Practice Area

What is a public Notary?

 

A Public Notary, or a Notary Public is an officer of the law who certifies the “trustworthiness” of a document for use in international jurisdictions. The role of a Public Notary is to confirm the identity of the person requesting the notary services and the authenticity of a document to be used overseas. The authority of a Notary is recognised by an international convention.

 

When will I need a Public Notary ?

 

A person will typically require a Public Notary where an international jurisdiction requires it. As above, a Public Notary will notarise certain documents at the request of a foreign jurisdiction for use in that jurisdiction. The most common need for a Public Notary is to notarise copies of original documents to be sent overseas. In certain circumstances a Public Notary will be required to not only notarise documents but witness the person executing those documents. For example, witnessing a person executing a Power of Attorney that allows a foreign solicitor to act as Attorney in the foreign jurisdiction. A Public Notary can not notarise a document to be used domestically.

 

How much will a notary cost?

 

Blackwell Short charge fees for Notarial services in accordance with the recommended scale of fees which are set by the NSW Society of Public Notaries, which can be found by following this link.  If your requirements do not fit the scale, we will discuss our fees with you prior to commencing work.

 

https://notarynsw.org.au/recommended-fees/

 

Your Appointment

 

Prior to your appointment, we will require a copy of the document/s you need notarised and a copy of your passport and drivers licence. For your appointment you will need to bring the originals of all those documents. The fees charged by a public notary are fixed and are set by the NSW Society of Public Notaries.