After Pavaso: the PA RON platform landscape in April 2026

Pavaso went dark on January 1, 2026. The Department of State’s approved-vendor PDF, dated July 30, 2025, still lists Pavaso. That list is necessary, not sufficient, and treating it as the last word is how PA notaries end up working on a platform that no longer exists.

This is a working guide to the April 2026 RON landscape in PA — what to pick, how to evaluate each option, and where the Department’s new § 167.88 wind-down rule protects you from repeating the Pavaso experience.

TL;DR — the working shortlist

• Top pick for most PA notaries: Proof (formerly Notarize) — highest consumer demand, clean PA approval, tolerable fee structure.
• Best for solo practitioners who want their own brand and their own prices: BlueNotary.
• Cleanest flat-rate option for SMB volume: OneNotary.
• Best for real-estate closings specifically: NotaryCam.
• Enterprise-only option worth a look for firms with consistent monthly volume: SIGNiX.
• Do not use: Pavaso. Still on the DOS PDF. Operations ceased January 1, 2026.

What actually changed on January 1

Pavaso carried significant title-and-mortgage volume on PA’s approved-vendor list for years. The company ceased operations on January 1, 2026, per industry coverage, roughly three months before the March 28, 2026 RULONA final rule introduced § 167.88 — which now requires every RON technology provider to notify the Department when it ceases operations and to give notaries an export window for journals and audio-visual recordings. 56 Pa.B. 1672

The sequence matters. § 167.88 did not exist when Pavaso shut down. The next vendor collapse will be governed by the new rule; the last one was not. Separately, the DOS approved-vendor PDF has not been refreshed since July 30, 2025 — Pavaso still appears on it. The list is a compliance starting point, not a live operational signal. PA DOS — Electronic or Remote Notarization

What PA actually requires of a RON platform

Before evaluating vendors, separate the rules that come from Pennsylvania law from the features that come from industry practice. The two often get conflated.

Pennsylvania requires, by statute or regulation:

• Use of a platform on the DOS approved-vendor list at the moment of the act. PA DOS — Electronic or Remote Notarization
• An audio-visual recording of the RON session under 57 Pa.C.S. § 306.1.
• A journal entry for each remote act under 57 Pa.C.S. § 319, with the March 2026 PII rules (no SSN digits, ever).
• Under 4 Pa. Code § 167.88 (effective March 28, 2026), the platform must notify the Department on ceasing operations and give notaries an export window for journals and A/V recordings.
• RON add-on fees capped at $20 per act over the $5 base fee under 4 Pa. Code § 167.3, itemized on a receipt. PA DOS — Notary Public Fees

Pennsylvania does not require by statute or regulation a specific KBA question count, credential-analysis vendor, session-time limit, or numeric retention period. The final rule is explicitly “technology agnostic,” and the Department declined during the rulemaking to mandate specific RON mechanics. 56 Pa.B. 1672

In practice, KBA, biometric liveness checks, and credential-analysis vendors are industry-practice features, not PA legal minimums. The best platforms ship all of them because real-estate underwriters and notary insurers demand them. A rubric that treats KBA as a PA-mandated gate misreads the rule.

Evaluation rubric

Eight dimensions, weighted for a PA-resident notary building a sustainable RON income.

Dimension	What to look for
1. PA approval status	On the current DOS approved-vendor PDF. Verify by platform name, not marketing copy.
2. Operational reality	Not only approved — actually accepting new notaries in April 2026. Pavaso was approved and dead simultaneously.
3. Credential analysis + KBA support	Ships both as standard features (industry norm, not PA law). Underwriters will ask.
4. Per-notarization economics	What the notary actually nets after platform cut, under PA’s $20 per-act ceiling.
5. Demand flow	Does the platform route consumer volume to the notary, or does the notary bring their own signers?
6. Audit trail & export	Native, downloadable journal and A/V exports — required by § 167.88 behavior you’d want even without the rule.
7. § 167.88 wind-down posture	Written commitment to notify and export if the platform itself shuts down. This is the new hygiene question.
8. Real-estate / title integration	Only matters if your book is closings. Title-adjacent volume is where the margin is.

The shortlist, with trade-offs

1. Proof (formerly Notarize)

What it is. The largest consumer RON platform in the United States. Rebranded from Notarize to Proof in 2023. Highest on-demand volume of any approved PA vendor.

Pricing snapshot. Consumer pays $25 first seal, $10 each additional. On-demand notaries earn a per-session share; the “Notary Pro” bring-your-own-signer tier lists around $10 per notarization plus $3 per additional seal. Proof pricing

Verdict. Best all-purpose pick for a PA notary who wants income the first week. KBA and credential analysis are integrated, the session recorder is native, exports are clean. Downside: you don’t set your own price, and the platform takes a meaningful cut.

2. BlueNotary

What it is. An independent RON platform positioned at solo notaries. White-label branding, custom pricing, bundled eJournal.

Pricing snapshot. Free Basic tier to start; Notary Pro annual plan around $297 for white-label access and self-set per-act pricing. Business Pro tier at roughly $37/notary/month with two free sessions and $10 per additional. Closing Pro around $45 per eClosing. BlueNotary pricing

Verdict. Best pick if you have signer relationships or want a brand of your own. The eJournal auto-links to the session recording, which is exactly what the March 2026 rule rewards. Downside: thinner consumer queue than Proof.

3. OneNotary

What it is. A flat-rate RON platform. Pay-as-you-go on the consumer side, subscription on the business side.

Pricing snapshot. Consumer: $25 first seal, $10 each additional. Business plan around $99/month. OneNotary — best online notary services 2026

Verdict. Good second choice behind Proof for on-demand work; good first choice if you prefer a flat-rate plan over BlueNotary’s per-notary seats. Downside: smaller brand recognition.

4. NotaryCam — for real-estate closings

What it is. A RON platform owned by Stewart Title, built for real-estate and title closings.

Pricing snapshot. RE closings from around $199 per closing. Non-RE acts at $25 first seal plus $10 each additional. Wills-and-trusts packages around $175 per document. NotaryCam pricing

Verdict. Best closing-only pick; not a good primary for generalist work. RON of wills in PA remains a legal minefield — the Estates and Fiduciaries Code still contemplates paper will execution with two witnesses.

5. SIGNiX — enterprise option

What it is. A digital-signature-plus-RON platform aimed at firms with consistent monthly volume.

Pricing snapshot. Plans start around $50/month with a five-transaction minimum. Enterprise tiers around $99 per notary per month. SIGNiX pricing

Verdict. Enterprise only. The minimum volume is punishing for a new notary.

Comparison at a glance

Platform	Start cost	Notary economics	Demand flow	Best for
Proof	Free to join queue	Platform takes a cut	Strong inbound	Generalist PA notary, first RON income
BlueNotary	Free Basic / $297 yr Pro	You set your price	Low inbound, bring own	Solo notary with own book
OneNotary	Pay-as-you-go / $99 mo	Flat, predictable	Modest inbound	SMB flat-rate volume
NotaryCam	Free to join	Closing-based	Title-industry channel	RE closings only
SIGNiX	From $50 mo (min 5/mo)	Volume-dependent	Bring your own	Law firm / enterprise
Pavaso	—	—	—	Closed Jan 1, 2026 — do not use

Sources for plan-level detail: Proof, BlueNotary, OneNotary, NotaryCam, SIGNiX.

The § 167.88 question — every vendor conversation should include it

After Pavaso, the questions that used to live under “nice-to-have” have moved to “required.” Ask every vendor, in writing, before signing a contract:

1. Will you notify me at least 60 days before ceasing operations in Pennsylvania? § 167.88 gives you the regulatory right to notice.
2. What is your export process for journals and audio-visual recordings? A working export is the mechanism you will use to preserve years of work when the platform is gone.
3. Where will my A/V recordings live if the platform shuts down mid-session?
4. What happens to my session metadata if your data center changes providers? Hosting changes are a quiet cause of audit-trail gaps.
5. Do you have a published business-continuity plan?

The next closure will be a § 167.88 case. Notaries who treat the rule as standing contract language — not a regulatory afterthought — will have better outcomes than those who trust the approved-vendor PDF.

What to do this week

1. Check the DOS approved-vendor PDF, then check the vendor’s website. Confirm both “on the list” and “currently onboarding new PA notaries.” PA DOS — Electronic or Remote Notarization
2. If you were a Pavaso user and never exported your journal or A/V recordings, document what you attempted and when. Your audit file is your defense if a years-later dispute surfaces.
3. File a technology-provider update with the Department within 30 days of switching platforms.
4. Price every RON session to the PA ceiling. $5 base act fee plus up to $20 RON add-on, itemized on the receipt.
5. Ask your chosen vendor the five § 167.88 questions above before executing a contract.

Further reading

• PA DOS — Electronic or Remote Notarization
• PA DOS — Approved E-Notary and RON Vendor List (PDF)
• RON complete guide on panotaryedu.com
• PA notary fee schedule
• Tools:
  • Fee calculator
  • Commission reminder
• Related reading:
  • Can a PA notary notarize for family?
  • PA notary overview pillar