Notaries--Public

Look under this Yellow Pages® heading for information on notary publics. A notary public is an officer or lawyer who is authorised to administer oaths and statutory declarations, witness and authenticate documents, and other acts. Notary publics provide their service for the purposes of authentication – both local and international. Documents that originate from or are signed in another country are usually notarised to be considered officially and have any legal effect. Public notaries can assist any entity, be it individuals, corporations, businesses, other lawyers, and sometimes even branches of government.

Part of the job of public notaries is to ensure that all the required elements and information of a notarial act are present. This requirement is essential especially for public form documents. For private form documents, the notary public must ascertain to the best of his or her knowledge: the true identity of the person signing the deed by virtue of identity documents; that the parties are legally capable; the signatories fully understand the nature and effect of the deed; if the persons are acting in an official representative capacity; and the signing of the deed does not constitute a fraud or an unlawful act.

Public notaries charge fees depending upon the complexity and number of notary work they are required to perform. Tasks like affidavits, verifications, and certifications usually cost a minimal amount while complex work may require a higher fee. The types of documents requiring a notary include (but are not limited to): translated foreign language documents, powers of attorney, court documents, administrative documents, conveyancing, real property, personal property, lease and mortgage instruments, authorities, true certified copies, ship’s protests, bills of exchange, company documents, intellectual property documents and applications, trust documents, wills, probate and succession documents.