notary public Lancaster

Notary Public Lancaster

With over 30 years experience, I offer the full range of Notarial services in Lancaster and throughout the wider Northwest.

My services may be available at your home or business (including weekends or after business hours), please discuss when making contact with me as well as of course, at my offices in Lancaster.

I am regulated by the Master of the Faculties through the faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Click on a link below for more information.

What services does a Notary Public provide?

A Notary, or Notary Public, can authenticate or witness most documents. A Notary can also arrange legalisation or obtain Apostilles, if needed. You will often require the services of a Notary Public when you have documents which are needed to be used abroad. The Notary's signature and seal will verify to the authorities in that country that any relevant checks have been carried out and that the document has been properly signed.

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What is the difference between a Notary and a solicitor?

Notaries form a small, highly specialised branch of the legal profession, whose area of specialisation is the preparation and certification of documents so that they may be used effectively abroad.

Solicitors form by far the largest part of the legal profession. They provide advice and representation to their clients on a wide variety of legal issues, usually within the legal framework of their country of residence.

One important difference between a Notary and a solicitor is that whereas a solicitor's primary duty is to his client, the Notary's primary duty is to the transaction and the authenticity of the documents. As Notary Public's are recognised worldwide, they have to maintain absolute integrity and impartiality to maintain the standing of the Notarial profession.

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What is Legalisation or Apostille?

Many countries also require notarised documents to be legalised. Legalisation is a double check to make sure that the notaries' signature is genuine and recognised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Documents may also be checked by foreign embassies to make sure that the Notary's signature matches the one on their records. The requirement for this will depend on the foreign country involved. Once the authenticity of the signature is confirmed a certificate is attached, called an "Apostille".

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Documents in a foreign language

If a document requiring notarisation is in a foreign language it is usually necessary for the document to be translated by an official legal translator who will then have to sign a statutory declaration certifying that it is a true translation.

In exceptional cases the Notary may be satisfied to fix their seal of office and signature on documents in a foreign language if they are fully satisfied that the person signing is conversant with the language of the document.

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What identification does a Notary Public require?

Following the implementation of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, notaries are now obliged to keep sufficient evidence on their files of the identity and the address of all their clients before they undertake any work.

Each person whose signature they are to certify must provide one of the following original identification documents at the time of the appointment.

In addition, they require proof of residence, which can be one of the following original documents:

When a Notary Public is acting for a corporate client, evidence of the due incorporation of the company or entity is required. This can be one of the following documents:

In addition to the above, each individual signatory will need to produce one of the identification documents mentioned above.

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What does it cost?

An early indication of the costs can usually be given in advance but so that we can establish the charges please tell us the following:

Please visit the contact us page to obtain a quotation.

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Regulatory Information

In most circumstances I offer a "fixed fee" service, based on the number of documents to be processed, agreed in advance. My services are not subject to VAT.

Please contact me, preferably by calling my number, to discuss which documents you require to be notarised. I can advise you if any further legalisation may be required and if so what my total fee would be.This ensures that you know exactly what the total cost of my service will be before we meet.

Indemnity Insurance

I am fully covered by indemnity insurance under my professional indemnity policy to the level of £3 million per claim as required by my professional rules.

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