MD Pryke Notary Public

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.

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.

UK Notaries Public – How they differ from US Notaries – Part 3

This is the third article in a series that details the differing notarial procedures in the United Kingdom compared to US Notary practices.

Article 1 dealt with: The professional status of Notaries Public, The qualifications required to practice as a Notary, and the US concept of a ‘commission‘.

Article 2 highlighted: Notarial duty of care, Legal protection and insurance for Notaries, and Notary fees

7. Identity verification required by UK Notaries

A Notary practicing in the United States is not required to take measures to corroborate either the identity or the authority of their notarial clients.  Further, when witnessing a signature or notarizing a document, US Notaries only require one item of identification.

A UK Notary must identify the individual with two forms of identification, both of which must comply with UK money laundering regulations.  A British Notary must also determine whether the intended signatory possesses the requisite authority to sign.  For example when a Director signs either for themselves or on behalf of a company, the Notary must ascertain their mandate for so doing.

Furthermore, a Notary is required to ensure that the document is executed in a manner required by the laws of England and Wales (e.g. power of attorney being signed in the presence of a witness as a deed)

8. Notarisation process

US notaries generally notarise a document with a rubber Notary stamp similar to those used by a bank or post office.

UK notaries use a steel stamp unique to their notarial practice.  See below for the official MD Pryke Notary Public seal:

Furthermore, most UK notaries will rivet the notarized document and tie with ribbon to ensure that it is secure.  This procedure ensures that no pages can be added or removed after notarization.

For more details on the different working practices between a UK Notary and their US equivalents please refer to other articles in this series, or else contact us via telephone, post or email.

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

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.

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

As a London Notary Public my fees are not fixed. The Notary rules require a notary public to charge a proper fee which is appropriate for the level of service offered. For most matters the Notary should be able to tell you his fee in advance. However don’t forget to check whether the Notary will charge VAT as this will have a significant effect on the price. Expect to pay somewhere between £60 – £120 for any document notarised by a  London Notary Public. Also many notary publics require fees to be paid immediately or in advance so check this with your notary before you meet.

In addition to the fees for the notary public there may be additional third pary charges such as embassy fees, courier fees or fees payble to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for adding an Apostille. Your notary public should be able to provide an clear indication of all of these costs in advance and assist with this process should you require.