Notary Public Services for You

Whether you are working, studying, getting married or buying or selling property abroad, you need to ensure that your legal documents will be accepted.

Our highly experienced Notary Public, Annaliese Barber, can certify and authenticate any key legal documents you need, to be able to carry out your personal or professional affairs in foreign jurisdictions.

What is a Notary Public?

A Notary Public, regulated through the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is an internationally recognised lawyer, with the jurisdiction to authenticate and certify the execution of documents required or intended for use outside of England & Wales.

A Notary Public is usually required when dealing with overseas matters.  Their primary role is the validation and/or certification of documents and transactions under an official seal, in order for them to be accepted in countries outside the UK.

Why do I need a Notary Public?

A Notary Public will be needed if you require someone to witness a signature, prepare copies of paperwork or authenticate documents that will need to be legally recognised in a foreign country.

The responsibility of a Notary Public is to everyone who may rely on the documents that they authenticate, not just to the person who asks the Notary Public to authenticate them. Because of this, the Notary Public will carry out checks into what is being notarised and will need to verify the identity of those who appear before them.

Common reasons you may need to use a Notary Public include:

• Attesting signatures and execution of documents
• Certification of academic documents
• Administration of Oaths and declarations
• Documents for working abroad
• Authenticating the execution of documents
• Authenticating the signing of an acknowledgment for use in the United States of America
• Swearing into international court hearings
• Notarised copies of identification and other documents
• Execution of Powers of attorney
• Providing the supporting documents for visa applications
• Authenticating the contents of documents
• Signing the relevant paperwork for getting married abroad
• Travel consents (these are often required by airlines, especially South Africa travel)
• Witnessing documents dealing with documents for the purchase or sale of land and property overseas
• Notarising foreign adoption application requirements
• Swearing International affidavits

We strongly recommend that you consult with a Notary Public well in advance of carrying out any personal matters abroad, to ensure you know exactly what documents you will need. Annaliese, our Notary Public, can then ensure that all documents have been properly prepared, certified and/or authenticated, to minimise the chances of any unexpected barriers or delays cropping up that could cost time, money and a lot of unnecessary stress.

Legalisation of documents

You may be advised that your document needs to be ‘legalised’ or ‘apostilled’. This means that the Notary Public’s signature needs to be verified by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office ‘the FCO’ and/or the Embassy or Consulate of the country in which the document is to be used. The certificate the FCO attach to the document is known as an ‘apostille’.

Notary Public services for business

In addition to our personal Notary Public service, if you own a company that does business abroad, you may also require the assistance of a Notary Public. For more information on how Annaliese can help you and your business, visit our dedicated section for this service here.