It is almost always the case that you have been asked to see a notary because you have a document that needs to be used abroad. Seeing a notary is never a mere rubber-stamping exercise. The international duty of a Notary involves a high standard of care. This is not only towards the client but also to anyone who may rely on the document and to Governments or officials of other countries. These people are entitled to assume that a Notary will ensure full compliance with the relevant requirements both here and abroad; and to rely on the Notary's register and records. Great care is essential at every stage to minimise the risks of errors, omissions, alterations, fraud, forgery, money laundering, the use of false identity, and so on.
We offer appointments during business hours and occasionally outside of business hours in exceptional circumstances. We are also prepared to make home visits or visit corporate clients at their place of business. If the notarial appointments take place outside of our office we will make an additional charge to cover travelling time and expenses. Occasionally we may not be able to see you within the timeframe you require, or we may decide that we are not able to act for you in which case we will advise you that that is the case and will provide you with the necessary information to locate an alternative notary.
The Notary should normally witness your signature. Please do not sign the document in advance of your appointment with us.
It will save time, expense and mistakes if, as long before the appointment as possible, you can let us have the originals or photocopies of:
We will need you to produce by way of formal identification the original of (in preferred order):
If neither of the above are available, at least two of the following:
In a case where the name on the document is different from the name you are currently using, or there has been a variation in the form of spelling of the name over the years, please provide as appropriate Certificates of Birth, Marriage or Divorce Decree or Change of Name Deed showing all the different names that you use. If there has been a change of name, then we will need to see a copy of the Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration which dealt with it.
If you bring a document to us for authorisation as a Notary, we will advise you as to the formalities required for completing it. However, we will not be attempting to advise you about the transaction itself.
It is essential that you understand what you are signing. If the document is in a foreign language which you do not understand sufficiently, we may have to insist that a translation be obtained. If we arrange for a translation, a further fee will be payable and we will provide you with details of this.
If you arrange for a professional translation, the translator should add his/her name, address, relevant qualification, and a certificate stating: "Document X is a true and complete translation of document Y, to which this translation is attached."
If you and we cannot understand each other because of a language difficulty, we may have to make arrangements for a competent interpreter to be available at our interview and this may involve a further fee.
If a document is to be signed by you on behalf of a company, a partnership, a charity, club or other incorporated body, there are further requirements on which we may have to insist. Please be prepared for these and telephone with any point of difficulty before attending on the appointment.
In each case we will require:
Additionally, companies: Certificate of Incorporation and of any Change of Name, a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, Details of Directors and Secretaries.
Additionally, partnerships, clubs, etc: A Partnership Agreement; or relevant Trust Deed; or Charter; or Constitution/Rules.
If the matter is simple we will endeavour to charge a fixed fee to include disbursements such as legalisation fees, postage, consular agent fees, courier fees, travelling expenses, translating costs and so on. We do not charge VAT.
For more complicated or time-consuming matters the fee will be based on our hourly rate of £300 subject to a minimum fee of £150, plus disbursements. Payment is by bank transfer, due on completion.
For full details of our fees please see our Fees page.
Each notarial matter is different and the requirements and timescales will vary greatly. Some of the typical key stages are likely to include:
When we carry out our work for you, we are required to make an entry in a formal register, which is kept by us as a permanent record. We will retain a copy of the notarised documentation with that record. Our practice is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office. Personal data received from clients is held securely and not capable of being accessed externally. For full details of our Privacy Policy and data processing terms please see our Privacy, Data Protection & AI page.
In the interests of our clients we maintain professional indemnity insurance at a level of at least £1,000,000.00 per claim.
You may terminate your instructions to us at any time by giving us reasonable written notice. All fees and disbursements incurred up to the date of termination will be charged.
Where the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 apply, you have a cancellation period of 14 days after the date you sign our retainer letter or the date on which you continue to give us instructions, whichever is earlier. You can cancel your contract within the cancellation period by giving us a clear statement and we will reimburse all payments received from you by the same method that you used, at no cost to you, without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which you inform us of the cancellation.
We reserve the right to terminate our engagement by you if we have good reason to do so, for example, if you do not pay a bill or comply with our request for a payment on account or you fail to give us the co-operation which we are reasonably entitled to expect.
Our notarial practice is regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. If you are dissatisfied about the service you have received please do not hesitate to contact us. For full details of our complaints procedure please see our Complaints page.
To the extent that we use any automated decision-making technology, including artificial intelligence, in the course of our services, we do not rely upon the same without human intervention.
Before using any new technology including artificial intelligence, we carry out an appropriate risk assessment to ensure that your rights are not adversely affected by the same.
We use e-mail wherever possible. Where you have provided us with an e-mail address, we will assume that we may use that address for the sending of unencrypted, sensitive or confidential correspondence or documents to you. All e-mails sent by us and attachments thereto should be scanned for viruses by the recipient.
The terms and conditions of our arrangement and the provision of these Terms of Business shall be governed by English law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts in the case of any dispute.
For straightforward matters we will endeavour to charge a fixed fee to include disbursements such as legalisation fees, postage, consular agent fees, courier fees, travelling expenses and translating costs.
For more complex or time-consuming matters the fee will be based on our hourly rate of £300, subject to a minimum fee of £150, plus disbursements. The fee charged may include time spent on preliminary advice, drafting and preparation, telephone calls, correspondence, arranging legalisation and record keeping.
Some documents require legalisation before they will be accepted for use in the receiving jurisdiction. This may involve obtaining an apostille through the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and, for some countries, additional legalisation through the relevant embassy or consulate. We will advise of the specific costs once what is required has been confirmed.
Where we are required to make payments on your behalf, your prior approval will be obtained and you will normally be required to make payment in advance of any such amounts. Disbursements may include:
When acting as Commissioner of Oaths for documents for use in England and Wales, we charge the statutory fee of £5.00 per oath, affirmation or declaration and £2.00 per exhibit.
Occasionally unforeseen or unusual issues arise during the course of a matter which may result in a revision of our fee estimate. Examples include where additional documents are required to be notarised, additional translations or legalisations are needed, or third party fees are adjusted to reflect external factors. We will notify you of any changes to our fee estimate as soon as possible.
The London Notary is a notarial practice operated by Romi Jean Martin, Notary Public, of 18 Kew Gardens Road, Richmond, London TW9 3HF. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a data controller.
If you have any questions about this privacy notice, please contact us at romi@thelondonnotary.co.uk.
Personal data means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. This may include your name, address, email address, phone number, and identification documents. It may also include special categories of personal data such as information about your nationality, health or other sensitive matters where these are relevant to the notarial act being performed.
We will only process your personal data in accordance with applicable law for the following purposes:
The legal basis for our processing of your personal data will typically include:
We may disclose your personal data to third parties where necessary to provide our services, including couriers, translators, legalisation agents, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), embassies and consulates. We will only share your data to the extent necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.
We may transfer your personal data to foreign organisations such as embassies and consulates located outside the United Kingdom where this is necessary in connection with the notarial services we are providing. Where we transfer personal data to private organisations abroad we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place.
Your personal data will be retained for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or as required by law. The Notaries Practice Rules 2019 require that notarial acts in the public form are preserved permanently. Records of acts not in public form must be preserved for a minimum period of 12 years.
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss or disclosure. Please be aware that the transmission of information via the internet is never completely secure and we cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to us electronically.
Our website uses strictly necessary cookies to enable the website to function. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. By continuing to use our website you consent to the use of strictly necessary cookies.
You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie and to decline cookies if you wish, although this may affect the functionality of the website.
Under UK GDPR you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
To exercise any of these rights please contact us at romi@thelondonnotary.co.uk.
We are committed to the responsible use of artificial intelligence and digital technology in our practice. Our approach is guided by the following principles:
If you have any questions or concerns about how we handle your personal data please contact us at romi@thelondonnotary.co.uk.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):