Notary Services

The most frequently required services are:-

• Attesting, i.e. notarising, powers of Attorney, (including drawing them up if necessary) for use throughout the world, the most frequent requests relating to Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Portugal, Italy, Canada, USA, South America, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, China Switzerland, Israel and the Arabian countries
• Procuring translations of legal documents and attesting their accuracy
• Verifying documents of record emanating from such organisations as Companies House, Registries of Births, Marriages and Deaths
• Assisting foreign lawyers in establishing companies abroad with British officers
• Administering Oaths as well as Statutory Declarations or Affirmations for foreign legal requirements
• Procuring legalisation of documents, whether Notarised or not by foreign embassies, or where the Hague Convention covers the country concerned by procuring an apostille from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Protesting Bills of Exchange
• Ship protests
• Certifying validity of academic or other qualifications
• Notarising the execution of foreign Wills
• Assisting in verification of persons and passports in foreign adoption process

In addition Notaries can act drawing up Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

This list is not exhaustive so please do not hesitate to contact me if you have a query about any notarial service you require.

Notaries - Very short history of the Notarial Profession.

The Notarial Profession is a separate branch of the legal profession.

To qualify as a Notary Public it is necessary to fulfill the criteria set out by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This requires a knowledge of law sufficient to allow a person to successfully pass a two year Post Graduate Diploma course in Notarial Practice conducted by Cambridge University A Notary must also provide character references and swear an Oath of Allegiance and the Notarial Oath which basically says the Notary will act with probity, refusing to act where there is violence or fraud.

Notaries were originally people who took “notae”- notes of speeches and proceedings in Rome at the time of Cicero (106-43 BC). Their status is recognised worldwide and the indorsement of a document with a Notary’s signature and seal will allow acceptance of the truth of the statements it contains by foreign jurisdictions.

The Notary’s duty is to the integrity of the act he indorses with his seal, so that it might be relied on by others worldwide. This obligation distinguishes a Notary from a solicitor whose duty is solely to his or her client.