Notary Public solicitors

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. Their history dates 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 in order to make sure they are sufficiently qualified.

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 terms on which our notaries work are here.

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

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 doing – 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.

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

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