I offer appointments during business hours and occasionally outside of business hours in exceptional circumstances. I am also prepared to make home visits or visit corporate clients at their place of business. Where a notarial appointment takes place away from my office, an additional fee will apply to cover travelling time and expenses. Occasionally, I may not be able to see you within the timeframe you require, or I may determine that I am unable to act for you. In either case, I will let you know as soon as possible and, where appropriate, provide you with information to help you locate an alternative notary.
I as a notary should normally witness your signature.
Please do not sign the document in advance of your appointment with me.
03 Papers to be sent in advance
It will save time, expense and mistakes if, as long before the appointment as possible, you can let me 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;
- Your evidence of identification.
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 me 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 I will need to see a copy of the Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration which dealt with it.
05 Anti-Money Laundering and Identification
As a notary public, I am required in appropriate cases to carry out checks to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements.
You will normally be required to provide satisfactory evidence of your identity and residential address. Depending on the nature of the matter, I may also need to obtain further information or documentation concerning beneficial ownership, the purpose of the transaction, and the source of funds or wealth.
I may carry out electronic identity and verification checks where appropriate. Additional information or documentation may be requested before I am able to proceed with your matter.
I 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 driving licence (with photo) or national identity card;
- OR if neither of the above is available, then a current government or police issue certificate bearing a photo or other formal means of identification;
AND
- A utility bill, credit card, bank statement or council tax bill showing your current address which should not be more than 3 months old.
You must also bring any other form of identification referred to in the documents provided to you as being required, such as a foreign identity card. I may also ask to see additional evidence of identity, such as a marriage certificate or other supporting documentation, and will advise you in advance if this is necessary.
06 Typical service stages
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 & Development Office, legalisation agents, translating agencies and couriers, etc.
Some of the typical key stages are likely to include:
- 01
Receiving and reviewing the documents to be notarised together with any instructions you may have received;
- 02
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);
- 03
Checking the identity, capacity and authority of the person who is to sign the document;
- 04
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;
- 05
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;
- 06
Drafting and affixing or endorsing a notarial certificate to the document;
- 07
Arranging for the legalisation of the document as appropriate;
- 08
Arranging for the storage of copies of all notarised documents in accordance with the requirements of the Notaries Practice Rules 2019.