Notary Public

Benjamin Wise Notary Public

What is a Notary?
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 Archbishop of Canterbury.

What a Notary Does
Notaries are primarily concerned with the authentication and certification of signatures and documents for use abroad.

I provide a service for commercial firms engaged in international trade, and for private individuals. The most common tasks are:

• Preparing and witnessing powers of attorney for use overseas
• Dealing with purchase or sale of land and property abroad
• Providing documents to deal with the administration of the estates of people who are abroad, or owning property abroad
• Authenticating personal documents and information for immigration or emigration purposes, or to apply to marry or to work abroad
• Authenticating company and business documents and transactions
• General notarisation of documents for use abroad
• Preparation of such documents
• Certification of copy documents
• Legalisation at Foreign and Commonwealth Office (‘apostille’) and at foreign consulates and embassies
• Affidavits, oaths and declarations

Legalisation
Legalisation is the process by which the signature and seal of the notary are authenticated by the Foreign Office and/or the Embassy or Consulate of the country in which the document is to be used.

Documents going to countries which are, or have been, part of the British Commonwealth seldom need legalisation nor, at present, do documents going to many parts of the United States.

Many countries require only one certificate from the Foreign Office called an Apostille. Additional fees will be charged for this along with the postal costs involved, or for a courier or agent if the matter is urgent.

The Foreign Office is located in Milton Keynes but a Premium Service for business users only with a 24-hour turnaround is available in London.

Some countries want the Apostille from the Foreign Office and a further certificate from their own Embassy. This will take longer. There are other procedures that apply only to a few countries, and there can be problems if a document is to be used in a country with which the United Kingdom does not have diplomatic relations.

Fees
Please contact Benjamin Wise on the telephone number or email address below to discuss your notarial requirements in order that a quote can be given for work to be undertaken.

What you will need before the Appointment

1. The document or documents which require my seal and signature. Please do not sign or have it witnessed beforehand. It is imperative that everything is done in my presence
2. Any instructions which have been given by the lawyer who has prepared the document. There are sometimes requirements about signing each page or even the colour of the ink.
3. Your passport or if you have no passport a government issued document which bears your photograph such as a modern driving licence and a document which proves where you live such as a recent utility bill or bank statement. If you have difficulty producing such original documents I shall need to discuss with you what evidence of identity I shall need to see to satisfy myself that you are the person you say you are.
4. If you have received the document electronically, can you please forward it to my email address in advance of the appointment? Please check the document carefully for errors in your name, address and passport number. If I have received the document electronically I should be able to make any necessary amendment to the document.

Which Areas are Covered?
I deal with the majority of notarial acts at my office in Clapham but can travel to most areas within the locality and London but for an additional cost. Areas covered include Balham, Battersea, Brixton, Dulwich, Herne Hill, Kennington, Norwood, Stockwell, Streatham and Wandsworth.

For more information please contact:

Benjamin Wise: Ben@Streathers.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7622 7257