July 20th, 2010

London Notary Public Matthew Pryke will shortly be undertaking a 191 mile Paris to London cycle ride. This Notary Public in London is undertaking the charity ride in an effort to raise much needed funds for Crohn’s and Colitis in Childhood. So far his London Notaries Public practice has helped to raise in excess of £30,000 which will provide fantastic support for this very important charity. The event is kindly being sponsored by WPP and Hammonds LLP which has allowed all of the funds raised to go directly to the charity. Matthew Pryke would like to thank many of his notary clients who have been so very generous in making donations to this wonderful cause. London Notary Public Matthew Pryke explains “Crohn’s and Colitis in Childhood is a wonderful charity and I am delighted that we have been able to assist in raising some much needed funds via our London Notary practice. Just the small matter of cycling the distance now! ”
Andy Goodman, who is organising the event on behalf of the charity explains “So far we have raised well in excess of £30,000, which is absolutely fantastic, but let’s see if we can take it a stage further.” Matthew Pryke and a team of 33 riders will be leaving Paris on the morning of Friday 23rd July and travelling over 3 days back to London arriving in Hampton Court on Sunday afternoon. Further articles will follow to provide progress reports on how Matthew and the rest of the team cope with this challenge.
Should you wish to make a donation please refer to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/mattpryke or alternatively if you would like further information about this London Notary Public practice or Matthew Pryke please refer to the website www.mdpryke-notary.com.
July 9th, 2010
This is the second article in a series that details the Apostille process.
Article 1 dealt with: The need for an Apostille Certificate, What a typical Apostille Certificate looks like, which countries accept them and the information they include.
Are all Apostille certificates the same?
No. Although Apostille certificates were introduced by the Hague Convention of January 1965 to provide a standardised set of rules governing legalisation between member states, there are certain exceptions.
As of July 2010 the Legalisation office in Milton Keynes declares that all Apostilles issued for use in Russian child adoption cases must now be square as indicated below.
![Apostille Certificate [Square Sample] Square Apostille Certificate](http://www.mdpryke-notary.com/wp-content/uploads/Apostille-Sample-2.1-300x287.jpg)
Square Apostille Certificate
For further information on the new Apostille Certificates pertaining to Russian child adoption cases, please contact London Notary Public Matthew Pryke through the usual channels.
March 23rd, 2010

Notary Public at One Portland Place W1
Notary Public Matthew Pryke, today unveils his newly refurbished offices at One Portland Place in London’s West End.
‘A Notary Public service based in the City of London attracts some very high profile business names,’ says Matthew.
‘With clients as diverse as Toni and Guy International, A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, and The Children’s Investment Fund, it is vital that our Notary Public premises in London reflect the high quality notarial service we provide.
‘We have extensively refitted the reception area for our London Notary clients, and although we provide a same day legalisation service and endeavour to deal with all notarial and apostille work with great efficiency, we hope that our clients will find their surroundings as comfortable as possible.
‘Notary Public in London clients passing our door looking for a same day apostille service will be able to see our offices clearly marked on the new plaque that reads “MD Pryke Notary Public”’
For further details regarding Notary Public in London Services please contact us via the usual channels or call directly on 0207 6364422.
February 7th, 2010
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.
January 29th, 2010

Notary in London Matthew Pryke today launches a campaign to encourage law firms and fellow Notary Publics to donate a small percentage of their fees to a designated charity partner.
Matthew Pryke Notary Public says, ‘It’s not about the size of the donation really. It’s more a case of little and often.
‘Notary matters tend to generate relatively small amounts of revenue, often just a small fee to notarise a document. By donating £10 for every notary transaction I was recently able to donate £2,600 through my notary business to my designated Charity partner Honeypot to provide respite care for children who act as carers to their family.
Many clients enjoy the fact that a percentage of the firm’s revenue is passed on to community charities. I would encourage other notary practices and law firms to set up a similar arrangement with a charity partner like Honeypot. It generates revenue for their business, supports the local community and can help the public understand that the legal profession is more public spirited than they might believe.’
Ronan Macmillan of Honeypot agrees. ‘We are thrilled that Notary Public Matthew Pryke has pledged to donate £10 to Honeypot for every notary task he undertakes.
In addition to the £2,600 he has raised through his London Notary practice this year, last year he raised £32,000 by organising a trip to climb Kilimanjaro and we are delighted to have Matthew as an official corporate sponsor.’
If you are a Notary, or know of a Notary Public who is interested in sponsoring Honeypot, please call Matthew Pryke Notary Public to discuss this further.
For more information on how Matthew Pryke Notary Public donates to Honeypot through his Notary business, please visit www.mdpryke-notary.com/londonnotarypubliccharity
November 24th, 2009
London Notaries Public Practice, MD Pryke Notary Public would like to inform all of its Notaries clients that during the week beginning 23 November 2009 various Arab League Embassies including the United Arab Emirates Embassy will be closed due to the Eid El-Hadha holiday. In particular the legalisation offices of various Embassies will be closed as follows:
Notary Public Legalisation Office Closure Details
Algeria Embassy: Closed 26 November to 1 December 2009
Iraq Embassy: Closed 27 November 2009 only
Kuwait Embassy: Closed 26 and 27 November 2009
Qatar: Closed 26 and 27 November 2009
Saudi Arabia Legalisation Office: Closed 26 November to 30 November 2009
Tunisia Legalisation Office: Closed 27 November 2009 only
UAE Legalisation Office: Closed: 26 November to 30 November 2009 and 2 December to 6 December 2009
Consequently London Notaries Public Practice MD Pryke Notary Public will continue to provide the usual same day notary public legalisation service once the various legalisation offices of the embassies are reopened for business as usual.
London Notaries Public practice owner Matthew Pryke explains “With various Arab state embassies and legalisation offices closed during the end of November and beginning of December we will not be able to process any legalisation matters and requirements for these countries during this period. However from the second week in December and onwards my London Notaries Public Practice will continue to provide a same day service for all legalisation requirements.”
For further about the Notary Public legalisation requirements for Arab states and the need to obtain additional legalisation stamps or legalisation certificates from any embassy please do not hesitate to contact London Notaries Public Practice MD Pryke Notary Public at his London Notaries website www.mdpryke-notary.com or via email at matthew@mdpryke-notary.com.
November 16th, 2009
London Notaries Public Practice MD Pryke Notary Public would like to inform all of its notaries clients that with effect from 1 November 2009 the Chinese Embassy has increased the legalisation fees charged as follows:
Personal purpose Legalisation (per document) - from £12 to £15
Business purpose Legalisation (per document) - from £23 to £25
Please note that documents for China may require a notarised translation into Chinese. Legalisation by the Chinese Consulate is expected to take 48 hours. The Chinese Consulate requires a photocopy of each notarised document to be legalised when the document is lodged. For an additional fee, legalisation may be completed sooner. The document to be legalised must first be certified (by way of Apostille) by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office where the legalisation fee for certification (by way of Apostille) is £69 per document.
London Notaries practice owner Matthew Pryke explains “The increase in legalisation fees charged by the Chinese Embassy is unlikely to be warmly received by any of our London notaries clients. However our London notaries clients are able to enjoy affordable and fixed notarisation fees which notarisation fees have not been increased for more than 3 years. In addition our notary public legalisation solutions guarantee an affordable and efficient legalisation service which provides our London notaries clients with the opportunity to ensure even the tightest of notarisation and legalisation deadlines are met.”
For further tips and guidance regarding leglations fees and legalisation services please refer to the following notaries public article http://www.mdpryke-notary.com/2009/10/notary-public-legalisation-fee-tips. Alternatively and for or further information regarding notarisation fees or to obtain a notary public legalisation quote please do not hesitate to contact this London Notaries practice at www.mdpryke-notary.com
November 10th, 2009
London Notary Public Practice MD Pryke Notary Public would like to inform all of its clients that on Thursday 26 November 2009, the Legalisation Offices of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be closed. London Notaries practice M D Pryke Notary Public will therefore provide the usual same day legalisation service from Friday 27th November 2009.
London Notaries practice owner Matthew Pryke explains “We understand the Legalisation Office is closed for staff training on 26th November. This is unfortunate and as a consequence we will not be able to process legalisation requirements for our London Notaries clients until 27th November 2009. However from the 27th November 2009 and onwards my London Notaries practice will continue to provide a same day service for any Apostille and other legalisation requirements.“
Matthew’s London Notaries practice provides a complete range of legalisation solutions and legalisation tips for its London Notary clients for further information please refer to the recent legalisation tips article http://www.mdpryke-notary.com/2009/10/notary-public%20legalisation-tips/
For further information about the Legalisation Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and a range of options to obtain an Apostille or other legalisation certificates and stamps please contact London Notary Matthew Pryke at his London Notaries practice website http://www.mdpryke-notary.com/.
November 3rd, 2009
London Notary Public Matthew Pryke would like to remind all of his clients that Oxford Circus tube station, which is the closest tube station to MD Pryke Notary Public’s central London Notary offices, will be closed today (3 November 2009) from 16.00. Transport for London has confirmed that Oxford Circus tube station will be closed due to the need to safely manage the large crowds expected to attend the switching on of Christmas Lights on Oxford Street. Transport for London has indicated to Notary Public Matthew Pryke that the station will operate as follows:
| Until 1530: |
Open as usual |
| 1530: |
Open for exit and changing trains only |
| 1600: |
Closed. Trains not stopping |
| No later than 1930: |
Open as usual |
London Notary Public Office Opening Times – 9:00 – 18:00
Notary Public Matthew Pryke suggests that all London clients attending his Notary Public offices in central London should consider using neighbouring tube stations close to the Notary Public office such as Bond Street, Regent’s Park, Great Portland Street, Warren Street and Tottenham Court Road. M D Pryke’s central London Notary Public offices are ideally located near to many popular and easily accessible London Tube Stations.
Qualified Notary Public Matthew Pryke commenting on the closure of Oxford Circus tube station explained, “Whilst Oxford Circus tube is closed we would suggest to clients to consider alternative ways of accessing our Notary Public offices in London’s West End. As always our central London Notary Public offices will be open for Notary Public clients during this time. For further information we suggest that Notary Public clients view the Transport for London website www.thetube.com“.
Notary Public Practice MD Pryke Notary Public is based at One Portland Place and is conveniently located in London’s West End. Consequently should you require Notary Public services or to receive a quote for fees please contact MD Pryke Notary Public at www.mdpryke-notary.com.
October 29th, 2009
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.