Notary Public

What is a Notary Public and why would you need one?

A Notary Public is a highly trained Solicitor or Barrister, appointed by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, to act as an entirely impartial witness in verifying facts and authenticating documents for their use outside England and Wales, although a Notary Public can also assist in domestic UK matters.

A Notary Public does not offer any advice on the legal effect of a document, but must ensure that the person entering into the transaction has the capacity, will and understanding to do so. It is also necessary for Notary Public to assess the authenticity of the document they are being asked to verify.

Our consultant Notary Public, Simon Cross is based in our Wareham office. If an appointment is however required any of our offices they will, of course, make every effort to accommodate this.

What Notary Public services can Humphries Kirk help with?

Our Notaries Public offer a range of notarial services including:

• Attesting and authenticating the signature, contents and execution of documents
• Administration of oaths and declarations
• Presenting bills of exchange for acceptance and payment, noting and protesting bills in cases of dishonour and preparing acts of honour
• Providing documents to deal with the administration of the estate of people who are abroad, or owning property abroad
• Authenticating personal documents and information for immigration or emigration purposes, or to apply to marry, divorce, adopt children or to work abroad
• Attesting and authenticating travel consents
• Verification of translations from foreign languages to English and vice versa
• Taking evidence in England and Wales as a Commissioner for Oaths for foreign courts
• Provision of Notarial copies
• Preparing and witnessing powers of attorney, corporate records, contracts for use in Britain or overseas
• Authenticating company and business documents and transactions
• International domain name transfers

For some countries Legalisation requires an application to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for an Apostille under the Hague Convention. Some countries also require Consular legalisation in addition to this. In addition to the above notarial service we are able to arrange legalisation where required.

Read our Notary Public news…

• Read more here about the success our clients had in securing lost deposits during the Spanish property crash

Need to find a Notary Public near you?

Find your local office below, or get in contact with our Notary Public specialist, Simon Cross.