1.         Why a notary? It is almost always the case that you have been asked to see a notary because you have a document that needs to be used abroad (i.e. outside the United Kingdom). Seeing a notary is never a mere rubber-stamping exercise.  The international duty of a Notary involves a high standard of care.  This is not only towards the client but also to anyone who may rely on the document and to Governments or officials of other countries.  These people are entitled to assume that a Notary will ensure full compliance with the relevant requirements both here and abroad; and to rely on the Notary’s register and records. Great care is essential at every stage to minimise the risks of errors, omissions, alterations, fraud, forgery, money laundering, the use of false identity, and so on.

We are usually able to offer appointments between 10:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday (except during public holidays and annual leave). We may also visit clients at their place of business in Central London. If the notarial appointment takes place outside of our office we will make an additional charge of £350 per hour plus VAT to cover travelling time and expenses.  Occasionally we may not be able to see you within the timeframe you require, or we may decide that we are not able to act for you, in which case we will advise you that that is the case and will provide you with the necessary information to locate an alternative notary.

2.         Signatures: The Notary should normally witness your signature on any document that you are signing before the Notary.  Please do not sign the document in advance of your appointment with us.

3.         Papers to be sent to us in advance:  It will save time, expense and mistakes if, as long before the appointment as possible, you can let us have the originals or photocopies of:

·                The documents to be notarised;

·               Any letter or other form of instruction which you have received about what has to be done with the documents;

·                Proof of your identification;

·               If you are signing documents under a Power of Attorney or other authorisation, then copies of the relevant authority document.

4.         Identification:  we will need you to produce by way of formal identification the original of (in preferred order):

·                Your current passport (or, if not available);

·                A current new UK driving licence with photo; or

·                A current EU national identity card; and

·               A utility bill, credit card or bank statement showing your current address which should not be more than 3 months old or council tax bill;

If none of the above are available, at least two of the following:

·               A current government or police issue certificate bearing a photo or other formal means of identification; and

·               A utility bill, credit card or bank statement showing your current address which should not be more than 3 months old or council tax bill;

You must also bring any other means of ID which may be referred to in the papers sent to you as being required, such as a foreign Identity Card or second passport. We may also ask to see further evidence of identity such as marriage certificates etc and will advise you of this if necessary.

If we are not able to satisfy ourself as to your identify then we may decide that we are not able to act for you.

5.         Proof of names:  In a case where the name on the document is different from the name you are currently using, or there has been a variation in the form of spelling of the name over the years, please provide us as appropriate with Certificates of Birth, Marriage or Divorce Decree or Change of Name Deed showing all the different names that you use.  If there has been a change of name, then we will need to see a copy of the Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration which dealt with it.

6.         Advice on the document:  If you bring a document to us for authorisation as a Notary we will assist you with signing the document, however, we will not be attempting to advise you about the document or the transaction itself.

As an English notary we are not qualified to advise you on the law of any other country, and where you are bringing a document to us to be used in another country it is your responsibility to check with a lawyer or government agency in that country that the document is in the correct form required to make it valid for use in that country.

7.         Written Translations:  It is essential that you understand what you are signing. 

·               If the document is in a foreign language which you do not understand sufficiently, we may have to insist that a translation is obtained.  If we arrange for a translation, a further fee will be payable, and we will provide you with details of this.

·               If you arrange for a professional translation, the translator should add his/her name, address, relevant qualification, and a certificate stating: “Document X is a true and complete translation of document Y, to which this translation is attached.”

8.         Oral Interpreter:  If you and we cannot understand each other because of a language difficulty, we may have to make arrangements for a competent interpreter to be available at our interview, and this may involve a further fee.

9.         Companies, Partnerships etc:  If a document is to be signed by you on behalf of a company, a partnership, a charity, club or other incorporated body, there are further requirements on which we may have to insist.  Please be prepared for these and telephone with any point of difficulty before attending on the appointment.

This may included: 

1. Evidence of identity of the authorised signatory (as listed above).

2. A copy of the current letterhead (showing the registered office if it is a company).

3. A Letter of Authority, Minute, Resolution or Power of Attorney, authorising you to sign the document.

Additionally for companies: Certificate of Incorporation and of any Change of Name, a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, Details of Directors and Secretaries.  In all instances we will be carrying out various company searches, which may have an effect on the level of fees charged.

Additionally for partnerships, associations, etc: A Partnership Agreement or relevant Trust Deed, Charter or Constitution/Rules.

10.       Notarial charges and expenses:  Details of how we charge are set out below. Please note that if we have to make payments on your behalf such as legalisation fees, translator or interpreter fees, or other costs such as travelling expenses, your approval to these will be obtained and you are normally required to make payment in advance of any such amounts.

Charges:

Each notarial matter is unique, and the charges for dealing with it will vary from matter to matter.

If the matter is simple we will endeavour to charge a fixed fee to include disbursements such as legalisation fees, postage, consular agent fees, courier fees, travelling expenses, translating costs and so on. VAT is payable on our fees.

For more complicated or time-consuming matters the fee will be based on an hourly rate of £350 per hour plus VAT, subject to a minimum fee of £250 plus disbursements and VAT. The fee charged may include time spent on preliminary advice, drafting and preparation time, making and receiving telephone calls, correspondence written and received in all formats, arranging legalisation and record keeping.

Disbursements:

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

If we agree to send documents for your then we will also charge for the postage /international tracked and signed for post or courier fees.

Where we are certifying academic or professional qualifications there may be a charge  raised by the relevant institution or professional body for verifying the qualification, which we will also be entitled to charge you for.

Payment of fees and disbursements can be made by Credit or Debit Card (excluding Amex and Diners Club) or by bank transfer.  Payment of my fee and disbursements is due when the document has been prepared, which we may retain pending payment in full.

Occasionally unforeseen or unusual issues arise during the course of the matter which may result in a revision of our fee estimate. Examples of this could include where additional documents are required to be notarised, additional translations or legalisations are needed to meet the requirements of the receiving jurisdiction, third party fees are adjusted to reflect external factors such as fuel price changes and so on. We will notify you of any changes in the fee estimate as soon as possible.

11.       Typical Stages of a notarial transaction: Each notarial matter is different and the requirements and timescales will vary greatly according to whether the client is a private individual or a company and in particular according to the processing times of third parties such as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, legalisation agents, translating agencies and couriers, etc .

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 advisors or other bodies to obtain the necessary documentation to deal with the document (e.g. information from Companies House or foreign registries, powers of attorney etc);

·              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/award is genuine. In the case of academic awards, this would entail checking with the appropriate academic institutions;

·            Meeting with the signatory to verify their identity and to ascertain that they understand what they are signing and that they are doing so of their own free will and ensuring 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;

·               Arranging for the storage of copies of all notarised documents in accordance with the requirements of the Notarial Practice Rules 2019.

12.       Notarial Records and Data Protection:  When we carry out work for you we are required to make an entry in a formal register, which is kept by us as a permanent record.  We will also retain a copy of the notarised documentation with that record. Our practice is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Personal data received from clients is held securely. Data collected as part of notarial records is used solely for the purposes of meeting our professional legal responsibilities as a Public Notary. Please see our PRIVACY POLICY for full details of how personal data is handled.

13.       Insurance: In the interests of clients we maintain professional indemnity insurance at a level of at least £1 million per claim.

14.       Termination/ Your Right to Cancel: You may terminate your instructions to us at any time by giving us reasonable written notice. All fees and disbursements incurred up to the date of termination will be charged to, and payable by, you.

Consumer Cooling Off Cancellation Period –Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (“CCR”):

Where the CCR apply (typically where you are an individual consumer and our contract with you was concluded either at or following a meeting with you or by a form of distance communication) you have a cancellation period of 14 days after the date you sign our terms of business, or the date on which you continue to give us instructions, whichever is earlier.

You can cancel your contract within the cancellation period by giving us a clear statement and we will reimburse all payments received from you by the same method that you used, at no cost to you, without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which you inform us of the cancellation, provided that at the time of cancellation we have  not begun to carry out work for you.

If you ask us to begin work during the cancellation period, you can still cancel but you must pay us an amount in proportion to the work which we have already performed, and this proportion will not be reimbursed to you.

15.       Termination by us:  We reserve the right to terminate our engagement by you if we have good reason to do so, for example, if you do not pay a bill or comply with our request for a payment on account; if we are not satisfied with the proof of your identity or your authority to sign; if we are not satisfied that you understand the nature of the transaction you are entering into or that you are not acting with free will; if we do not consider the document(s) you wish to have notarised to be genuine or bona fide; if we do not consider that it would be a proper discharge of our duties as a public officer to notarise any document(s); or if you fail to give us the co-operation which we are reasonably entitled to expect.

16.       Complaints:  Our 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 

If you are dissatisfied about the service you have received please do not hesitate to contact us. 

If we are unable to resolve the matter you may then complain to The Notaries Society of which we are 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. 

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

P O Box 7655

Milton Keynes MK11 9NR

Email secretary@thenotariessociety.org.uk

If you have any difficulty in making a complaint in writing, please do not hesitate to call the Notaries Society or the Faculty Office for assistance. 

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 us that you were dissatisfied, make your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, if you are not happy with the result :  

Legal Ombudsman

P O Box 6806

Wolverhampton   WV1 9WJ 

Tel : 0300 555 0333  

Email :  enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk            

Website :  www.legalombudsman.org.uk 

If you decide to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, you must refer your matter to the Legal Ombudsman within six months from the conclusion of the complaint process.