Notary Public Bookham, Leatherhead, Mole Valley
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Frequently Asked Questions

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What is the difference between a UK solicitor and a UK notary public?

The role of a solicitor is to provide legal advice and services to their clients.  Their main objective is to protect their client’s interests.

The role of a notary public is to certify and authenticate legal documents, commonly for use in a foreign country.  A notary must remain neutral and so cannot act in anyone’s favour in a transaction.  Their role is to ensure that the documents they notarise are genuine, that they make sense and that they are properly signed and legally valid in the country where they are to be used.

As a notary public I am only authorised to notarise documents in England and Wales.

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What is a Commissioner for Oaths?

A commissioner for oaths and a notary public can both administer oaths, but a commissioner for oaths is primarily used for documents that will be used within England and Wales, while a notary public will usually be required for documents which are intended to be used in a foreign country.

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What does notarisation mean?

Notarisation is the process by which I, as a notary public, verify the authenticity of a document.  I will attach a notarial certificate to, or endorse a notarial certificate on, the document in order to authenticate it.  I then add my signature and unique notarial seal.

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What does legalisation mean?

After I have notarised a document it may be necessary for it to be 'legalised' before it will be accepted in the foreign country.  This may require one or both of the following:

  1. the addition of a certificate, known as an apostille, from the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).  This certificate confirms that the signature and seal of the Notary is genuine.
  2. the addition of a certificate from a Chamber of Commerce, Embassy or Consulate.

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What are the options to obtain apostille/Embassy legalisation?

Option 1

The documents are sent directly to the FCDO.  This is the cheapest paper option, but it is only recommended where there is no urgency as the FCDO can be slow to turn around documents, particularly at busy times.

Option 2

The documents are sent to a legalisation agent who arranges the legalisation and charges a handling fee.  There are 2 options here

  1. general service.  Usually this means that documents received by them before 9am will be legalised and collected by them the following day.
  2. Urgent which requires proof of time pressure.  This is more expensive and only a little quicker than the general service.

For options 1 and 2 the documents can be returned to a UK or overseas address  provided by you.

Option 3

The final option is an electronic apostille, known as an ‘e-Apostille, which involves uploading a document with an electronic notary signature and seal. This is the quickest option.  Once the apostille has been added you will be provided with an electronic document which you can forward to as many recipients as you wish. However, this options isn't available for all types of document and in addition it is not universally accepted in all countries.

E-apostilles are not available for the following types of document:

  1. birth, death, marriage, civil partnership and adoption certificates, or any other document from the General Register Office;
  2. ACRO police certificates for England and Wales;
  3. Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) certificates for England and Wales;
  4. disclosure certificates for Scotland and Northern Ireland;
  5. fingerprint certificates;
  6. membership certificates for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA.

Please note that at the present time I am unable to offer the e-Apostille option.

I will always use a legalisation agent when you need the addition of a certificate from a Chamber of Commerce, Embassy or Consulate.

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Identification documents

  1. When you sign a document in my presence, I need to be sure that you are the person who is named in the document.  I will therefore require you to provide me with a photographic identification document, such as your passport or driving licence and one or more other documents as proof of your address.  Following the implementation of the Money Laundering Regulations notaries are obliged to keep sufficient evidence of the identity and address of their clients.
  2. If you are signing a document on behalf of a company, or other entity, I will make certain checks to identify the company, or other entity, and its status.  I will also need to identify you as an individual and make sure that you have authority to bind the company or other entity.

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Formalities for the execution of documents

  1. When I notarise a document I have to be satisfied that it has been executed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.  The legal requirements for foreign countries are usually different to those of England and Wales, so I may need make changes to the execution sections of the document and liaise with the lawyer who drafted the document to make sure that these changes will be accepted in the foreign country. 
  2. Special care needs to be taken where a document needs to be signed as a deed.  A deed is a written document that has to be executed in a particular way, meaning that more than a simple signature is required.  The key requirements are that the document explicitly states on its face that it is intended to be a deed, it has to be signed in the presence of a witness and it must be 'delivered' which requires words or conduct to demonstrate that the party who signs it intends to be bound by its terms.  Examples are documents transferring or charging land and powers of attorney. There are special execution requirements for companies.

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Do we need to meet?

  1. I may not need to meet you in person, for example if you want me to verify and notarise an educational certificate, but I will need to see the original documents.
  2. If a document needs to be signed in my presence then I will usually need to meet with you.  Nowadays, however, some countries will accept a document which has been signed in my presence remotely during a video call.  It is always important to check that a document which is notarised in this way will be accepted by the country where it is going to be used.  Remote signing isn't possible if the document has to be signed as a deed.

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Foreign language documents and speakers

  1. A document to be notarised may be in a language that you and/or I do not understand.  As a notary I have to be sure that we both understand the document and that you know what effect it will have in the foreign country.  For this reason I may require that the document is translated into English by an independent translator who may have to sign a statutory declaration certifying that it is a true translation
  2. If you don’t speak English, I may require a qualified interpreter is present when we meet.

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