Matthew D Pryke

Who appoints a UK Notary?

A UK Notary is a public officer appointed by the Faculty Office to serve the public in non-contentious legal matters.

What does a UK Notary actually do?

UK Notaries Public administer sworn oaths and affirmations.  A UK Notary will also take affidavits and statutory declarations.  Further, a UK Notary can legalise certain documents usually concerned with wills, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business.

Essentially, if a client is based in, say, Russia, and needs to process a document for use in their home country.  Instead of flying to the United Kingdom with the document themselves, they can arrange for a Notary to complete the legalisation process on their behalf.

Can my UK Notary provide Apostille services?

Certainly.  Apostille is a French term meaning ‘certification’.  It is used to refer to the legalisation of documents for international recognition under the terms of the 1961 Hague Convention.

Where can I find a UK Notary?

Historically, a scrivener notary was a UK notary public permitted to practice in the City of London and within a three mile radius of the city walls.  In modern times a UK Notary is more easily found and there are approximately 900 people registered as a UK Notary.  Simply type UK Notary into an internet search engine to bring up a range of notary options.

Is it important to use a local Notary?

It is not essential that you retain the service of local Notary.  In many case however, a UK Notary in London who enjoys a strong working relationship with various Embassies and Consulates can legalise documents more swiftly than a UK notary working from a regional office.

Will my UK Notary be governed by a regulatory body?

Yes.  Every Notary Public is governed by the Faculty office.  Many Notaries are also members of the Notary Society.

For further details on UK Notary services, please contact Matthew through the usual channels.

Notary Public, Matthew Pryke today offers advice for clients who may be affected by brief closures to the legalisation offices in London

‘A Notary must keep his clients informed of barrier to the swift legalisation of their documents’, says Matthew Pryke Notary Public LLP.

‘As a Notary in London, it has been brought to my attention that the Legalisation Office in Central London will cease the legalisation of documents at 3pm on Wednesday 10 February.  A Notary wishing to legalise documents will have to wait until Friday 12 February, before the legalisation office re-opens.

‘A Notary in London would normally continue their notary service by sending their notary matters to the legalisation office at Norfolk House in Milton Keynes, if the London Legalisation office is closed.

‘The Legalisation Office in Milton Keynes, however, will also be closed from 3pm on Thursday 11 February and reopen on Monday 15 February 2010.

‘A Notary in London thrives on a fast turnaround service, so clients wishing their Notary Public to legalise documents over this period may have to bring their Notary matters forward to ensure they experience no delays.

‘These changes are due to essential IT upgrades and I look forward to working with these Legalisation offices once their normal service is resumed on Monday 15 February.’

If you are a client concerned about how the closure of Legalisation offices will affect your Notary service please contact Matthew through the usual channels.

The current weakness of the pound presents an excellent opportunity for investors from Saudi Arabia looking to do business in the UK.

A Notary can provide valuable assistance to corporations by legalising documents (also called apostille) to ensure that all official documents are verified.  UK Notary in London Matthew Pryke has worked extensively with Saudi businesses in his position as Head of Commercial and IP Law at Wallace LLP and through his London Notary practice.

He offers the following advice to any potential Saudi investors seeking a Notary in London to provide document legalisation services.

1. Notary publics must follow various procedures depending on which country the documents to be legalised originate.  This means that some commercial documents to be used in Saudi Arabia must be obtained through the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth office.  This legalisation procedure must be followed by every Notary in London and other UK Notary.

2. Notary in London Matthew Pryke offers a same day service for the majority of Notary deeds.  He advises, however, that legalising documents from Saudi Arabia may take up to a week for a Notary to complete.

3. Notarizing documents that only require legalisation by the Consular Office of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia can be completed in one or two days.

4. Notary publics in London can charge a wide range of fees for legalising documents for use in Saudi Arabia.  UK Notary in London Matthew Pryke’s fees are £50 per document plus the consular fee.  The document to be legalised must first be certified by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office where the fee for certification is £69 per document.

5. Two photocopies are required of each document to be legalized and the name and address of the consignee or agent must appear on each document.

Matthew Pryke, Notary Public London, provides a complete range of notarisation and legalisation services for his Notary Public Clients. His London Notary Public practice is increasingly asked to provide competitive and fixed fee quotes to address legalisation, including obtaining apostilles.  Often London Notary Clients require a range of notarisation and legalisation services based on the deadline and budget for legalisation.  Often legalistion fees can be greater than the notarisation fees and consequently Matthew Pryke, Notary Public London, has produced a short guide and tips for his Notary Clients when determining legalisation fees. 

Notary Public Legalisation Fees Tip 1:  Consider the cost versus time for a Notary Public practice to deal with the legalisation.  Whilst notarial clients can save fees by dealing with legalisation themselves it can be counter productive if significant time is required to deal with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (for Apostille) or London Consulate. Time is money!

Notary Public Legalisation Fees Tip 2:  Determine an appropriate deadline. A number of London’s Consulates and also the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (for apostilles) offer varying legalisation services which can significantly reduce legalisation fees if clients’ requirements are less pressing. For urgent notarial matters this legalisation option will not be possible.  However a good Notary Public practice should provide such options to you as a way of reducing notarisation and legalisation fees. 

Notary Public Legalisation Fees Tip 3:  Seek courier quotes in advance.  As courier fees charged by London Notary Public practices vary greatly it is always advisable to seek a full and detailed fee quote.  Whilst the fees charged by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (for apostilles) and London Consulates will be fixed the courier fees will vary based on the competitive pricing of the legalisation service offer by the Notary Public London.

Notary Public Legalisation Fees Tip 4:  Legalise a number of documents at the same time.  Legalisation courier fees are likely to be incurred each time a trip is made to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (for apostilles) or a London Consulate.  Therefore cost savings can be enjoyed by dealing with several documents at the same time.  This provides the usual economies of scale as part of the legalisation process.

Notary Public Legalisation Fees Tip 5:  Ensure the document can be legalised.  Often legalisation fees and time can be wasted by taking documents to be legalised either to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (for apostilles) or London Consulates when the documents have not been dealt with, for example, via notarisation, and are therefore rejected.  It is always advisable to seek the advice of a qualified and experienced London Notary Public practice to ensure that all legal and procedural steps have been taken prior to legalisation.

London Notary Public practices should be familiar with dealing with requests for notarisation at very short notice.  Whilst it is better to receive documents in plenty of time, experienced London Notary Publics can deal with documents at short notice.  At London Notary Public Practice M D Pryke Notary Public it is not unusual for the London Notary clients to have matters dealt with at short notice and nearly always in the same day.

As London Notary Public Matthew Pryke comments “at my London Notary Public practice, based in London’s West End, we are used to dealing with the large majority of our notarial matters at very short notice.  As a London Notary practice based in the capital we have a natural understanding of the needs and also the pace and requirements of our notary clients.  Consequently our London Notary Public practice is structured to be able to react quickly and efficiently to client’s urgent notarisation needs. Most notary public matters can be dealt with on the same day.”

For further details regarding this London Notary Public practice and to obtain a quote at short notice please do not hesitate to contact M D Pryke Notary Public at matthew@mdpryke-notary.com

London Notary Public fees are often believed to be fixed, they are not. The Faculty Office rules require a Notary Public to charge a proper fee which is appropriate for the level of notarial services offered. However as the economic downturn “bites”, here are 5 further tips to ensure you get value for money from your Notarial services:

London Notary Public Fees Tip 1. Is VAT payable? Don’t forget to check whether the Notary practice will charge VAT as this will have a significant effect (15%) on the price you pay. London Notary Public practice M D Pryke Notary Public LLP does not charge VAT.

London Notary Public Fees Tip 2. Obtain a fee quote in advance. For most notarial matters the London Notary Public should be able to tell you the fees in advance of the meeting. If the London Notary cannot give an exact quote, the London Notary Public should be able to provide an accurate estimate.

London Notary Public Fees Tip 3. Are there additional third party charges? The London Notary Public may need to incur additional third party costs to complete the legalisation process such as embassy fees, courier fees or legalisation fees payable to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for adding an Apostille. Your London Notary Public should be able to provide a clear indication of all of these costs in advance.

London Notary Public Fees Tip 4. Don’t be afraid to shop around. As the fees charged by Notaries  in London is not fixed you can speak to different London Notary Public practices to compare prices. Expect to pay somewhere between £60 – £120 for any document notarised by a London Notary Public.

London Notary Public Fees Tip 5. Find out payment periods. Many London Notary Public practices require notary fees to be paid immediately or in advance so check this with your London Notary before you meet.

Once a document has been notarised by a Notary Public then, based on the receiving country, the document may also require to be legalised. Often this legalisation process can be addressed by a London Notary Public liaising with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to add an appropriate apostille. Understandably people seek confirmation from their London Notary Public about how long this process will take and the associated costs. Consequently clients often turn to their London Notary Public for a solution which meets their commercial requirements and tight deadline.

Many notary publics, particularly London Notary Publics, have experience of liaising with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Milton Keynes offices. This process can be time consuming and can take up to 10 working days to complete. Often clients of Notary Publics in London will require their documents to be legalised to meet a much shorter deadline, such as within the same day. Therefore London Notary Public practices, such as M D Pryke Notary Public LLP,  are used to providing it’s London Notary Public clients with an alternative and much quicker option. An Apostille can be obtained by a London Notary Public at short notice if you allow your London Notary Public to utilise the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s premier service. London Notary Public Matthew Pryke explains how it is possible to obtain an apostille at very short notice if you use a Notary Public in London who has a premier service account with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is therefore able to arrange for documents to be legalised at very short notice.  London Notary Public Matthew Pryke explains that the majority of his London Notary clients prefer to use the premier services, “As a Notary Public working in London’s west end I find that most of my clients are working on projects that require a fast and efficient turnaround of documents. As a London Notary Public with offices in Mayfair I am used to notarising documents to meet very short timescales, with most matters dealt with in the same day. Therefore to be able to offer my London Notary Public clients legalisation with a quick turnaround is absolutely essential.”

Please consult your London Notary Public for a quote for using the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s premium services. As a guide the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will charge the following fees for the completion of the legalisation process:

Applications to premium service (Centrepoint, London) – £69 per Apostile.

Applications to Norfolk House (Milton Keynes) – £28 per Apostile.

Please note that the fees charged by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are in addition to the Notary Public fees charged by your London Notary Public. For further details of whether your documents needs to be legalised and, if so, how to achieve this in the same day, please contact London Notary Public Matthew Pryke via the following e-mail address matthew@mdpryke-notary.com

An experienced Notary Public should be familiar with the Apostille process and be able to assist. In most circumstances the requirement for an Apostille relates to countries that are part of the Hague Convention.

Without going into details regarding the legalities of this process the practical solution is provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  Once a document has been notarised by a fully qualified notary public the document can then go to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to have an Apostille, or legalisation certificate, attached.

This process can be achieved in less than 24 hours if a matter is more pressing and London Notary Public Matthew Pryke suggests that you speak to a notary public who will have experience of dealing with both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the various country embassies based in London.   London Notary Public Matthew Pryke finds that the large majority of his clients prefer for him to deal with the legalisation process as this is something that his London Notarty Public practice is used to dealing with on a day to day basis.  To confirm the legalisation requirements for the country to which your documents relate speak to your notary public in advance of the meeting so that you have a clear understanding of the time periods and costs involved.  However London Notary Public Matthew Pryke explains that “the large majority of matters can be dealt with in the same day which can provide a necessary solution for many of the individuals and business which my practice serve.”