Activities of a Notary Public in England and Wales

ACTIVITIES OF A NOTARY An English Notary Public serve both private citizens and businesses involved in international trade or activities. The most typical assignments consist of:

• Getting powers of attorney ready and validated for usage abroad

• Authenticating or notarising documents for the buying and selling of real estate overseas.
• Notarising international wills and supplying paperwork related to handling the management of overseas estates for individuals who possess property overseas
• Notarising personal information and documents, such as degrees of education or professional experience or declarations of freedom to marry, in order to facilitate immigration or emigration, apply for marriage or employment abroad, or both.
• Notarisation of documents in proof a company’s status or the identities of its directors, or authenticating business and corporate papers and transactions

Under the Legal Services Act of 2007, notaries are expressly permitted to do certain Reserved Activities. They are also able to perform any type of legal work, with the exception of handling contentious matters, providing legal advice and services related to immigration, and representing clients in court. About 50% of notaries double as solicitors, handling broad legal matters in that role. Some, like the Scrivener Notaries in London, focus solely on serving families and private clients, handling matters related to property and business, such as conveyancing and wills, probate, and estate administration.

Notaries generally create notarial certificates on papers, but some also offer secure electronic versions of their documents. While not all nations accept electronic documents, more and more are beginning to do so. The process of producing an electronic document through electronic notarization is known as electronic notarization; whether or not the document’s creator can sign it via video link instead of physically visiting the notary’s office is a different matter that will be covered below. However, e-signatures may not be accepted in many countries even if e- apostille is accepted.

Is it possible to obtain a notary without physically visiting their office? Certain documents, like your degree certificate that has been verified and notarised, do not require signatures in front of a notary. On the other hand, you will typically have to visit the notary at their office if your document needs to be signed by you before the notary. Some notaries may offer remote notarisation through video conference links—also known as remote online notarisation. Your notary will confirm whether the document can be signed remotely and whether the country in which it will be used will accept it.