Individuals' Notary Services

What is a Notary?

Notaries have the authority to authenticate a document and certify its legitimacy so that it can be used in another country. In particular, many English documents will only be accepted by foreign courts and civil authorities once they have been notarised, and many foreign documents need to be prepared or signed in front of a Notary in order to be effective.

The office of Notary Public is internationally recognised and difficult to attain; there are fewer than 900 Notaries in the whole of England and Wales. Their history dates back to Roman times, but in today’s increasingly global society they play an important role in supporting international trade.

Although they may be able to act for both parties to a contract, a Notary Public has to act independently and with impartiality. The work of a Notary is governed by a set of strict rules and standards which help to protect their clients.  The work of Roythornes Notarial Services, and its notaries, is regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

When is a Notary needed by individuals?

There are a number of situations where individuals might require the services of a Notary Public. In most cases, they are required where there is a need for someone to check and verify documents which have come from or will be used outside the UK.

Notaries can help individuals in a wide range of situations.

• Notarising copies of passports – for example, when you need to open a bank account abroad
• Powers of Attorney for use worldwide
• Notarising university, college and professional qualifications
• Affidavits, statutory declarations and sworn statements
• Residency certificates and proof of life certificates
• Change of name deeds
• Helping when one parent wants to travel with children
• US Acknowledgements and Closing Documents
• Helping when one parent wants to collect a passport for children

How much does it cost?

The fees payable to a notary depend on a number of elements including:

• what it is you need to do – certification, witnessing, obtaining Apostille, etc;
• the type of documents;
• who is signing the documents (a company or an individual);
• how many documents there are;
• which other countries are involved.

The notaries will happily go through these when you contact them and give you an estimate of fees and timescales. Further details of how Roythornes notarial services calculate the applicable costs are set out in the relevant terms of business.

Please note that any enquiries to Roythornes Solicitors in respect of notarial services will be passed to Roythornes Notarial Services. You can read Roythornes Notarial Services’ privacy policy here.

Please see Roythornes Notarial Services’ terms and conditions for details of the level of insurance which Roythornes Notarial Services carries and details of Roythornes Notarial Services’ complaints procedure.

Get in touch regarding Notary Services

For further information about our notarial services, get in touch with our team in Alconbury.