A Notary is a qualified lawyer – a member of the third and oldest branch of the legal profession in the United Kingdom. He is appointed by the Court of Faculties of the Archbishop of Canterbury and is subject to regulation by the Master of the Faculties. The rules which affect Notaries are very similar to the rules which affect Solicitors. They must be fully insured and maintain fidelity cover for the protection of their clients and the public. They must keep clients’ money separately from their own and comply with stringent practice rules and rules relating to conduct and discipline. Notaries have to renew their practising certificates every year and can only do so if they have complied with the rules.   A Notary Public, or Notary, can authenticate or legalise any document. A Notary Public may also be known as a Notario Publico, Notaio, Notario, Notar or a Notaire. A Notary can also if required by the receiving country provide apostille/legalisation services. The services of a Notary Public will usually be required if you have documents which are needed to be used abroad/overseas. The Notaries signature and seal will verify to the authorities in that country that the relevant checks have been carried out and this will enable the receiving country to rely upon the document which has been presented to them.   A Notary Public does not commonly give advice about the meaning or effect of a document or transaction. Documents presented to a Notary Public/ Notary may be in a foreign language. The notary must ensure that both they and the notary client understand the meaning and effect of the document. It is important that the notary client provides the Notary Public/ Notary any correspondence or advice that he has been given by others such as foreign agents/ lawyers.   A Notary prepares Notarial Acts, including Authentic Acts, mainly being documents executed in England and Wales for use everywhere in the world. This includes drafting, reviewing and explanation of legal documents for use outside the UK.   There are two basic types of Notarial Act; those in private form and those in Public or authentic form. The private form is when a Notary annexes a Notarial Certificate by way of authentication of a document and its contents thus converting it into a Notarial Act.   The Public Form is drafted by the Notary, which will include verification of identity, legal capacity and understanding of the document and awareness of the contents, confirming authority to enter into the transaction eg. in the case of a corporate body and also authenticating the contents after verifying the same.   Notaries are authorised and empowered to carry out all types of legal work carried out by solicitors, other than contentious work. This is a similar situation to that of the Notary in Civil Law jurisdictions. Accordingly, Notaries may deal with conveyancing, probate and Wills and all other types of non-contentious commercial and private legal work.   Independence and Rules A Notary Public/ Notary is an independent officer and must not do anything to compromise this. Notaries are considered to be ‘gate keepers’ of money laundering and therefore should not act in matters where they have a personal interest or there is a conflict of interest, and are subject to professional rules and standards to ensure the protection of their clients. A Notary Public/ Notary holds an official seal and Notarial Acts in England and Wales have probative force. Notarial Acts under the signature and seal of a Notary are recognised as evidence of a responsible official legal officer in all countries of the world. The Civil Procedure Rules of the Supreme Court of Judicature of England & Wales – rule 32.20 provide that “A Notarial Act or Instrument may be received in evidence without further proof as duly authenticated in accordance with the requirements of the law unless the contrary is proved” Notaries Public have been appointed by legal authority in England and Wales since the thirteenth century. The Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533, created the Court of Faculties of the Archbishop of Canterbury, which is the oldest Court in England. The Court has the power to appoint Notaries Public acting through its president, the Master of the Faculties. The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 and The Legal Services Act 2007 confirm these powers of the Master. As officers of the law and holders of the Public Office of the Notary Public, the duties of Notaries Public are wide ranging and include the preparation and drawing up of private and public Authentic Acts and Instruments under their signatures and official seals, which are accepted and recognised throughout the world. The fact that Notaries in England and Wales are public officials is also made absolutely clear by their full titles of Notaries Public or Public Notaries in various Acts of Parliament. The Notaries Society Old Church Chambers 23 Sandhill Road St James Northampton NN5 5LH   Notary Services : Examples of some services offered by a Notary/ Notary Public are as follows: Certified / notarised copy of a passport Certify / notarise copies of academic certificates Certify / notarise other documents Any other documents for use abroad, which require a notary stamp Help with obtaining an Apostille/ Legalisation if required by the receiving country Facilitate purchase and sale of property abroad Power of Attorney for use abroad / overseas make a statutory declaration or swear an oath or affidavit confirm your single status in order to marry abroad obtain duplicate documents for lost passports or your other important documents Indian OCI Cards Contracts authenticated / notarised by a notary Translation certified by a notary Patents, Trade Marks or Domain Names