Notary Public

What is a Notary and what do they do?

A Notary Public is a qualified lawyer and the Notarial profession is the oldest part of the legal profession in England and Wales.

Notaries are primarily concerned with the authentication and certification of signatures, authority and capacity relating to documents for use abroad. The most common tasks include:

• Preparing and authenticating powers of attorney for use overseas;
• Dealing with the purchase or sale of land and property abroad;
• Authenticating foreign wills and providing documents to deal with the administration of the estates of people who are abroad or who own property abroad;
• Authenticating personal documents and information for immigration or emigration purposes, or to apply to marry or work abroad, such as educational or professional qualifications or declarations of freedom to marry; and
• Authenticating company and business documents and transactions, or providing certificates as to the status of a company or the identity of its directors.

The public demand for the services of a Notary Public is growing as more individuals look to marry abroad, accept employment opportunities overseas and buy property in other countries.

Companies also regularly require the services of a Notary Public as they look to expand their business activities into other countries.

The seal and signature of a Notary Public is recognised not only by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and various High Commissions and Embassies in England, but throughout the world, regardless of the legal systems adopted in individual countries.

Notaries are appointed by the Court of Faculties of the Archbishop of Canterbury and are subject to regulation by the Master of the Faculties. The rules which affect Notaries are very similar to the rules which affect Solicitors.

Please note that the provision of notarial services is independent of the services provided by Farnfields and is governed by separate terms and conditions of the individual notaries.

Regulatory and Data Protection Information

The notarial practice is regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Any personal data will be processed in connection with notarial and associated services and related business activities. Please see Data Protection Privacy Policy for further information.

If you provide services in connection with notarial services, please refer to Data Processing Terms.

Price

The fee for the transaction will be set out in a covering email sent to you at the start of your matter and is based on the Notaries hourly rate of £260, subject to a minimum fee of £120 plus disbursements.

The fee charged may include time spent on preliminary advice, drafting and preparation, making and receiving telephone calls, correspondence written and received in all formats, arranging legalisation and record keeping.

Some documents require legalisation before they will be accepted for use in the receiving jurisdiction. This may involve obtaining an apostille through the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and, for some countries, additional legalisation through the relevant embassy or consulate.

Notarial fees are not subject to VAT.

Payment of fees and disbursements is due when the document has been prepared and is payable at the meeting.

Occasionally, unforeseen or unusual issues arise during the course of a matter which may result in a revision of fee estimates. Examples could include additional documents being required to be notarised, additional translations or legalisations being needed to meet the requirements of the receiving jurisdiction, or third-party fees being adjusted to reflect external factors.

Service Information

Each notarial matter is different and the requirements and timescales will vary according to whether the client is a private individual or a company and according to the processing times of third parties such as the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, legalisation agents, translation agencies and couriers.

We will normally review the documents and information provided to us within five working days of receipt and will then advise you of any further information or documentation required and the anticipated timescale for dealing with the matter. Appointments are subject to availability. Where legalisation, translation, verification, courier or other third-party services are required, the overall timescale will depend upon the processing times of those third parties.

Some of the typical key stages are likely to include:

• Receiving and reviewing the documents to be notarised together with any instructions you may have received;
• Liaising with your legal advisers or other bodies to obtain the necessary documentation to deal with the document, for example information from Companies House or foreign registries and powers of attorney;
• Checking the identity, capacity and authority of the person who is to sign the document;
• If a document is to be certified, checking with the issuing authorities that the document or award is genuine. In the case of academic awards, this would involve checking with the appropriate academic institution;
• Meeting with the signatory to verify their identity and ascertain that they understand what they are signing, that they are doing so of their own free will and that the document is executed correctly;
• Drafting and affixing or endorsing a notarial certificate to the document;
• Arranging for the legalisation of the document, as appropriate; and
• Arranging for the storage of copies of all notarised documents in accordance with the requirements of the Notarial Practice Rules 2019.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

Each Notary is insured under a professional indemnity policy for £1,000,000.00.

Complaints and Regulatory Information

1. The Notary’s 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
Email Faculty.office@1thesanctuary.com

Website www.facultyoffice.org.uk

2. If you are dissatisfied about the service you have received please do not hesitate to contact the Notary.
3. If the Notary is unable to resolve the matter you may then complain to the Notaries Society of which the Notary is 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.
4. 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
PO Box 876
Chichester
PO19 9HZ
Email 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.

5. 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 8 weeks from the date you first notified the Notary 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
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

6. 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.