Notary Public 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 less than 900 notaries in the whole of England and Wales.  Notaries date back to Roman times, but in today’s increasingly global society they play an important role in supporting international trade.

Our notaries are qualified solicitors who have undertaken further study and additional examinations.

Although 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 its clients. The terms on which our notaries work can be found here.

If you are looking for personal notary services, not business notary services, please click here

When is a notary needed by businesses?

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

A notary can help businesses involved in international trade in a number of ways:

• notarising Certificates of Incorporation, Memorandum and Articles of Association for UK and foreign companies;
• company Powers of Attorney and letters of authority;
• affidavits, statutory declarations and sworn statements;
• registration and assignment of trade marks;
• certification of identity of directors and other company officials;
• presenting bills of exchange for acceptance and payment, noting and protesting bills in cases of dishonour and preparing acts of honour;
• notarising commercial finance documentation (accounts, mortgages or loans);
• certifying copies of company Minutes and Resolutions;
• ship protests;
• legalisation and apostille services;
• verification of other commercial documentation;
• proof of life for pension authorities.

How much does it cost?

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

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

We will happily go through these when you contact us and give you an estimate of our fees.

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