Notaries are the third, and the oldest, branch of the legal profession in England and Wales.

Notaries have been around since the 13th century. They were originally appointed by the Pope, but after the Reformation, when Henry VIII made himself head of the Church of England, this passed to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

A Notary is a qualified lawyer who has undertaken further specialist professional training. Notaries are still appointed and regulated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, through the Faculty Office in London.

Notaries in England and Wales deal with documents for use abroad, in foreign legal jurisdictions. Some documents will only be accepted overseas if they bear the signature and seal of a Notary.

A Notary will authenticate (“notarise”) a document for use abroad and, where required, also arrange “legalisation” by way of a certificate (“Apostille”) from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and any further Embassy or Consular legalisation which may be needed.

A Notary’s primary duty is to ensure that his/her Notarial Act may be relied upon by anyone, anywhere in the world. This is one of the ways in which a Notary is different to a solicitor: a solicitor’s primary duty is to his/her client.

Notaries have to comply with stringent practice rules, and maintain both professional indemnity insurance and fidelity bond cover.

The role of a Notary in England and Wales is unique. In other countries, Notaries only conduct domestic legal business.

The qualification and status of a Notary is recognised throughout the world.

No!  There’s a lot more to it than that.

I will need to verify your identity and ensure that I have complied with my obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations.  I must establish that the person appearing before me, whether in their individual capacity or on behalf of a company or other body, fully understands the document they are signing and intends to be bound by it, and also that they have the necessary capacity and authority to sign.  It may be necessary to get a translation if the document is in a foreign language.  Legalisation may be required, which may in itself present logistical challenges.

Even the most simple and straightforward of matters is likely to involve an appointment of at least 20 minutes.

You will find more about appointments here.

Wherever possible, I will quote you a fixed fee. If that is not possible, or if the matter is going to be more complex, I will charge an hourly rate for the time I spend on your matter. Either way, I will notify you of the fee in advance.

You will find more about fees here.

Individual clients will need to bring at least two documents to verify their identity.  The first is a current valid passport.  The second should show your home address – an original bank statement, utility bill or council tax bill.  I may also need to see original birth, baptism or marriage certificates, proof of divorce, deeds poll on change of name, or statutory declarations.

PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL CHECK PASSPORTS, DRIVING LICENCES AND ID CARDS UNDER UV LIGHT.

For company clients, searches may have to be carried out, and I may need to ask to inspect various documents.  The cost of any such searches will be chargeable.

I can advise you further on what is required for your matter before we meet.

I’m afraid not. I will only see clients for Notarial services by appointment.

You should send me a copy of the document in advance (ideally in electronic format, by email). Please also tell me in which country your document is to be used, and how quickly you need it.

Before we meet, I will advise you whether your document will need legalisation, in addition to being authenticated by a Notary, and how this will impact on your timescale. If time is tight, it may be possible to use a premium service – though at extra cost.

Yes.  Ideally we will meet at my office during normal office hours.  In special circumstances, or if the matter is urgent, I am prepared to make appointments outside office hours, but may charge a higher fee.

If you cannot attend at my office, or for corporate clients, I can make arrangements to visit you.  I will charge for travelling time and expenses.

It might seem odd in the modern world that we notaries still use seals and ribbon, but it’s all to do with security and authenticity.

A document produced or authenticated by a Notary is accepted around the world.  It is vital, therefore, that your document cannot be tampered with or altered in any way.

My notarial seal is my unique seal of office.  By sealing your document, I am telling the world at large that it is genuine and can be relied upon.  If your document requires an apostille or consular legalisation as well, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and foreign Embassies will expect to see my notary’s seal on the document.

In centuries gone by, documents were sealed by pressing a metal seal into hot wax.  Nowadays, we emboss the seal onto the document, over an adhesive paper wafer.

If your document consists of more than one sheet of paper, all of the pages will have to be securely bound together.  Old-fashioned as it may seem, the most effective way to do this is to sew the document with ribbon, secured under the wafer and seal.  That way, it’s pretty clear if someone has later tried to add or remove any pages.