NORTH NOTARY LEGAL POLICIES AND SERVICE AGREEMENTS
Jurisdiction: Ontario, Canada
Last Modified: May 2024
1. COMPREHENSIVE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1.1 Binding Agreement. These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) constitute a legally binding agreement between you (“User,” “you,” or “your”) and North Notary (“North Notary,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). By accessing
northnotary.ca (the “Site”) and using the services provided, you agree to be bound by these Terms and all applicable laws of Ontario and Canada.
1.2 No Legal Advice Disclaimer. NORTH NOTARY IS NOT A LAW FIRM. We do not provide legal advice, legal opinions, or recommendations about your legal rights or obligations. The Notary Public’s role is strictly limited to the authentication of signatures and the administration of oaths. Any information provided on this Site is for informational purposes only.
1.3 Remote Commissioning Compliance (O. Reg. 431/20). All services are performed in accordance with the Notaries Act (Ontario). Remote commissioning requires a live, synchronous audio-visual connection.
- Recipient Acceptance: It is your sole responsibility to confirm that the intended recipient (e.g., a court, bank, or foreign entity) accepts digitally notarized documents. North Notary is not liable for documents rejected by third parties.
- Geographic Limits: The Notary is physically located in Ontario. You must disclose your physical location at the time of the session.
1.4 Limitation of Liability. To the maximum extent permitted by law, North Notary’s total liability for any claim shall not exceed the amount paid for the service. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless North Notary from any claims arising from your breach of these Terms or the use of a notarized document for illegal purposes.
2. DETAILED REFUND AND CANCELLATION POLICY
2.1 Finality of Service. Once a Notary Public has applied their digital signature and cryptographic seal to a document, the service is deemed “fully performed.” No refunds will be issued for completed notarizations.
2.2 Cancellation and Late Fees.
- Standard Cancellation: You may cancel or reschedule with a full refund if notice is provided at least two (2) hours prior to the appointment.
- Administrative Fee: Cancellations made within two (2) hours, or failure to join the session within ten (10) minutes of the start time (“No-Show”), will incur a $40.00 CAD Administrative Fee.
- Technical Failures: If a session fails due to a verified glitch in our platform, a full refund will be offered. If the failure is due to the User’s hardware or internet connection, the Administrative Fee remains applicable.
3. IDENTITY VERIFICATION AND DATA POLICY
3.1 Purpose of Collection. To comply with Ontario’s identity-verification standards for remote commissioning, the Notary must verify your identity.
3.2 Manual Verification. Identity verification is performed manually by a licensed Notary or Commissioner. We do NOT use automated AI-based facial recognition or machine-learning algorithms to determine identity.
3.3 Record Capture. During the secure video session, the Notary will capture a high-resolution image of your government-issued photo ID and a screenshot of your face for the Notarial Record, as required by the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) best practices.
3.4 Retention. We retain records of the identity verification for a period of ten (10) years to ensure the long-term validity of the commissioned document, after which they are securely destroyed.
4. DATA PROCESSING SUPPLEMENT (DPS)
4.1 Role of North Notary. We act as a “Data Processor” under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
4.2 “No Sale” Guarantee. North Notary NEVER sells, leases, or trades your personal information or document data to third parties. We share data only with essential security partners who are contractually bound to our privacy standards.
4.3 Data Residency. All personal data and session logs are stored on secure, encrypted servers to ensure compliance with provincial and federal privacy regulations.
5. ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY (AUP)
5.1 Fraudulent Activity. You shall not use the platform to notarize documents that are fraudulent, forged, or intended for illegal purposes. Any suspicious activity will be reported to the Law Society of Ontario and/or law enforcement.
5.2 System Integrity. You agree not to attempt to bypass identity verification, reverse-engineer digital seals, or upload malicious code designed to disrupt the Site.
5.3 Termination. North Notary reserves the right to refuse service or terminate access for any user who violates these terms or engages in unprofessional conduct.
6. SECURITY STATEMENT
6.1 Encryption. All data in transit and at rest is protected by AES-256 bit encryption and TLS 1.2+ protocols.
6.2 Audit Trails. Every transaction produces a secure digital audit trail including timestamps, IP addresses, and verification status to ensure the integrity of the process.
6.3 Tamper-Evidence. Notarized documents are protected by cryptographic seals. Any alteration to the document after notarization will immediately invalidate the digital seal.
7. ARBITRATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
7.1 Binding Arbitration. To the maximum extent permitted by law, any dispute or claim arising out of these policies or our services will be resolved through final and binding arbitration in Toronto, Ontario, rather than in court.
7.2 Class-Action Waiver. You waive any right to bring or participate in a class-action lawsuit for such disputes. All proceedings will be conducted on an individual basis.
8. BUSINESS SERVICES SUPPLEMENT
8.1 Corporate Responsibility. Business entities using the platform are responsible for managing employee access and are liable for all notarizations requested under their corporate account.
8.2 Indemnification. Business Users agree to indemnify North Notary against any third-party claims regarding the validity or legal effect of documents notarized for the Business User’s clients.
9. GOVERNING LAW
These agreements are governed exclusively by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. Any legal action must be brought in the courts of the Judicial District of York (Toronto).
