In advance of your first meeting
One of Stephen’s legal duties is to meet a representative of your company or organisation, in person. This is to confirm the organisation’s existence and its ability and willingness to perform whatever actions are required. He also needs evidence that the representative has the authority to act on behalf of your company or organisation.
Therefore your representative needs to bring to the meeting:
- Company identification. A certificate of incorporation, certificate of good standing and/or other comparable evidence will be needed to establish the existence of the company or organisation. For UK-based companies or organisations, Stephen will usually be able to satisfy this requirement through his own independent checks, which may incur a small charge. He may also require you to produce additional documents.
- Proof of Authority. Official company documents confirming an individual’s authority to act, for example signed board minutes, Power of Attorney or the constitutional documents of the company e.g. memorandum and articles of association. They must be original documents.
- Evidence of the identity of the person who appears before Stephen – this should be their passport, or if they have no passport, any other government-issued document which bears their photograph, such as an EU photographic driving licence.
- Proof of residence of the person who appears before Stephen – a document which confirms where they live, such as a recent utility bill or bank statement. If they cannot provide this, we will need to discuss other ways of proving their identity and address. Stephen is legally required to satisfy himself that they are who they claim to be.
- The document or documents which require Stephen’s seal and signature. Please do not sign or have them witnessed beforehand. Everything MUST be done in his presence.
- All relevant instructions relating to the documents, for example signature requirements, the colour of the ink etc.
Authentication
Foreign language issues
It is in everyone’s interest that you fully understand the documents you are signing and their future implications. To be able to check this, Stephen needs to have at least a basic understanding of the documents himself. Therefore, if the documents are mainly in a language other than English, Stephen may need to obtain a translation and/or ask you to consult the organisation or lawyer who sent you the documents from abroad.
Third party verification
One of a Notary’s duties is to check and obtain independent verification of the facts presented to him/her. This sometimes involves obtaining evidence or proof from sources independent of the client. This does not imply mistrust in any way and is simply part of the legal authentication process. We would appreciate your full cooperation and assistance in this.
In some cases, we may ask you to provide additional documents. For instance, companies or organisations based abroad may be asked to produce a certificate of incorporation or good standing certificate. Without these, we may have to commission specialist agents abroad to provide appropriate authentication. Obviously this would incur additional costs.
Completion
How long will my case take to complete?
Sometimes, in urgent cases, it is possible for Stephen to complete your transaction within a few hours of the first instruction.
If a document is straightforward, already prepared and correctly worded, our work is usually completed in one or two days. If the documents are complex or if Stephen has to draw up new documents or undertake other work, it will take longer.
Occasionally it is necessary to have the document ‘legalised’ by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and/or the appropriate Foreign Embassy. This will take several days.
When do I get the documents?
Your documents will be released once your fees are paid. The documents can either be handed back to you or sent to a lawyer or organisation, at home or abroad, by post or courier, as you wish.
Is a copy kept?
A Notary is required by law to keep a copy of all the transactions carried out on your behalf for at least 12 years, and in some cases, permanently.
Charges
Charges for notarial services are normally time based plus expenses. Charges by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are subject to change so please contact us to find out the latest fees.
As a guide, a single document requiring no further amendment or explanation will normally take about 20 minutes to deal with and a further 10 minutes if an apostille is required.
To learn more about using the services of a Notary, please contact us.
