People dealing with legal matters abroad and documentation for these will often come across these words. But they are little used in the English legal system. So what do they mean?
What is said below applies equally to Wales and Welsh.
What is a notary?
A notary (sometimes called ‘a notary public’) is a specialist lawyer.
Most English notaries are also solicitors, but they do not have to be. Being a notary is a separate profession. Solicitors are not authorised to carry out “notarial acts” if they are not also notaries.
The principal role of a notary in England is to “attest the authenticity” of deeds and other legal documents for use outside the UK.
Attesting means much more than simple certification (checking copies against the originals). If the documents have been attested by a notary, it means that Courts and other bodies abroad can accept them without having to make any further checks themselves. Each notary has their own seal which will be attached to the documents.
So, if you are asked to have something ‘notarised’, it is most likely it is for use abroad, in a place where they require the document to bear a notary’s certificate for it to be useable there.
If you contact a notary to enquire about notarisation, he or she will explain further and will confirm in writing:
- the fixed fee or the basis on which the fee will be calculated (usually hourly) and a proper estimate:
- the work which is covered by the fee or estimate with the likely timescale including for each key stage if the work is to be completed in stages
- the likely third-party costs (“disbursements”). These principally will be “legalisation fees” which is the process by which the signature and seal of the notary is checked and recorded by the Foreign Office and/or the Embassy or Consulate of the country in which the document is to be used.
- VAT
- an explanation of the circumstances when the fees might increase
What is the meaning of Apostille?
Document notarised in England for use in some countries (e.g. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) do not usually require any other stamps on them. But for notarised documents to be acceptable in many other countries, the notarised document must also be ‘legalised’, i.e. bear the stamp of the consulate of that country, effectively saying ‘this is the certificate of an English notary; it has been notarised’.
Often, the consulate will not add its ‘legalisation’ stamp until the document also bears a UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office certificate that this is an English notary – i.e. the document has first to go to the FCO for its stamp, then to the consulate for its stamp.
To overcome this ‘two-stage legalisation’ process, many countries have signed up to the Hague Apostille Convention. In such countries, documents notarised will be accepted if they bear an ‘Apostille’. This is a stamp put on the document, in England, by the FCO, to confirm, in the case of notarised documents, that the notary is an English practicing notary. So, for documents notarised in England for use in such countries, only one stamp is required on the notarised document – the Apostille stamp applied by the FCO.
Comment
If you contact a notary about notarisation, the notary will give information on whether or not legalisation is also likely to be required and, if so, how it can be obtained (the notary will usually offer to assist) and the likely cost and timescale of this.
How can we help?
Martin Jinks is a Consultant Solicitor in our expert Commercial Property team and also a Notary Public.
For more information on the above subject, please contact Martin or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham via our online enquiry form or call 0800 024 1976.
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