Stripe completes a verification session, NotaryCentral stores the verification result associated with the signing participant and signing room. The signing record can include:
- The Stripe verification session ID.
- Session status and any last-error code or reason.
- Which checks were returned, such as document, selfie, or ID number.
- Document status, document type, issuing country, document number, and expiration date when available.
- Selfie status and related file references when available.
- Verified first name, last name, and date of birth when Stripe returns those outputs.
NotaryCentral also retrieves Stripe verification reports by expanding the last_verification_report field, which is the Stripe-supported way to inspect document, selfie, and ID-number results after a session is submitted.
When a signer can proceed
A signer can proceed only after NotaryCentral determines that the identity requirements for that participant are satisfied. That can happen when:
- The participant is personally known to the notary and does not require remote identity proofing.
- The configured Stripe Identity flow returns a verified result for the required credential-analysis process.
- A jurisdiction- or workflow-specific second proof is required and the additional personal knowledge check is complete.
If Stripe reports a failed document, selfie, or ID-number check, or if Stripe returns a session error, NotaryCentral treats the credential-analysis result as failed and blocks the signer from proceeding until the issue is resolved or the notary permits a retry.
Managing the verification environment
Beyond credential analysis, notaries may need to manage the live session environment to ensure compliance:
- Enforcing Video During ID Verification — how to ensure signers remain visible on camera throughout the identity proofing flow.
Why NotaryCentral uses this layered approach
Remote online notarization depends on both security and evidence. The notary needs confidence that the signer is the person they claim to be, and the signing record needs enough detail to show how identity was evaluated. Stripe Identity gives NotaryCentral a structured way to collect ID evidence, run automated verification checks, and store the outcome in the signing workflow.