The service provided by me is that of a Notary Public carrying out all permitted notarial activities including, where appropriate, arranging legalisation of documents and sending them to their final destination. An essential part of a notary’s role is to maintain and keep records.
Visiting a notary public, the process, and my terms of business
1. Why do you need a notary?
It is almost always the case that you have been asked to see a notary because you have a document that needs to be used abroad. These notes seek to explain the requirements and processes, to give you my estimate of my costs (see note 11 below for the amounts in your matter), and some important regulatory information.
A notary’s role is never a mere “rubber-stamping” exercise. The international duty of a notary means they must exercise a high standard of care not only towards you 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.
Great care is essential at every stage to minimise the risk, among other things, of errors, omissions, alterations, fraud, forgery, money laundering and the use of false identity.
2. Typical Stages of Notarial process; time estimates
Each notarial matter is different, and the requirements and timescales will vary greatly. Private individuals and organisations will have different needs; the response and processing times of others involved will vary; the requirements of receiving countries will impose more, or less, complexity.
As I guide, I endeavour to reply to your call or email as soon as I can on the day you make the enquiry. If you ask me to carry out work, I shall endeavour to fit your timescale but if I think I will not be able to do so, I shall tell you. Subject to unusual volume of demand, much of the “ordinary” notarial work can be carried out within a week of your instructions to proceed, but where information from a third party is needed (for example, the verification of a qualification certificate), more time is likely to be needed. Many documents need additional steps (authentication or legalisation) which will take a week (for apostille) if an agent is employed, and additional, unpreditable, l time for additional consular involvement. Some of the usual key stages are:
- Receiving and reviewing the documents to be notarised together with any instructions you may have received yourself;
- Liaising and clarifying with your legal advisors what their requirements will be;
- Obtaining the necessary information or documents from other bodies to support the work or verify your document, including confirming with the issuing authority. I might, for example, contact Companies House here, or similar registries in other relevant countries;
- If a document is to be translated, arranging for this and the necessary certificate of translation;
- Drafting a notarial certificate to be and affixed to or endorsed on the document
- Checking the identity, capacity and authority of the person who is to sign the document (the “signatory”);
- Meeting with the signatory to verify:
- their identity;
- that they understand what they are signing; and
- that they are doing so of their own free will, and in the process, ensuring that the document is completed and signed correctly.
- Arranging for the legalisation of the document as appropriate
- Arranging for the storage of copies of all notarised documents in accordance with the requirements of the Notarial Practice Rules 2019
3. Making an appointment
Notaries offer appointments during business hours but also at other times in exceptional circumstances.
Please arrange a suitable time with me by sending me an email or by calling me during my office hours of 9am-5pm. I can see you at my office but I am willing to visit you at home or at your place of business. If I do so I will make an additional charge to cover travelling time and expenses, but I will tell you this before we confirm the appointment.
If I am unable to see you within the timeframe you require, or if I decide that I am not able to act for you, I will tell you so, and will provide you with information to help you find an alternative notary.
4. When to sign documents
Please DO NOT sign any documents before we meet, unless I specifically tell you to do so. In many instances, the reason you need a notary is so that they can confirm that they have seen you sign the document.
5. Papers to send me in advance
Once an appointment is booked, and in order to save time, expense and mistakes, please send to me as soon as you can, the originals or photocopies of:
- the documents to be notarised;
- any letter or other form of instruction which you have received about what has to be done with the documents;
- evidence of your identity (see below).
6. Identification:
It is an important part of my duty to identify you, and to do so I shall need you to provide me with the original of:
- your current passport; or,
- your current photocard driving licence.
If you have neither of these, please bring the originals of at least two of the following
- a current government or police issue certificate bearing a photo or other formal means of identification;
- your most recent council tax bill;
- a utility bill, showing your current address and dated within the last three months;
- credit card (similarly);
- bank statement (similarly).
The instructions and information sent to you, regarding the request for you to visit a notary, may also specify that you produce a document. If that is the case, please remember to bring the original of that with you to the appointment. For example, you may be asked to bring documents relating to another country (eg, a foreign identity card). I may also ask to see other documents (eg marriage certificate) and will tell you so if this is needed.
If the name on the document to be notarised is different from the name you are currently using, or if the spelling has varied over the years, please provide me with documents to show this, for example Certificates of Birth, Marriage or Divorce Decree or Change of Name Deed or Statutory Declaration, showing all the different names that you use, or you change of name.
7. A Notary will not usually give you legal advice on the document
If you bring a document to me for authentication or for execution (for example), in my role as a notary, I will explain to you the formalities required for completing it, but I will not advise you about the transaction itself. If you do not have legal advice from an expert in the law of the country to which you wish to send the document, I do strongly encourage you to obtain it.
8. Translations
It is essential that you understand what you are signing.
If the document is in a foreign language which you do not understand sufficiently, I am likely to insist that a translation be obtained. If I arrange for a translation, I will ask for a quote first and discuss this with you before asking the translator to proceed.
If you arrange for a professional translation yourself, please ensure that the translator knows to add his/her name, address, relevant qualification, and a certificate stating: “Document X is a true and complete translation of document Y, to which this translation is attached.” Most professional translators will know this, or that they will need to provide a certificate. You should always check the requirements of the receiving country before arranging this, in order to save time and expense.
If you and I cannot understand each other because of a language difficulty, we may have to arrange for a competent interpreter to be available at our interview, and they are likely to charge a fee, which would be in addition to my fees. As with translation fees, if I am making the arrangements, I will check with you whether you agree the amount.
9. Companies, Partnerships etc
If a document is to be signed by you on behalf of a company, a partnership, a charity, club or other incorporated body, I may need to take further steps, see other documents, or seek additional wording on the document. Please be prepared for these and telephone with any point of difficulty before attending on the appointment.
In each case I shall need:
- evidence (as above) of the identity of the person authorised to sign on behalf of the organisation;
- a copy of the organisation’s current letterhead (showing, for example, the registered office of the company)
- a document authorising the person who will be attending to sign on behalf of the organisation, this might be one or more of:
- a Letter of Authority;
- a Minute of the meeting that agreed or provided the authorisation;
- a Resolution;
- a Power of Attorney.
For companies, please also provide me with prints of:
- Certificate of Incorporation and of any Change of Name,
- a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association,
- Details of Directors and Secretaries
- a list of members (where appropriate)
I will be carrying out various company searches, which may have an effect on the level of my fees.
For partnerships, please let me have the partnership agreement; for any other form of organisation, please provide the relevant document setting out the constitution or rules of the organisation itself.
10. Notarial charges and expenses
Details of my charges in your matter are set out in note 11 below.
If I have to pay disbursements (see below) on your behalf I will confirm with you first but will also ask for payment in advance to cover them.
(a) My fees:
I shall try to give you a fixed fee for my work if I can – this is more likely to be possible if the matter is simple – and I will tell you the overall amount, which will include the disbursements I consider will be needed. I am setting out the figures for you below (note 11).
If complexities arise, or if the matter from the outset is clearly more complicated or going to be time-consuming, I will use my hourly rate of £180 an hour to estimate my fee and will give you a range of the likely amount, plus the foreseeable disbursements. I do not charge VAT.
In addition to the time spent meeting with you and dealing directly with the document and notarisation, my fee will include time spent on preliminary advice, drafting and preparation, making and receiving telephone calls, writing and receiving correspondence (in all formats), arranging legalisation and for record keeping. There may be other steps which I will detail in my invoice.
Occasionally unforeseen or unusual issues arise during the course of the matter for which I may need to revise my fee estimate. Sometimes additional requirements arise, further documents to be notarized or translated or other steps in the legalisation process, to meet the requirements of the receiving country. Occasionally a third party’s fees are adjusted to cover their own rising overheads.
I will notify you of any changes in my fee estimate or the cost of a disbursement as soon as possible.
(b) Disbursements:
These are payments I make on your behalf to third parties, such as legalisation fees (see below), postage, consular agent fees, courier fees, travelling expenses or translating costs. They will vary with each matter, I set out below the amounts I foresee will apply in your case.
Some documents require legalisation before they will be accepted for use in the country receiving the papers from you. There may be more than one step in the process:
- Apostille – this is provided by the UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, which will attach a certificate (an apostille) to the document to confirm the notary’s signature and seal.
- Embassy legalisation – some countries will require an additional step, usually administered through the embassy or consulate of that country.
I use agents with the aim of facilitating the legalisation process, and couriers to secure carriage of the document and a faster turnaround. I will consult with you about these costs, and give you the detail of any alternatives that might be appropriate.
(c) Payment
Please make payment by bank transfer (for preference) but I will accept cash or cheque (payment is made once the cheque clears, which can be a few days depending on the banks involved).
Payment of my fee and disbursements will usually be due when the document has been prepared, but I reserve the right to ask for payment in advance of the work and may do this when there is a significant amount of work to do in preparation for our initial meeting.
I may retain the document that I prepare for you pending payment in full.
11. Charges and Disbursements in your matter
I shall outline the principal steps needed in your case and will confirm me fees here.
If there are complications or other documents that you need me to deal with, I will discuss any further fees with you at our meeting.
You may need the documents to be “legalised” by way of apostille (this being an international certificate to verify an official signature). You can do this yourself, by direct application to FCDO through gov.uk website. The information on the website will give you the price (at time of writing, £45 plus any transit costs [post, courier or DX]. If you would like me to organise this for you my fee will be £30 (no VAT) and I will recommend using an agent for safe handling and prompt turnaround. The fees for one document would be:
- courier fees of about £15 from me to my agent
- agent’s fees of about £30 + VAT (so £36 including VAT)
- FCDO apostille fee of £40.
For additional documents, the agent’s fee increases (typically about £20 for each subsequent document) and FCDO of £40 for each apostille. I would not charge any more.
12. Regulation matters, Notarial Records and Data Protection
Notaries are required to keep records of their work, and I take the view that I should do so as a permanent record, as it is not possible to predict when your document might need clarifying in the future, when perhaps even you no longer have connection with the property or transaction in question. I will retain a copy of the notarised documentation with that record.
I keep your personal data in accordance with my Data Protection Policy and my Data Privacy Notice gives detail of this. Your data is held securely and is not capable of being accessed externally. I am a Data Controller and I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office with no. ZB723630. Data collected for notarial function and as part of notarial record is used solely for the purposes of meeting my professional legal responsibilities as a Notary Public.
To the extent that I use any automated decision-making technology, including artificial intelligence, in the course of my services, I do not rely upon the same without human intervention. Before using any new technology including artificial intelligence, I carry out an appropriate risk assessment to ensure that your rights are not adversely affected by the same.
13. Insurance
In the interests of my clients, I maintain professional indemnity insurance at a level of £1,000,000 per claim.
14. Termination/Your Right to Cancel
You may terminate your instructions to me at any time by giving me reasonable written notice. All fees and disbursements incurred up to the date of termination will be charged.
Where the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (“CCR”) apply, typically, where you are an individual consumer and my contract with you was concluded either at, or following, a meeting with you at your home, or by a form of distance communication, you have a cancellation period (a “cooling off” period). This is period of 14 days from the date you sign my retainer letter, or the date on which you confirm you give me instructions, whichever is earlier.
You can cancel your contract within the cooling off period by giving me a clear statement to that effect. I will reimburse all payments received from you by the same method that you paid them to me, at no cost to you, without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which you inform me of the cancellation.
If you ask me to begin work during the cancellation period, or if you authorise me to begin by signing a “waiver” of your “cooling off” rights, you can still cancel but you must pay me an amount in proportion to the work which I have performed and this proportion will not be reimbursed to you.
15. Termination by me
I reserve the right to terminate my engagement by you if I have good reason to do so, for example, if you do not pay a bill or comply with my request for a payment on account or you fail to give me the co-operation which I am reasonably entitled to expect.
16. Complaints
My notarial practice is regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury:
The Faculty Office
1, The Sanctuary
Westminster
London SW1P 3JT
Telephone 020 7222 5381
Faculty.office@1thesanctuary.com
www.facultyoffice.org.uk
If you are dissatisfied about the service you have received please do not hesitate to contact me.
If we are unable to resolve the matter you may then complain to the Notaries Society of which I am a member, who have a Complaints Procedure which is approved by the Faculty Office. This procedure is free to use and is designed to provide a quick resolution to any dispute.
In that case please write (but do not enclose any original documents) with full details of your complaint to:
The Secretary of The Notaries Society
P O Box 1023
Ipswich IP1 9XB
secretary@thenotariessociety.org.uk
If you have any difficulty in making a complaint in writing please do not hesitate to contact the Notaries Society/the Faculty Office for assistance.
Finally, even if you have your complaint considered under the Notaries Society Approved Complaints Procedure, you may at the end of that procedure, or after a period of eight weeks from the date you first notified me that you were dissatisfied, make your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, if you are not happy with the result:
Legal Ombudsman
P O Box 6167
Slough SL1 0EH
Tel : 0300 555 0333
enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
www.legalombudsman.org.uk
If you decide to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, you must refer your matter to the Legal Ombudsman within one year from the act/omission or within one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
I hope that these notes are of help to you in understanding what is expected of each of us.