Notary Services

A notary is a public officer whose signature and official seal is recognised all over the world as a reliable source of evidence of the facts and events they record and verify.

There are circumstances where you will be asked to have a document witnessed, certified or authenticated by a Notary Public before it will be accepted abroad.

The most common types of work a Notary is instructed to undertake include:

Services for Individuals

Witnessing signatures to a Power of Attorney

Witnessing signatures to mortgage deeds, warranty deeds and agreements for sale and purchase of property abroad

Preparing and witnessing affidavits of Freedom to Marry

Witnessing applications and affidavits for use in foreign court proceedings

Preparing and witnessing affidavits for Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) / Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) visa applications

Witnessing Sponsorship Statutory Declarations

Parental consent for a child to travel / issuance of a passport on behalf of a minor child

Witnessing foreign oaths for executors and applications for grants of probate

Letters of authorisation and applications for Tax Registration Numbers

American acknowledgements

Certifying as true copies or authenticating degree/education certificates, Disclosure Scotland, UK Court Orders, bills, bank statements and passports

Authenticating documents as genuine

Verifying the translation of documents by a translator

Retirement Life Certificates

Surrogacy agreements

Services for Companies

Witnessing the execution of Powers of Attorney on behalf of a company, LLP or partnership

Certifying as true copies or authenticating company documents such as: company appointments, certificates of Incorporation, Memorandum and Articles of Association, company Certificates of Good Standing, board resolutions, minutes, reports, trading accounts and certificates of fiscal residence

Witnessing the execution of commercial documents, contracts and mortgages

Authenticating documents to facilitate the opening of corporate branch offices or bank accounts outside of the United Kingdom

Legalisation / Apostille

Many countries require notarised documents to be legalised.

Legalisation is where the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Embassy, Consulate, High Commission or Chamber of Commerce check their database in order to verify that my signature, seal and stamp is genuine.   Once verified, they will affix an Apostille, certificate, seal or stamp.

Some countries require documents to be sent to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in addition to their own Embassy before it will be accepted.

The requirement for this will depend on the country involved.  I can advise you on the requirements and assist you with the process.