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What is a Notary Public?

A Notary is a qualified lawyer, in England and Wales Notaries are largely concerned with verifying information and documents for use in other countries by people who have business or property overseas, giving someone power of attorney abroad or who are involved in litigation in foreign Courts. However, if a document is for use in England or Wales you would use a Commissioner for Oaths.

You may need to do this if, for example if you act as an Executor or lose the Deeds to your property. There is a statutory charge for this service of £5 per document and £2 for each exhibit, this is any document referred to in the actual document you are swearing. So a Will must be produced when swearing an Oath for Executors.

A Notary can verify facts, for example they will verify that it is you who signed the document in question and that you understood it. The Notary attaches a certificate to the document and verifies it with his signature and seal. Clearly, in order to verify who you are, the Notary must confirm your identification by checking ID such as a valid Passport or Driving Licence, together with proof of your address..

A Notary is a member of the third and oldest branch of the legal profession in the United Kingdom and is appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Notary is subject to regulation by the Court of Faculties. The rules that affect Notaries are similar to the rules that affect UK Solicitors. Notaries must be have insurance and maintain fidelity cover for the protection of the public. They are not allowed to keep clients' money with their own; it must be separate and comply with stringent practice rules. Notaries have to renew their practising certificates every year and will only be granted if they have complied with the strict rules.

Apostillisation and Legalisation

Sometimes you may be required to have a document apostillised according to the Hague Convention or legalised. According to the Hague Convention, all legal and official bodies that have signed the Convention, must acknowledge the legal validity of a foreign document, when an official seal called 'Apostille' or 'Apostille den Haag', is attached to the foreign document. If this is your case you will seek Apostillisation and Legalisation.

For example; when the incorporation documents for a company are issued in one country, and is intended to be used in another, you may encounter issues in having these corporate documents legally acknowledged in the intended country. This might be to open a bank account or registered office. In these cases, you may be required to have your documents authenticated as being true documents by the other country's Consulate.This can be done by your Notary Public.