Notary Public Services

Your appointment could be as quick as 15-30 minutes. We’ll review your relevant documents and make sure they are prepared correctly. To make the process even quicker, you can send us a copy of your documents along with any instructions from the relevant authority ahead of time. This allows us to do the bulk of the preparation for you before our meeting. 

If your situation is more complicated, we’ll discuss with you what extra work needs doing and how long it’ll take. We have a wealth of experience in handling complex documentation internationally, and work in multiple languages to ensure the right fit for you.

As notaries, we can prepare and oversee the completion of many documents for use overseas. We have experience with a wide range of documents for both UK and global purposes which involve:

• Transactions for foreign contracts
• Oaths, affidavits and statutory declarations 
• The formation of foreign subsidiary companies
• The purchase of land and property abroad
• Powers of Attorney for use overseas
• Immigration or emigration
• Applications to marry or work abroad
• Travel consent forms
• Foreign wills and estate administration
• Certifying certificates of educational qualifications
• Certificate of freedom to marry abroad
• Certification of identify documents
• Certification of company constitutional documents (eg. articles of association, resolutions, power of attorney)
• Protesting bills of exchange
• Shipping documents
• Certification of points of law.

Notaries Public (or notaries) are qualified lawyers who are appointed by the Court of Faculties of the Archbishop of Canterbury. We specialise in checking and authenticating different kinds of official documents concerned with:

• General financial transactions
• Deeds
• Estates
• Powers of Attorney
• Foreign and international business.

Our main tasks involve preparing, checking and certifying documents that are going outside the UK. This can mean:

• Witnessing and validating your signature (checking you are who you say you are)
• Making sure that you’ve understood what you’re signing
• Checking that an international document is valid for relevant authorities abroad (e.g. a licence to get married in another country).

We will do this by putting our signature and seal on the relevant document or by adding a notarial certificate. These documents are then called notarial acts. Notarial acts are universally recognised and any facts contained within them are treated as the evidence of a responsible legal officer. 

The English courts treat any notarial act as evidence without need for further proof, unless there is proof to the contrary. Most Notaries Public also practice as solicitors and are authorised to carry out all other types of legal work, except for litigation (appearing in court).

If you're sending legal documents abroad, we can verify your identity, legal capacity and understanding of the document. We can also check your authority to sign on behalf of another person, company or organisation. If you’re sending official documentation, we can help to:

• Validate the signature of a person
• Administer oaths and affirmations
• Take statutory declarations and affidavits (statements of fact or truth)
• Authenticate the validity of particular types of documents
• Take acknowledgments (e.g. of deeds)
• Draft protest notes and bills of exchange
• Provide notice of foreign drafts
• Prepare marine or ship's protests in cases of damage
• Provide exemplifications and notarial copies.

You’d usually need a notary if your document relates to important financial or legal matters that need a great deal of trust in everyone involved. In other words, these are documents that have potential for fraud, such as:

• A licence to be married abroad
• A life insurance policy (.e.g. designating a beneficiary)
• A deed or conveyance
• Powers of attorney
• A company trademark assignment
• Share purchase agreements
• Loan and finance agreements
• Protest notes and bills of exchange
• Shipping documents
• Permits for restricted items (e.g. firearms).

Visiting a notary can also be more cost effective as it removes the need for you to travel abroad to take care of matters yourself. If you’re a witness in a lawsuit, you may need to sign an affidavit (a written statement that you’ve sworn to be true) in front of a Notary Public.

The first thing for you to do is call us to arrange a consultation about the documents you need notarised. 

You will need to bring:

• Official identification with a photograph (passport or driver’s licence)
• Proof of residence such as a recent utility or council tax bill (this cannot be a bill downloaded from the internet).
• A copy of the document needing notarisation (unsigned)
• Evidence of the due incorporation of the company or organisation (where applicable).

It’s even better if you send us a copy of your documents along with any instructions from the relevant jurisdiction or authority ahead of time. This lets us to do the bulk of the necessary preparation for you before our meeting. 

It's very important that our notary watches you sign the document, if they don’t witness you signing then they can’t verify that it was you who signed it. Generally, this means that we can’t do this remotely, but this depends on the relevant law and the receiving jurisdiction and authority relating to the document. If you do need documents authorised remotely, get in touch and we’ll advise if it’s possible. If your situation is more complicated, notarisation may take between 3-14 days to complete. We will discuss any work needed and the time it will take in your appointment with us.

The nature of notary work varies, and each notarial instruction is different, so there is no standard charging structure.  Our notaries work on a time-spent basis, so we will give you a quote on receiving the document instructions and reviewing what’s needed. There’s no chargeable VAT added to the notarial fee. 

Producing a notarial act is not merely signing and sealing of documents - it involves a high standard of care to make sure the notarial act is acceptable by the receiving jurisdiction. Our fees don’t include additional fees paid to third parties, such as the FCDO or foreign consulates.  We’ll provide further information on these during our consultation.