Terms of Business

VISITING A NOTARY PUBLIC
NOTES FOR CLIENTS

1. INTRODUCTION: These notes are intended to help you understand the work that the Notary Public has to do. They are not exhaustive, and not every point covered will apply in every case.

2. WHO ARE NOTARIES PUBLIC: A Notary is a qualified lawyer – a member of the third and oldest branch of the legal profession in the United Kingdom. We are appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and are subject to regulation by the Court of Faculties. The rules, which affect Notaries, are very similar to the rules, which affect Solicitors. We must be fully insured maintaining cover for the protection of our clients and the public. We must comply with stringent rules of practice, conduct and discipline. A Notary Public in England has many of the same responsibilities as Notaries in European countries.

3. NOT A MERE RUBBER-STAMPING EXERCISE: 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. 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 you as 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. As a Notary, I have to act independently; my overriding duty is to the “transaction”.

4. APPOINTMENTS: I offer pre-arranged appointments (no “walks-in”) during my business hours (Monday to Friday, 10am-6pm) 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. If the notarial appointments take place outside of my office, I will make an additional charge to cover travelling time and expenses. Occasionally, I may not be able to see you within the timeframe you require, or I may decide that I am not able to act for you, in which case, I will advise you that that is the case, and will provide you with the necessary information to locate an alternative notary.

5. SIGNATURE: The Notary should normally witness your signature. Please do not sign the document in advance of your appointment with me.

6. PAPERS TO BE SENT TO ME 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, email, or other form of instruction which you have received about what has to be done with the documents;
Your evidence of identification.

7. IDENTIFICATION OF NATURAL PERSONS: I will need you to produce by way of formal identification, the original of (in preferred order):

A current, signed passport or national identity card, and
A current, signed photo-card driving licence

I may additionally ask you for a hard copy posted tax or utility bill, showing your current address. It should not be more than 3 months old.

You will also have to bring any other means of ID, which may be referred to in the papers sent to you as being required. I may ask to see further evidence of identity, such as marriage certificates etc., and will advise you of this if necessary.

8. 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 me, as appropriate, with Certificates of Birth, Marriage or Divorce Decree or Change of Name Deed showing all the different names that you use.

9. 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.

10. CHAIN OF EVIDENCE: Notarisation is accepted as a safeguard under international law. The signature and seal of the Notary are recognised as a link in the chain of evidence relating to international documents. This requires of me due care and attention to details as part of my professional responsibility.

11. EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE: Accordingly, careful examination by the Notary is required to check whether both the document to be notarised and your personal ID are original, genuine, valid, complete, accurate, and unaltered.

12. INCOMPLETE DOCUMENTS: The Notary has to check that each document to be notarised is fully completed. Unfortunately, many documents produced as ready for signature have blank spaces left in them, not always intentionally. This occurs even when other lawyers or professional advisers have prepared them. If you can help in identifying the information needed to complete any blanks in documents, it will save time when we meet. However, please do not mark the document itself until I have seen it.

13. ADVICE ON THE DOCUMENT: If you bring a document to me for authorisation as a Notary, I will advise you as to the formalities required for completing it. However, I shall not be attempting to advise you about the transaction itself, and you must seek such advice from your own lawyers or persons asking you to have the document signed before me.

14. 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, I may have to insist that a translation be obtained. If I arrange for a translation, a further fee will be payable, and I will provide you with details of this.
Unless you have a good understanding of the language yourself, an informal or amateur translation is rarely satisfactory.
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.”

15. ORAL INTERPRETER: If you and I 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.

16. 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 I may have to insist. Please be prepared for these and telephone with any point of difficulty before attending on the appointment.

In each case:

Evidence of identity of the authorised signatory (as listed above).
A copy of the current letterhead (showing the registered office if it is a company).
A Letter of Authority, Minute, Resolution or Power of Attorney, authorising you to sign the document.
In some instances, I may have to see a copy of the latest Annual Accounts; the latest Tax Assessment; the latest quarterly VAT Return.

Additionally, 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, I will be carrying out various company searches, which may have an effect on the level of fees charged.

Additionally, partnerships, clubs, etc:

A Partnership Agreement; or relevant Trust Deed; or Charter; or Constitution/Rules.

I may have to insist on seeing originals of these documents. If you do show me photocopies, they would have to be certified on behalf of the person holding the originals and who may not be able to release them. The certificate should be in the following form:

“I certify that this (with the following … pages) is a true and complete copy of the original document which is currently held by me.

Full name of signatory:
Who certifies in his/her capacity as:
Signature…. Date…”

17. NOTARIAL CHARGES AND EXPENSES: Details of my charges are set out below. Please note that if I 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.

My charges: My current hourly rate is £160. The minimum charged for dealing with a single document is normally £80.00. I do not charge VAT on my fees. My fee does not include disbursements, such as legalisation fees, postage, consular agent fees, courier fees, traveling expenses, translating costs and so on.
Once I have seen any documents and any instructions sent to you about the document, I may be able to give you a firm indication or an estimate of the likely charges.
Payments out on your behalf: 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.
There might be required various costs, fees, and expenses, inter alia: cost of legalisation, agent’s fees, postage, courier fees, cost of posting the documents to you/another person by signed for post/international tracked and signed for post/courier, travelling expenses, translator, or interpreter fees, etc. Your approval to these will be obtained and you are normally required to make payment in advance of any such amounts.
Basis of charging: If it is a simple matter of witnessing a document, a fixed fee will be charged. If there are complications or if I am required to draft a document, or obtain legalisation, the charge will be based upon time spent: e.g., in interview, on preliminary advice, on drafting, on making and receiving calls, on correspondence written and received in all formats, record keeping etc.
Special factors which might result in an increase in the charge include complexity or novelty; the number and importance of the documents; if the work has to be done away from this office; special urgency, which may require me to drop other work to deal with yours or if the work unavoidably has to be dealt with outside office hours.
Occasionally unforeseen, or unusual issues arise during the course of the matter, which may result in a revision of my 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. I will notify you of any changes in the fee estimate as soon as possible.
Payment: My notarial charges are normally payable in advance, i.e., at the time the instructions are accepted.

18. TYPICAL STAGES OF 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 information or 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.

19. NOTARIAL RECORDS AND DATA PROTECTION: When I carry out my work for you, I am required to make an entry in a formal register, which is kept by me as a permanent record. I will retain a copy of the notarised documentation with that record. My practice is a registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Personal data received from clients is held securely and not capable of being accessed externally. Data collected as part of notarial records is used solely for the purposes of meeting our professional legal responsibilities as Notaries Public. For full details of my Privacy Policy and Data Processing Terms, please see my website: www.wozniaknotary.co.uk

20. INSURANCE: In the interests of my clients, I maintain professional indemnity insurance at a level of at least £1,000,000.00 per claim.

21. TERMINATION- YOUR RIGHT TO CANCEL: You may terminate your instructions to me at any time by giving me reasonable written notice. All fees and disbursements incurred up to the date of termination will be charged.

Consumer Cooling Off Cancellation Period –reg. 29-30 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (“CCR” -The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges)

Where the CCR apply (typically where you are an individual consumer and my contract with you was concluded either at or following a meeting with you or by a form of distance communication) (Off-premises and distance contracts – see Part 3 of CCR) you have a cancellation period of 14 days after the date you sign my engagement letter or the date on which you continue to give me instructions, whichever is earlier.

You can cancel your contract within the cancellation period by giving me a clear statement and I 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 me of the cancellation.

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

22. TERMINATION BY ME: I reserve the right to terminate my engagement by you if I have good reason to do so, for example, if you do not pay a bill or comply with my request for a payment on account or you fail to give me the co-operation which I am reasonably entitled to expect.

23. COMPLAINTS: My notarial practice is regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury:

The Faculty Office, 1 The Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3JT
Tel: 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 me.
If we are unable to resolve the matter you may then complain to the Notaries Society of which I am 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 1023, Ipswich IP1 9XB
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/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 eight weeks from the date you first notified me 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 one year from the act/omission or within one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

I hope that these Notes are of help to you in understanding what is expected of each of us.

Katarzyna Wozniak
Notary Public