You must contact us and arrange an appointment so that we can attend upon you and take your instructions in person.  We cannot take instructions through a third party.

 

If your have mobility or health issues, we can visit you to attend upon you, take instructions and if required to draft and notarise a Power of Attorney.  We can visit your home, at hospitals and care homes.

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Signatures

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

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Papers to be sent to me in advance

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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.

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Identification

 

Each person appearing before the notary public to sign any document shall need at least one of the following forms of identification:

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• A valid passport

• A valid driving licence

• A current government or police issue certificate bearing a photo or other formal means of identification.

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One proof of postal address which is no more than three months old is also required in addition to the above.  You can use any of the following:  

 

• A utility bill

• A bank statement

• A letter received in the post from either a Doctor, Hospital or any other person or organisation.

• A council tax bill

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

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Proof of names

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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.

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Advice on the document

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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 will not be attempting to advise you about the transaction itself.

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Written translations

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It is essential that you understand what you are signing.

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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.

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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."

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Oral Interpreter

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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.

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Charges

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My hourly rate is £300.00, plus disbursements/VAT. The fee charged may include time spent on preliminary advice, drafting and preparation time, making and receiving telephone calls, correspondence written and received in all formats, arranging legalisation and record keeping.

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I am able to quote a fixed fee in many cases. This will include disbursements such as legalisation fees, postage, consular agent fees, courier fees, travelling expenses, translating costs and so on. I can inform you of this after I have received and reviewed the documents to be notarised..​

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My minimum fee for simple transactions starts from £60.00.

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Click here for more information on my fees or click the 'Our Fees' tab in the menu bar.

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Typical Stages of Notarial Transaction

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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:

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• 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 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.

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Termination / Your Right to Cancel

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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.

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Customer Cooling Off Cancellation Period - Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 ("CCR")

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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), you have a cancellation period of 14 days after the date you sign my retainer 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.

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If you ask me 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.

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Termination by me

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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.

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You may have a document after it has been notarised which requires an Apostille so that that it can be used in the country it is intended for.   

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Apostille

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After a document has been apostilled the particular country may require the document is also legalised at its Consulate before it is accepted in that country.  The consulate authorities may require you to attend in person, fill out any requisite forms and pay them a fee to legalise your document.  

 

Alternatively, if you have mobility or health issues or it is inconvenient for you to legalise your document we can apply for your document to be endorsed with an Apostille at the Foreign and Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), through the post or agents.  Please note if the recipient country for the document is not a member of the Hague Convention 1961, the owner of the document may be required to have it legalised at the Consulate/Embassy of that country.