Contents

What does a Notary do?
When do I need a Notary?
Who is a Notary?
Identification
Apostillisation
Why an English Notary is different to an American Notary
How much does it cost?
Company Service
Downloads

What does a Notary do?

In England and Wales Notaries are largely concerned with the verification of documents and information that will be used in other countries in the world, for clients who have business or property overseas, or who are involved in litigation in foreign Courts.

If your document is for use in England or Wales please see Commissioners for Oaths.

Notaries form an independent branch of the legal profession, although most are solicitors. Their practice as Notaries is quite separate from their practice of any other profession or business, and is not controlled by the rules affecting solicitors. While Notaries have the powers of a Commissioner for Oaths (and most of them are also Solicitors) the work that they do is mainly concerned with foreign matters and their procedures are entirely different.
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When do I need a Notary?

Usually you will have been asked by a third party to sign documents in the presence of a Notary Public. For example, if you are selling or buying a foreign property or giving someone a Power of Attorney abroad.
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What is a Notary?

A Notary is a public officer who can verify facts, in the case above that it is you who signed the document and that you understood it. The Notary attaches a certificate to the document and verifies it with his signature and seal. To see a sample certificate click here.
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Identification

Obviously, in order to verify who you are the Notary must see a form of identification. Aceptable identification is a valid Passport or Driving Licence, together with proof of address in the form of a utility bill. If you do not have these please contact us and we will be able to advise you on alternatives.
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Apostillisation and Legalisation

Sometimes you may be asked to have a document apostillised according to the Hague Convention or legalised. This entails sending the document to the Legalisation Office of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office where they will verify our Notary's appointment by attaching their own certificate. Their fee for this is £12 per document.

If the destination country is not a party to the Hague Convention the document must then be sent to the relevant country's embassy for further verification. This can cost as much as £200 per document but the cost is usually much more modest, depending on the embassy involved.
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Why an English Notary is different to an American Notary

American Notaries are appointed for a limited time only and their only power is to witness signatures, similar to English Commissioners for Oaths.

English Notaries are appointed for life and have power to verify any fact. Their time is just as valuable whether they are verifying your signature or an involved financial transaction.
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How much does it cost?

In line with guidance from The Notaries Society (see Downloads below) from 1st April 2004 our Notary's charge is based on a rate of £200 + VAT per hour with a minimum charge of £60 + VAT. In general, one person signing a single document should expect to pay £60 + VAT.
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Company Service

Rigby Golding offer a comprehensive service our business clients find invaluable. If required our Notary will attend your company offices where the document can be completed on the spot. We can also arrange same day apostillisation if required. We liase with you beforehand to ensure we have everything we need, so that your company officers don't have to wait around while the document is prepared. Please contact us for more details.
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Downloads

For your convenience the leaflets published by The Notaries' Society are available to download below.

Download guidance on The Work of a Notary (46 KB) in Adobe PDF format
Download the leaflet See a Notary (179 KB) in Adobe PDF format

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Other pages you might find interesting:

The Notaries' Society Website has a wealth of information on the historic office of Notary Public and the Notary's relevance today.