Notary Public
Who is a Notary Public?
A Notary is a qualified lawyer – a member of the third and oldest branch of the legal profession in the United Kingdom. He is appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and is subject to regulation by the Court of Faculties. Notaries are regulated and must comply with stringent practice rules and regulations relating to conduct and discipline. They must be fully insured maintaining cover for the protection of their clients and must keep separate client's account.
The duty of a Notary Public extends not only to the client signing a document but also to those people, institutions or foreign governments who are relying on those documents. This means that the notary observes a high standard of care and the sealing of a document is not merely a "rubber stamping exercise". The Notary will, therefore, verify the information given by the client where possible and issue an appropriate certificate to this effect.
Not a Mere Rubber-Stamping Exercise:
The international duty of a Notary involves a high standard of care. This is not only towards the client but also to anyone who may rely on the document and to Governments or officials of other countries. These people are entitled to assume that a Notary will ensure full compliance with the relevant requirements both here and abroad, and to rely on the Notary's register and records.
Chain of Evidence: Notarisation is accepted as a safeguard under international law. The signature and seal of the Notary are recognised as a link in the chain of evidence relating to international documents. Accordingly, careful examination by the Notary is required to check whether both the document to be notarised and the personal ID exhibited are original, genuine, valid, complete, accurate, and unaltered.
Incomplete Documents: The Notary has to check that each document to be notarised is fully completed.
Written Translations: It is important that the Notary and the party signing understand the documents that are being signed. Therefore, if it is in a foreign language, which the person signing does not understand sufficiently, the Notary may have to insist that a translation be obtained or translator/ interpreter to attend. In such a case a further fee will be payable.
Terms of Business:
We are attaching a copy of our Notarial Terms of business and complaints procedure which you may wish to read at your leisure.
Terms & Conditions