Notary public - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business. A notary's main functions are to administer oath

Oath

An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...

s and affirmations, take affidavit

Affidavit

An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...

s and statutory declaration

Statutory declaration

A statutory declaration is a legal document defined under the law of certain Commonwealth nations. It is similar to a statement made under oath, however, it is not sworn....

s, witness

Witness

A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...

and authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents, take acknowledgments of deeds and other conveyances, protest notes and bills of exchange, provide notice of foreign drafts, prepare marine or ship's protests in cases of damage, provide exemplifications and notarial copies, and perform certain other official acts depending on the jurisdiction. Any such act is known as a notarization. The term notary public only refers to common-law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

notaries and should not be confused with civil-law notaries

Civil law notary

Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State...

.

With the exceptions of Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, whose private law is based on civil law

Civil law (legal system)

Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...

, and British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, whose notarial tradition stems from scrivener

Scrivener

A scrivener was traditionally a person who could read and write. This usually indicated secretarial and administrative duties such as dictation and keeping business, judicial, and history records for kings, nobles, temples, and cities...

notary practice, a notary public in the rest of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and most of Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

has powers that are far more limited than those of civil-law or other common-law notaries, both of whom are qualified lawyers admitted to the bar: such notaries may be referred to as notaries-at-law or lawyer notaries. Therefore, at common law, notarial service is distinct from the practice of law

Practice of law

In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister,...

, and giving legal advice and preparing legal instruments is forbidden to lay notaries such as those appointed throughout most of the United States of America.

Overview

Notaries are appointed by a government authority, such as a court or lieutenant governor, or by a regulating body often known as a Society or Faculty of Notaries Public. For lawyer notaries, an appointment may be for life, while lay notaries are usually commissioned for a briefer term, with the possibility of renewal.

In most common law countries, appointments and their number for a given notarial district are highly regulated. However, since the majority of American notaries are lay persons who provide officially required services, commission numbers are not regulated, which is part of the reason why there are far more notaries in the United States than in other countries (4.5 million
vs. approx. 740 in England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...

and Approx. 1,250 in Australia and New Zealand). Furthermore, all U.S. and some Canadian notarial functions are applied to domestic affairs and documents, where fully systematized attestations of signatures and acknowledgment of deeds are a universal requirement for document authentication. By contrast, outside North American common law jurisdictions, notarial practice is restricted to international legal matters or where a foreign jurisdiction is involved, and almost all notaries are also qualified lawyers.

For the purposes of authentication, most countries require commercial or personal documents which originate from or are signed in another country to be notarized before they can be used or officially recorded or before they can have any legal effect. To these documents a notary affixes a notarial certificate which attests to the execution of the document, usually by the person who appears before the notary, known as an appearer or constituent (U.S.). In places where lawyer notaries are the norm, a notary may also draft legal instruments known as notarial acts
Act (document)
An act is an instrument that records a fact or something that has been said, done, or agreed. Acts generally take the form of legal instruments of writing that have probative value and executory force...

or deed
Deed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...

s which may have probative value and executory force, as they do in the civil law jurisdictions. Originals or duplicate originals are then filed and stored in the notary's archives, or protocol. Acts of lawyer notaries in general do not have this executory force.

Notaries are generally required to undergo special training in the performance of their duties. Some must also first serve as an apprentice before being commissioned or licensed to practice their profession. In many countries, even licensed lawyers, e.g., barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

s or solicitor

Solicitor

Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

s, must follow a prescribed specialized course of study and be mentored for two years before being allowed to practice as a notary (e.g., British Columbia, England). However, notaries public in the U.S., of which the vast majority are lay people, require only a brief training seminar and are expressly forbidden to engage in any activities that could be construed as the practice of law

Practice of law

unless they are also qualified attorneys. Yet, despite these apparent differences, notarial practice is universally considered to be distinct and separate from that of attorney (solicitor/barrister). In England and Wales,there is a course of study for notaries which is conducted under the auspices of the University of Cambridge and the Society of Notaries of England and Wales. In the State of Victoria, Australia, applicants for appointment must first complete a Graduate Diploma of Notarial Practice which is administered by the Sir Zelman Cowen Centre in Victoria University, Melbourne.

In bi-juridical jurisdictions, such as South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

or Louisiana

Louisiana

, the office of notary public is a legal profession with educational requirements similar to those for attorneys. Many even have institutes of higher learning that offer degrees in notarial law. Therefore, despite their name, "notaries public" in these jurisdictions are in effect civil law notaries.

History

For a more detailed account, see Civil-law Notary
Civil law notary
Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State...

.

Notaries Public (also called "notaries", "notarial officers", or "public notaries") hold an office which can trace its origins back to the ancient Roman Republic

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

, before Cicero

Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...

106-43 B.C., when they were called scribae ("scribes"), tabellius ("writer"), or notarius ("notary"). They are easily the oldest continuing branch of the legal profession worldwide.

The history of Notaries is set out in detail in Chapter 1 of Brooke's Notary (13th edition):

Common law jurisdictions

The duties and functions of notaries public are described in Brooke's Notary on page 19 in these terms:

Generally speaking, a notary public [...] may be described as an officer of the law [...] whose public office and duty it is to draw, attest or certify under his official seal deeds and other documents, including wills

Will (law)

A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...

or other testamentary documents, conveyances of real

Real property

In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...

and personal property

Personal property

Personal property, roughly speaking, is private property that is moveable, as opposed to real property or real estate. In the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In the civil law systems personal property is often called movable property or movables - any...

and powers of attorney

Power of attorney

A power of attorney or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter...

; to authenticate such documents under his signature and official seal in such a manner as to render them acceptable, as proof of the matters attested by him, to the judicial or other public authorities in the country where they are to be used, whether by means of issuing a notarial certificate as to the due execution of such documents or by drawing them in the form of public instruments; to keep a protocol containing originals of all instruments which he makes in the public form and to issue authentic copies of such instruments; to administer oaths and declarations for use in proceedings [...] to note or certify transactions relating to negotiable instruments, and to draw up protests or other formal papers relating to occurrences on the voyages of ships and their navigation as well as the carriage of cargo in ships." [Footnotes omitted.]

A notary, in almost all common law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

jurisdictions other than most of North America, is a practitioner trained in the drafting and execution of legal documents. Notaries traditionally recorded matters of judicial importance as well as private transactions or events where an officially authenticated record or a document drawn up with professional skill or knowledge was required. The functions of notaries specifically include the preparation of certain types of documents (including international contracts, deeds, wills, and powers of attorney) and certification of their due execution, administering of oaths, witness

Witness

ing affidavit

Affidavit

s and statutory declarations, certification of copy documents, noting and protesting of bills of exchange, and the preparation of ship

Ship

Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...

s' protests.

Documents certified by notaries are sealed with the notary's seal

Seal (device)

A seal can be a figure impressed in wax, clay, or some other medium, or embossed on paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document ; but the term can also mean the device for making such impressions, being essentially a mould with the mirror image of the design carved in sunken- relief or...

or stamp and are recorded by the notary in a register (also called a "protocol") maintained and permanently kept by him or her. These are known as "notarial acts".
In countries subscribing to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents or Apostille Convention

Apostille convention

The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, the Apostille convention, or the Apostille treaty is an international treaty drafted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law...

, only one further act of certification is required, known as an apostille, and is issued by a government department (usually the Foreign Affairs Department or similar). For countries which are not subscribers to that convention, an "authentication" or "legalization" must be provided by one of a number of methods, including by the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the country from which the document is being sent or the embassy, Consulate-General, consulate or High Commission of the country to which it is being sent.

Australia

In all Australian States and Territories (except Queensland) notaries public are appointed by the Supreme Court of the relevant State or Territory. Very few have been appointed as a notary for more than one State or Territory.

Queensland, like New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, continues the practice of appointment by the Archbishop of Canterbury acting through the Master of the Faculties

Master of the Faculties

The Master of the Faculties is a functionary in the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury and has some important powers in English law, in particular the appointment and regulation of public notaries. The position is always held by the Dean of Arches....

.

Most Australian notaries are lawyers, but the overall number of lawyers who choose to become a notary is relatively low. For example, in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

(a State with a population of 1.5 million), of the over 2,500 lawyers in that state only about 100 are also notaries and most of those do not actively practice as such. In Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, in 2002 there were only 66 notaries for a city with a population of 3.5 million and only 90 for the entire state. Compare this with the United States where it has been estimated that there are nearly 5 million notaries for a nation with a population of 296 million.

As Justice Debelle of the Supreme Court of South Australia

Supreme Court of South Australia

The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court for the Australian State of South Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court...

said in the case of In The Matter of an Application by Marilyn Reys Bos to be a Public Notary [2003] SASC 320, delivered 12 September 2003, in refusing the application by a non-lawyer for appointment as a notary:
Historically there have been some very rare examples of patent attorneys or accountants being appointed, but that now seems to have ceased.

However, there are three significant differences between notaries and other lawyers.

the duty of a notary is to the transaction as a whole, and not just to one of the parties. In certain circumstances a notary may act for both parties to a transaction as long as there is no conflict between them, and in such cases it his or her duty is to ensure that the transaction that they conclude is fair to both sides.
a notary will often need to place and complete a special clause onto or attach a special page (known as an eschatocol
Eschatocol
An eschatocol is the final section of a legal or public document, which may include a formulaic sentence of appreciation, and the attestation of those responsible for the document, i.e., the author, the writer, or the countersigner, principal parties involved, and any witnesses to the enactment or...

) to a document in order to make it valid for use overseas.

In the case of some documents which are to be used in some foreign countries it may also be necessary to obtain another certificate known either as an "authentication" or an "apostille" (see above) (depending on the relevant foreign country) from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a department of the government of Australia charged with advancing the interests of Australia and its citizens internationally...

a notary identifies himself or herself on documents by the use of his or her individual seal. Such seals have historical origins and are regarded by most other countries as of great importance for establishing the authenticity of a document.

Their principal duties include:

attestation of documents and certification of their due execution for use in Australia and internationally
preparation and certification of powers of attorney, wills, deeds, contracts and other legal documents for use in Australia and internationally
administering of oaths for use in Australia and internationally
witnessing affidavits, statutory declarations and other documents for use in Australia and internationally
certification of copy documents for use Australia and internationally
exemplification of official documents for use internationally
noting and protesting of bills of exchange
preparation of ships' protests
providing certificates as to Australian law and legal practice

Although it was once usual for Australian notaries to use an embossed seal with a red wafer, some now use a red inked stamp that contains the notary's full name and the words "notary public". It is also common for the seal or stamp to include the notary's chosen logo or symbol.

In South Australia and Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, it is acceptable for a notary to use the letters "NP" after their name. Thus a South Australian notary may have "John Smith LLB NP" or similar on his business card or letterhead.

Australian notaries do not hold "commissions" which can expire. Generally, once appointed they are authorized to act as a notary for life and can only be "struck off" the Roll of Notaries for proven misconduct. In certain States, for example, New South Wales and Victoria, they cease to be qualified to continue as a Notary once they cease to hold a practising certificate as a legal practitioner. Even judges, who do not hold practising certificates, are not eligible to continue to practise as notaries.

All Australian jurisdictions also have Justices of the Peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

(JP) or Commissioners for Affidavits and other unqualified persons who are qualified to take affidavits or statutory declarations and to certify documents. However they can only do so if the relevant affidavit, statutory declaration or copy document is to be used only in Australia rather than in a foreign country, with the possible exception of a few Commonwealth countries not including the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

or New Zealand except for very limited purposes. Justices of the Peace (JPs) are (usually) laypersons who have minimal, if any, training (depending on the jurisdiction) but are of proven good character. Therefore a US notary resembles an Australian JP rather than an Australian notary.

Canada

Canadian notaries public are very much like their American counterparts, generally restricted to administering oaths, witnessing signatures on affidavits and statutory declarations, providing acknowledgements, certifying true copies, and so forth.

Nova Scotia

In Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

a person may be a notary public, a commissioner of oaths, or both. A notary public and a commissioner of oaths are regulated by the provincial Notaries and Commissioners Act. Individuals hold a commission granted to them by the Minister of Justice.

Under the Act a notary public in has the "power of drawing, passing, keeping and issuing all deeds and contracts, charter-parties and other mercantile transactions in this Province, and also of attesting all commercial instruments brought before him for public protestation, and otherwise of acting as is usual in the office of notary, and may demand, receive and have all the rights, profits and emoluments rightfully appertaining and belonging to the said calling of notary during pleasure."

Under the Act a commissioner of oaths is "authorized to administer oaths and take and receive affidavits, declarations and affirmations within the Province in and concerning any cause, matter or thing, depending or to be had in the Supreme Court, or any other court in the Province."

Every barrister of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia is a commissioner of oaths but must receive an additional commission to act as a notary public.

"A Commissioner of Oaths is deemed to be an officer of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. Commissioners take declarations concerning any matter to come before a court in the Province.". Additionally, individuals with other specific qualifications, such as being a current Member of the Legislative Assembly

Member of the Legislative Assembly

A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....

, commissioned officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...

or Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

make act as if explicitly being a Commissioner of Oaths.

British Columbia

In British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, a notary public is more like a British or Australian notary (see supra). Appointments are for life and made through the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia. Furthermore, BC notaries exercise far greater power, able to dispense legal advice and draft public instruments including:

Notarization
- notarizations/attestations of signatures, affidavits, statutory declarations, certified true copies, letters of invitation for foreign travel, authorization of minor child travel, execution/authentications of international documents, passport application documentation, proof of identity for travel purposes
Real estate law
- home purchase/sale; business purchase/sale; mortgages and refinancing
  Refinancing
  Refinancing may refer to the replacement of an existing debt obligation with a debt obligation under different terms. The terms and conditions of refinancing may vary widely by country, province, or state, based on several economic factors such as, inherent risk, projected risk, political...
  
  ; residential, commercial, & manufactures home transfer of title; restrictive covenants & builder's liens
Wills & estate planning
- preparation and searches of last wills and testaments
  Testaments
  Testaments is a collective term, largely used within Christianity, to describe both the Old Testament and the New Testament, of The Bible. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses this term to include the Book of Mormon as another volume of scripture which specifically testifies of...
  
  , living wills, health care directives, representation agreements, power of attorney
  Power of attorney
  A power of attorney or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter...
Contract law
- preparation of contracts and agreements, commercial lease and assignments
easements and right of way
insurance loss declarations
marine bills of sale & mortgages
marine protestations
personal property security agreements
purchaser's side for foreclosures
subdivisions & statutory building schemes
zoning applications

Quebec

In Quebec

Quebec

, there are no notaries public, only notaires, or civil-law notaries. As full lawyers, they perform functions similar to those of British Columbian notaries, though in Quebec, the notarial profession encompasses even more areas of practice. To become a notary in Quebec, a candidate must hold a Bachelor's degree in civil law, after which would follow a one-year Master's in notarial law, and a traineeship (called a "stage") before being written on the Rolls and able to practice.

India

The Central Government appoints notaries for the whole or any part of the country. And State Governments, too, appoint notaries for the whole or any part of the States.
On an application being made, any person who had been practicing as a Lawyer for at least 10 years is eligible to be appointed a notary.
The applicant, if not a legal practitioner, should be a member of the Indian Legal Service or have held an office under the Central or State Government, requiring special knowledge of law, after enrollment as an advocate or held an office in the department of Judge, Advocate-General or in the armed forces.

Iran

Notary Public is a trained lawyer that should pass some special exams to be able to open his office and start his work. Persian meaning of this word is "سردفتر" means head of the office and his assistant called "دفتریار". Both these persons should have Bachelor
degree in law or Master degree in civil-law.

Republic of Ireland

The office of notary public is one of great antiquity and historical significance. It is unclear, however, when or where the first public notary was formally appointed. One of the earliest references to a notary dates back to the time of Cicero (106 – 43BC), the famed Roman orator and statesmen, who, it is claimed, employed persons skilled in the art of writing to record or ‘note’ his speeches.

After the abdication in 476 AD of Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of Rome, the papacy became the de facto ruler of Rome. When Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 800AD the empire encompassed the entire heartland of Western Europe, stretching from the Danube to the Pyrenees and from Rome to the North Sea. Ecclesiastical notaries were by then part of the papal household and were known to deal with both ecclesiastical and civil matters. At this time it had become the practice of kings, princes and rulers in communion with the Holy See to seek various dispensations, privileges and faculties which were at the gift of the papacy. One such faculty concerned the appointment of notaries.The Pope, for administrative convenience, frequently delegated the power to appoint public notaries to religious (usually Archbishops) and temporal leaders throughout the Holy Roman Empire. In England, the power to create notaries was vested in and exercised by the Archbishop of Canterbury under papal and imperial authority. In Ireland, public notaries were at various times appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Armagh. The position remained so until the Reformation.

There is archival evidence showing that public notaries, acting pursuant to papal and imperial authority, practised in England and in Ireland in the 13th century and it is reasonable to assume that notaries functioned here before that time.

After the Reformation, persons appointed to the office of public notary either in Great Britain or Ireland received the faculty by royal authority and appointments under faculty from the Pope and the emperor ceased.

In 1871, under the Matrimonial Causes and Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment 1870, the jurisdiction previously exercised by the Archbishop of Armagh in the appointment of notaries was vested in and became exercisable by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland. In 1920, the power to appoint notaries public was transferred to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The position in Ireland changed once again in 1924 following the establishment of the Irish Free State. Under the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 the jurisdiction over notaries public was transferred to the Chief Justice of the Irish Free State. In 1961, under the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act of that year, and the power to appoint notaries public became exercisable by the Chief Justice. This remains the position in the Republic of Ireland, where notaries are appointed on Petition to the Supreme Court, after passing prescribed examinations. The governing body is the Faculty of Notaries Public in Ireland. In Northern Ireland, notaries public are appointed by the Lord Chief Justice. The vast majority of notaries in Ireland are also solicitors. A non-solicitor, who was successful in the examinations as set by the governing body, applied to the Chief Justice to be appointed a notary public. The Chief Justice heard the adjourned application on 3 March 2009 and reserved his judgement on that date. As at 6 April 2010 this judgement has not been delivered.

New Zealand

Unless excluded under dominion or colonial law, the Master of the Faculties

Master of the Faculties

formerly had authority to appoint notaries public in a dominion

Dominion

A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...

or colony. The admission of notaries in the Commonwealth

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

was governed specifically by the Public Notaries Act 1833 (UK). The provisions of the Public Notaries Act 1801-43 requiring a notary to be a solicitor

Solicitor

did not apply overseas, nor need a notary have a practicing certificate as a solicitor, or from the Court of Faculties

Court of Faculties

Under English ecclesiastical law, the Court of Faculties is a tribunal of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and is attached to the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury....

.

The usual procedure followed is that the applicant lodges with the Court of Faculties a memorial

Memorial

A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....

counter-signed by local merchants, shipping companies, bankers and other persons of substance, which show the local need of a notary and the fitness of the applicant. They also lodge their certificate of admission as a solicitor. A fee accompanies the application. The applicant, with the support of two other notaries public, who vouch that the applicant is well skilled in the affairs of notarial concern, petitions the Master of the Faculties.

The chief consideration for the approval of an application is whether there is sufficient need in the district, regarding the convenience of bankers, ship-owners and merchants. The local society of notaries must be satisfied that a need exists for an additional notary in the area served by the applicant. Priority is given, as a matter of practice, to an applicant within the same firm, as a replacement in the case of the death of a notary, or where a practicing notary is reducing his or her workload because of age or infirmity.

The Master of the Faculties continues to appoint notaries overseas in the exercise of the general authorities granted by s 3 of the Ecclesiastical Licenses Act 1533 (Eng). In these cases he is guided by local considerations of public convenience.

Sri Lanka

Until 1973 a separate group of lawyers existed to carry out litigation known as Proctor

Proctor

Proctor, a variant of the word procurator, is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The word proctor is frequently used to describe someone who oversees an exam or dormitory.The title is used in England in three principal senses:...

s. A proctor was not a practitioner in a court of law

Court

A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...

. These were also known as Notaries. However since 1973 the legal practitioners were classed solely as Attorneys at law

Attorney at law (Sri Lanka)

Attorneys at law form a legal profession in Sri Lanka. Attorneys at law are the only individuals authorized to represent others in all courts of law and are also authorized to give advice regarding any matter of law. There were two groups of legal practitioners in Sri Lanka before 1974 as advocates...

combining the former advocate

Advocate

An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...

s and proctors. This new position of attorney at law

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

brought with it automatic appointment as a notary public when the practitioner took oaths as an attorney at law, thus becoming legally qualified for litigation.

England and Wales

After the passage of the 1533 Act, which was a direct result of the Reformation

English Reformation

The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....

in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, all notary appointments were issued directly through the Court of Faculties

Court of Faculties

Under English ecclesiastical law, the Court of Faculties is a tribunal of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and is attached to the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury....

. The Court of Faculties is attached to the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

.

In England

England

and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

there are several classes of notaries. English notaries who, like solicitors, barristers, legal executives and licensed conveyancers, are also commissioners for oaths, also acquire the same powers as solicitor

Solicitor

s and other law practitioners, with the exception of the right to represent others before the courts (unless also members of the bar or admitted as a solicitor) once they are licensed or commissioned notaries. In practice almost all English notaries, and all Scottish ones, are also solicitors, but typically do not perform such services.

Commissioners of oaths are able to undertake the bulk of routine domestic attestation work within the UK, and many documents, including signatures for normal property transactions, do not need professional attestation of signature at all, a lay witness being sufficient.

In practice the need for notaries in purely English legal matters is very small; for example they are not involved in normal property transactions. Since a great many solicitor

Solicitor

s also perform the function of commissioners for oaths and can witness routine declarations etc. (all are qualified to do so, but not all offer the service), most work performed by notaries relates to international matters in some way, and documents needing to be used abroad, and many of the small number of English notaries have strong foreign language skills and often a foreign legal qualification. The Notaries Society gives the number of notaries in England and Wales as "about 1000," all but 70 of whom are solicitors.

There are also Scrivener notaries, who get their name from the Scriveners' Company

Worshipful Company of Scriveners

The Worshipful Company of Scriveners of the City of London is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It is also known as the Mysterie of Writers of the Court Letter. The Company had been responsible for setting qualifications and regulations for scrivener notaries since its foundation...

; until 1999, when they lost this monopoly, they were the only notaries permitted to practise in the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

. They used not to have to first qualify as solicitors, but they had knowledge of foreign laws and languages.

Currently to qualify as a Notary Public in England and Wales it is necessary to have earned a law degree or qualified as a solicitor or barrister in the past five years, and then to take a two-year distance-learning course styled the Postgraduate Diploma in Notarial Practice. At the same time, any applicant must also gain practical experience. The few who go on to become Scrivener Notaries require further study of two foreign languages and foreign law and a two-year mentorship under an active Scrivener notary.

The other notaries in England are either ecclesiastical notaries whose functions are limited to the affairs of the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

or other qualified persons who are not trained as solicitors or barrister

Barrister

s but satisfy the Master of the Faculties

Master of the Faculties

of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

that they possess an adequate understanding of the law. Both the latter two categories are required to pass examinations set by the Master of Faculties.

The regulation of notaries was modernized in the 1990s as a result of section 57 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990

Courts and Legal Services Act 1990

The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the legal profession and Courts of England and Wales...

.

Notarial services generally include:

attesting the signature and execution of documents
authenticating the execution of documents
authenticating the contents of documents
administration of oaths and declarations
drawing up or noting (and extending) protests of happenings to ships, crews and cargoes
presenting bills of exchange for acceptance and payment, noting and protesting bills in cases of dishonour and preparing acts of honour
attending upon the drawing up of bonds
drawing mercantile documents, deeds, sales or purchases of property, and wills in English and (via translation), in foreign languages for use in Britain, the Commonwealth and other foreign countries
providing documents to deal with the administration of the estate of people who are abroad, or owning property abroad
authenticating personal documents and information for immigration or emigration purposes, or to apply to marry, divorce, adopt children or to work abroad
verification of translations from foreign languages to English and vice versa
taking evidence in England and Wales as a Commissioner for Oaths for foreign courts
provision of Notarial copies
preparing and witnessing powers of attorney, corporate records, contracts for use in Britain or overseas
authenticating company and business documents and transactions
international domain name transfers

Scotland

Notaries public have existed in Scotland since the 13th century and developed as a distinct element of the Scottish legal profession. Those who wish to practice as a notary must petition the Court of Session

Court of Session

The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, and constitutes part of the College of Justice. It sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal....

. This petition is usually presented at the same time as a petition to practice as a solicitor, but can sometimes be earlier or later. However, to qualify, a notary must hold a current Practising Certificate from the Law Society of Scotland

Law Society of Scotland

The Law Society of Scotland is the professional governing body for Scottish solicitors.It promotes excellence among solicitors through representation, support and regulation of its members. It also promotes the interests of the public in relation to the profession...

, a new requirement from 2007, before which all Scottish solicitors were automatically notaries.

Whilst notaries in Scotland are always solicitors, the profession remains separate in that there are additional rules and regulations governing notaries and it is possible to be a solicitor, but not a notary. Since 2007 an additional Practising Certificate is required, so now most, but not all, solicitors in Scotland are notaries - a significant difference from the English profession. They are also separate from notaries in other jurisdictions of the United Kingdom.

The profession is administered by the Council of the Law Society of Scotland under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990.

In Scotland, the duties and services provided by the Notary are similar to England and Wales, although they are needed for some declarations in divorce matters for which they are not in England. Their role declined following the Law Agents (Scotland) Amendment Act 1896 which stipulated only enrolled law agents could become notaries and the Conveyancing (Scotland) Act 1924 which extended notarial execution to law agents. The primary functions of a Scottish notary are:

oaths, affidavits, and affirmations
affidavits in undefended divorces and for matrimonial homes
maritime protests
execution or certification for foreign jurisdictions, e.g., estates, court actions, powers of attorney, etc.
notarial execution for the blind or illiterate
entry of a person to overseas territories
completion of the documentation required for the registration of a company in certain foreign jurisdictions; and
drawing for repayment of Bonds of Debenture

United States

In the United States, a notary public is a person appointed by a state government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

, e.g., the governor or state secretary, or in some cases the state legislature, and whose primary role is to serve the public as an impartial witness

Witness

when important documents are signed. Since the notary is a state officer, a notary's duties may vary widely from state to state and in most cases bars a notary from acting outside his or her home state unless they also have a commission there as well.

In 32 states the main requirements are to fill out a form and pay a fee; many states have restrictions concerning notaries with criminal histories, but the requirements vary from state to state. Notaries in 18 states and the District of Columbia are required to take a course, pass an exam, or both; the education or exam requirements in Delaware and Kansas only apply to notaries who will perform electronic notarizations.

A notary is almost always permitted to notarize a document anywhere in the state where their commission is issued. Some states simply issue a commission "at large" meaning no indication is made as to from what county the person's commission was issued, but some states do require the notary include the county of issue of their commission as part of the jurat, or where seals are required, to indicate the county of issue of their commission on the seal. Merely because a state requires indicating the county where the commission was issued does not necessarily mean that the notary is restricted to notarizing documents in that county, although some states may impose this as a requirement.

Some states (Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, among others) allow a notary who is commissioned in a state bordering that state to also act as a notary in the state if the other allows the same. Thus someone who was commissioned in Montana could notarize documents in Wyoming and North Dakota, and a notary commissioned in Wyoming could notarize documents in Montana, a notary from Wyoming could not notarize documents from North Dakota (or the inverse) unless they had a commission from North Dakota or a state bordering North Dakota that also allowed North Dakota notaries to practice in that state as well.

Notaries in the United States are much less closely regulated than notaries in most other common-law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

countries, typically because U.S. notaries have little legal authority. In the United States, a lay notary may not offer legal

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

advice or prepare documents - except in Louisiana and Puerto Rico - and in most cases cannot recommend how a person should sign a document or what type of notarization is necessary. There are some exceptions; for example, Florida notaries

Notary public (Florida)

In the U.S. state of Florida, a notary public is a public officer appointed by the governor of the state to take acknowledgments, administer oaths, attest to photocopies of certain documents, solemnize marriage, protest the non-acceptance or non-payment of negotiable instruments , and perform other...

may take affidavits, draft inventories of safe deposit boxes, draft protests for payment of dishonored checks

Cheque

A cheque is a document/instrument See the negotiable cow—itself a fictional story—for discussions of cheques written on unusual surfaces. that orders a payment of money from a bank account...

and promissory notes

Promissory note

A promissory note is a negotiable instrument, wherein one party makes an unconditional promise in writing to pay a determinate sum of money to the other , either at a fixed or determinable future time or on demand of the payee, under specific terms.Referred to as a note payable in accounting, or...

, and solemnize marriages. In most states, a notary can also certify or attest a copy or facsimile.

The most common notarial acts in the United States are the taking of acknowledgements and oaths. Many professions may require a person to double as a notary public, which is why US court reporters are often notaries as this enables them to swear in witnesses (deponents

Deposition (law)

In the law of the United States, a deposition is the out-of-court oral testimony of a witness that is reduced to writing for later use in court or for discovery purposes. It is commonly used in litigation in the United States and Canada and is almost always conducted outside of court by the...

) when they are taking depositions

Deposition (law)

, and secretaries, bankers, and some lawyers are commonly notaries public. Despite their limited role, some American notaries may also perform a number of far-ranging acts not generally found anywhere else. Depending on the jurisdiction, they may: take depositions, certify any and all petitions (ME), witness third-party absentee ballots (ME), provide no-impediment marriage licenses, solemnize civil marriages (ME, FL, SC), witness the opening of a safe deposit box or safe and take an official inventory of its contents, take a renunciation of dower or inheritance (SC), and so on.

Acknowledgment

"An acknowledgment is a formal [oral] declaration before an authorized public officer. It is made by a person executing [signing] an instrument who states that it was his [or her] free act and deed." That is, the person signed it without undue influence and for the purposes detailed in it. A certificate of acknowledgment is a written statement signed (and in some jurisdictions, sealed) by the notary or other authorized official that serves to prove that the acknowledgment occurred. The form of the certificate varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but will be similar to the following:

Before me, the undersigned authority, on this ....... day of .........., personally appeared ................., to me well known to be the person who executed the foregoing instrument, and he/she acknowledged before me that he/she executed the same as his/her voluntary act and deed.

Oath, affirmation, and jurat

A jurat is the official written statement by a notary public that he or she has administered and witnessed an oath or affirmation for an oath of office

Oath of office

An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations...

, or on an affidavit - that is, that a person has sworn to or affirmed the truth of information contained in a document, under penalty of perjury, whether that document is a lengthy deposition or a simple statement on an application form. The simplest form of jurat and the oath or affirmation administered by a notary are:

Jurat: "Sworn (or affirmed) to before me this ........ day of ........, 20 ......"

Oath: "Do you solemnly swear that the contents of this affidavit subscribed by you are correct and true?"

Affirmation (for those opposed to swearing oaths): "Do you solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm that the statements made by you are true and correct?"

Venue

In the U.S., notarial acts normally include what is called a venue or caption, that is, an official listing of the place where a notarization occurred, usually in the form of the state and county and with the abbreviation "ss." (for Latin scilicet, "to wit") normally referred to as a "subscript", often in these forms:



State of .......)

                )ss:

County of.......)



State of ________

County of _______, to-wit:

The venue is usually set forth at the beginning of the instrument or at the top of the notary’s certificate. If at the head of the document, it is usually referred to as a caption. In times gone by, the notary would indicate the street address at which the ceremony was performed, and this practice, though unusual today, is occasionally encountered.

California

The California Secretary of State, Notary Public & Special Filings Section, is responsible for appointing and commissioning qualified persons as notaries public for four-year terms.

Prior to sitting for the notary exam, one must complete a mandatory six-hour course of study. This required course of study is conducted either in an online, home study, or in-person format via an approved notary education vendor. Both prospective notaries as well as current notaries seeking reappointment must undergo an "expanded" F.B.I. and California Department of Justice background check.

Various statutes, rules, and regulations govern notaries public. California law sets maximum, but not minimum, fees for services related to notarial acts (e.g., per signature: acknowledgment $10, jurat $10, certified power of attorney $10, et cetera). A finger print (typically the right thumb) may be required in the notary journal based on the transaction in question (e.g., deed, quitclaim deed, deed of trust affecting real property, power of attorney document, et cetera). Documents with blank spaces cannot be notarized (a further anti-fraud measure). California explicitly prohibits notaries public from using literal foreign language translation of their title.
The use of a notary seal is required.

Colorado

Notarial acts performed in Colorado are governed under the Notaries Public Act, 12-55-101, et seq. Pursuant to the Act, notaries are appointed by the Secretary of State for a term not to exceed four years. Notaries may apply for appointment or reappointment online at the Secretary of State's website. . A notary may apply for reappointment to the notary office 90 days before her commission expires. Beginning in early 2010, all new notaries will be required to take a training course and pass an examination to ensure minimal competence of the Notaries Public Act. A course of instruction approved by the Secretary of State may be administered by approved vendors and shall bear an emblem with a certification number assigned by the Secretary of State's office. An approved course of instruction covers relevant provisions of the Colorado Notaries Public Act, the Model Notary Act, and widely accepted best practices. In addition to courses offered by approved vendors, the Secretary of State offers free certification courses at the Secretary of State's office. To sign up for a free course, visit the notary public training page at the following link. . A third party seeking to verify the status of a Colorado notary may do so by visiting the Secretary of State's website at the following link. . Constituents seeking an apostille or certificate of magistracy are requested to complete the form found on the following page before sending in their documents or presenting at the Secretary of State's office.

Florida

Florida notaries public are appointed by the Governor to serve a four year term. New applicants and commissioned notary public must be bona fide residents of the State of Florida and first time applicants must complete a mandatory three hour education course administered by an approved educator. Florida state law also requires that a notary public post bond in the amount of $7,500.00. A bond is required in order to compensate an individual harmed as a result of a breach of duty by the notary. Applications are submitted and processed through an authorized bonding agency. Florida is one of three states (Maine and South Carolina are the others) where a notary public can solemnize the rites of matrimony (perform a marriage ceremony).

The Department of State appoints civil law notaries

Civil law notary

, also called "Florida International Notaries", who must be Florida attorneys who have practiced law for five or more years. Applicants must attend a seminar and pass an exam administered by the Department of State or any private vendor approved by the department. Such civil law notaries are appointed for life and may perform all of the acts of a notary public in addition to preparing authentic acts

Act (document)

An act is an instrument that records a fact or something that has been said, done, or agreed. Acts generally take the form of legal instruments of writing that have probative value and executory force...

Illinois

Notaries public in Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

are appointed by the Secretary of State

Secretary of State of Illinois

The Secretary of State of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 secretaries of states in the United States. The Illinois Secretary of State keeps the state records, laws, and archives, and is the state's vehicle registration and...

for a four year term. Also, residents of a state bordering Illinois (Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

) who work or have a place of business in Illinois can be appointed for a one year term. Notaries must be United States citizens (this provision is illegal; see Bernal v. Fainter
Bernal v. Fainter
Bernal v. Fainter, 467 U.S. 216 , is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Equal Protection Clause prohibited the state of Texas from barring noncitizens from applying for commission as a notary public....

) , or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence; be able to read and write the English language; be residents of (or employed within) the State of Illinois for at least 30 days; be at least 18 years old; not be convicted of a felony; and not had a notary commission revoked or suspended during the past 10 years.

An applicant for the notary public commission must also post a $5,000 bond, usually with an insurance company and pay an application fee of $10. The application is usually accompanied with an oath of office. If the Secretary of State's office approves the application, the Secretary of State then sends the commission to the clerk of the county where the applicant resides. If the applicant records the commission with the county clerk, he or she then receives the commission. Illinois law prohibits notaries from using the literal Spanish translation in their title and requires them to use a rubber stamp seal for their notarizations. The notary public can then perform his or her duties anywhere in the state, as long as the notary resides (or works or does business) in the county where he or she was appointed.

Louisiana

Louisiana notaries public are commissioned by the Governor. They are the only notaries to be appointed for life. The Louisiana notary public is a civil law notary with broad powers, as authorized by law, usually reserved for the American style combination "Barrister/Solicitor" lawyers and other legally authorized practitioners in other states. A commissioned notary in Louisiana is a civil law notary that can perform/prepare many civil law notarial acts usually associated with attorneys and other legally authorized practitioners in other states, except represent another person or entity before a court of law for a fee (unless they are also admitted to the bar). Notaries are not allowed to give "legal" advice, but they are allowed to give "notarial" advice - i.e., explain or recommend what documents are needed or required to perform a certain act - and do all things necessary or incidental to the performance of their civil law notarial duties. They can prepare any document a civil law notary can prepare (to include inventories, appraisements, partitions, wills, protests, matrimonial contracts, conveyances, and, generally, all contracts and instruments in writing) and, if ordered or requested to by a judge, prepare certain notarial legal documents, in accordance with law, to be returned and filed with that court of law.

Maine

Maine notaries public are appointed by the Secretary of State to serve a seven year term. Maine is one of three states (Florida and South Carolina are the others) where a notary public can solemnize the rites of matrimony (perform a marriage ceremony).

Maryland

Maryland notaries public are appointed by the governor on the recommendation of the secretary of state to serve a four year term. New applicants and commissioned notaries public must be bona fide residents of the State of Maryland or work in the state. An application must be approved by a state senator before it is submitted to the secretary of state. The official document of appointment is imprinted with the signatures of the governor and the secretary of state as well as the Great Seal of Maryland. Before exercising the duties of a notary public, an appointee must appear before the clerk of one of Maryland's 24 circuit courts to take an oath of office.

A bond is not required. A notary is required to keep a log of all notarial acts, indicating the name of the person, their address, what type of document is being notarized, the type of ID used to authenticate them (or that they are known personally) by the notary, and the person's signature. The notary's log is the only document a notary may certify.

Minnesota

Minnesota notaries public are commissioned by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate for a five year term. All commissions expire on January 31 of the fifth year following the year of issue. Citizens and resident aliens over the age of 18 years apply to the Secretary of State for appointment and reappointment. Residents of adjoining counties in adjoining states may also apply for a notary commission in Minnesota. Notaries public have the power to administer all oaths required or authorized to be administered in the state; take and certify all depositions to be used in any of the courts of the state; take and certify all acknowledgments of deeds, mortgages, liens, powers of attorney and other instruments in writing or electronic records; and receive, make out and record notarial protests. The Secretary of State's website (https://notary.sos.state.mn.us/) provides more information about the duties, requirements and appointments of notaries public.

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

notaries public are appointed by the Secretary of State and serve a four-year term. A Montana notary public has jurisdiction throughout the states of Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming. These states permit notaries from neighboring states to act in the state in the same manner as one from that state under reciprocity, e.g., as long as that state grants notaries from neighboring states to act in their state. [Montana Code 1-5-605]

Nevada

The Secretary of State is charged with the responsibility of appointing notaries by the provisions of Chapter 240 of the Nevada Revised Statutes. Nevada notaries public who are not also practicing attorneys are prohibited by law from using "notario", "notario publico" or any non-English term to describe their services. (2005 Changes to NRS 240)

Nevada notary duties: administer oaths or affirmations; take acknowledgments; use of subscribing witness; certify copies; and execute jurats or take a verification upon oath or affirmation.

The State of Nevada Notary Division Page provides more information about duties, requirements, appointments, and classes.

New Jersey

Notaries are commissioned by the State Treasurer for a period of five years. Notaries must also be sworn in by the clerk of the county in which he or she resides. One can become a notary in the state of New Jersey if he or she: (1) is over the age of 18; (2) is a resident of New Jersey OR is regularly employed in New Jersey and lives in an adjoining state; (3) has never been convicted of a crime

Crime

Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...

under the laws of any state or the United States, for an offense involving dishonesty

Dishonesty

Dishonesty is a word which, in common usage, may be defined as the act or to act without honesty. It is used to describe a lack of probity, cheating, lying or being deliberately deceptive or a lack in integrity, knavishness, perfidiosity, corruption or treacherousness...

, or a crime of the first or second degree, unless the person has met the requirements of the Rehabilitated Convicted Offenders Act (NJSA 2A:168-1). Notary applications must be endorsed by a state legislator.

Notaries in the state of New Jersey serve as impartial witnesses to the signing of documents, attests to the signature on the document, and may also administer oaths and affirmations. Seals are not required; many people prefer them and as a result, most notaries have seals in addition to stamps. Notaries may administer oaths and affirmations to public officials and officers of various organizations. They may also administer oaths and affirmations in order to execute jurat

Jurat

Jurat is the name given to the clause at the foot of an affidavit showing when, where, and before whom the actual oath was sworn or affirmation was made....

s for affidavits/verifications, and to swear in witnesses.

Notaries are prohibited from pre-dating actions; lending notary equipment to someone else (stamps, seals, journals, etc.); preparing legal documents or giving legal advice; appearing as a representative of another person in a legal proceeding. Notaries should also refrain from notarizing documents in which they have a personal interest.

By statute, New Jersey attorneys may administer oaths and affirmations.

New York

New York notaries are empowered to administer oaths and affirmations (including oaths of office), to take affidavits and depositions, to receive and certify acknowledgments or proof of deeds, mortgages and powers of attorney and other instruments in writing; to demand acceptance or payment of foreign and inland bills of exchange, promissory notes and obligations in writing, and to protest these (that is, certify them) for non-acceptance or non-payment. They are not empowered to marry couples, their notarization of a will is insufficient to give the will legal force, and they are strictly forbidden to certify "true copies" of documents. Every county clerk's office in New York must have a notary public available to serve the public free of charge.

Admitted attorneys are automatically eligible to be Notaries in the State of New York, but must make an application through the proper channels and pay a fee.

New York notaries initially must pass a test and then renew their status every 4 years.

Oregon

Oregon notaries public are appointed by the Governor and commissioned by the Secretary of State

Oregon Secretary of State

The Secretary of State of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in line of succession to the Governor. The duties of office are: auditor of public accounts, chief elections officer, and administrator of public...

to serve a four year term. Oregon notaries are empowered to administer oaths, jurat

Jurat

Jurat is the name given to the clause at the foot of an affidavit showing when, where, and before whom the actual oath was sworn or affirmation was made....

s and affirmations (including oaths of office), to take affidavit

Affidavit

s and depositions

Deposition (law)

, to receive and certify acknowledgments or proof of deeds, mortgages and powers of attorney and other instruments in writing; to demand acceptance or payment of foreign and inland bills of exchange, promissory notes and obligations in writing, and to protest these (that is, certify them) for non-acceptance or non-payment. They are also empowered to certify "true copies" of most documents. Every court clerk in Oregon is also empowered to act as a Notary Public, although they are not required to keep a journal. Oregon formerly required that impression seals be used, but now it is optional. The ink seal must be in black ink. Beginning in 2001, all Oregon Notaries were required to pass an open-book examination to receive their commission. Beginning in 2006, new notary applicants were also required to complete a free three-hour online or live in-person instructional seminar, however this requirement is waived for notaries who are renewing their commissions, as long as the commission is renewed before its expiration date. Oregon law specifically prohibits the use of the term "notorio publico" by a notary in advertising his or her services, but translation of the title into other languages is not restricted.

Pennsylvania

A notary in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is empowered to perform seven distinct official acts: take affidavits, verifications, acknowledgments and depositions, certify copies of documents, administer oaths and affirmations, and protest dishonored negotiable instruments. A notary is strictly prohibited from giving legal advice or drafting legal documents such as contracts, mortgages, leases, wills, powers of attorney, liens or bonds. Pennsylvania is one of the few states with a successful Electronic Notarization Initiative. For more information, visit the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website. Note that as of Jan 9, 2011 Pennsylvania is accepting new applicants for this program.

South Carolina

South Carolina notaries public are appointed by the Governor to serve a ten year term. All applicants must first have that application endorsed by a state legislator before submitting their application to the Secretary of State. South Carolina is one of three states (Florida and Maine are the others) where a notary public can solemnize the rites of matrimony (perform a marriage ceremony).

Utah

Utah notaries public are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor to serve a four year term. Utah used to require that impression seals be used, but now it is optional. The seal must be in purple ink.

Virginia

A Virginia notary must either be a resident of Virginia or work in Virginia, and is authorized to acknowledge signatures, take oaths, and certify copies of non-government documents which are not otherwise available, e.g. a notary cannot certify a copy of a birth or death certificate since a certified copy of the document can be obtained from the issuing agency. Changes to the law effective 1 July 2008 imposes certain new requirements; while seals are still not required, if they are used they must be photographically reproducible. Also, the notary's registration number must appear on any document notarized. Changes to the law effective 1 July 2008 will permit notarization of electronic signatures. This has been delayed by the Governor. His office is not appointing any electronic notaries until standards have developed for electronic notarization.

Washington

In Washington State, any resident or resident of an adjacent state employed in Washington may apply to become a notary public. Applicants must obtain a $10,000 surety bond and present proof at a Department of Licensing. A Notary Public is appointed for a term of 4 years.

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

notaries public are appointed by the Secretary of State and serve a four year term. A Wyoming notary public has jurisdiction throughout the states of Wyoming and Montana. These states permit notaries from neighboring states to act in the state in the same manner as one from that state under reciprocity, e.g. as long as that state grants notaries from neighboring states to act in their state.

Controversies

A Maryland requirement that to obtain a commission, a notary declare his belief in God, as required by the Maryland Constitution, was found by the United States Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

in Torcaso v. Watkins
Torcaso v. Watkins
Torcaso v. Watkins, was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court reaffirmed that the United States Constitution prohibits States and the Federal Government from requiring any kind of religious test for public office, in the specific case, as a notary public.-Background:In the early...

, to be unconstitutional. Historically, some states required that a notary be a citizen of the United States. However, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Bernal v. Fainter
Bernal v. Fainter
Bernal v. Fainter, 467 U.S. 216 , is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Equal Protection Clause prohibited the state of Texas from barring noncitizens from applying for commission as a notary public....

(the Fainter case), declared that to be impermissible.

In the U.S., there are reports of notaries (or people claiming to be notaries) having taken advantage of the differing roles of notaries in common law and civil law jurisdictions to engage in the unauthorized practice of law. The victims of such scams are typically illegal immigrants from civil law countries who need assistance with, for example, their immigration papers and want to avoid hiring an attorney. Confusion often results from the mistaken premise that a notary public in the United States serves the same function as a Notario Publico in Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

-speaking countries (which are civil law

Civil law (legal system)

countries, see below). Prosecutions in such cases are difficult, as the victims are often deported and thus unavailable to testify.

Military

Certain members of the United States Armed Forces are given the powers of a notary under federal law (10 U.S.C. section 1044). Some military members have authority to certify documents or administer oaths, without being given all notarial powers. In addition to the powers granted by the federal government, some states have enacted laws granting notarial powers to commissioned officers.

Civil Law jurisdictions

The role undertaken by notaries in civil law

Civil law (legal system)

countries is much greater than in common law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

countries. Notaries in the former countries frequently undertake work done in common law countries by the Titles Office and other Government agencies. The qualifications imposed by some countries is much greater. In France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

and Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, for example, a practitioner must choose to be either a solicitor or a notary.

This should be contrasted with the Spanish American notario who may be similar to an attorney at law

Lawyer

or lawyer

Lawyer

. In Mexico, notaries are specialized lawyers acting as public officers with jurisdiction over voluntary, non-contentious private law such as real estate transactions, incorporation of corporations and legal entities, wills and successions among other acts. They are appointed after a competition between various candidates for the same position. A French notaire, a German Notar and an Italian Notaio register will

Will (law)

A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...

s and other documents, and authenticates transactions of real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

.

In the few United States jurisdictions where trained notaries are allowed (such as Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

), the practice of these jurists is limited to non-judicial legal advice, property conveyencing and legal drafting.

Notable Notaries

In addition to many well-known notaries public from the world of the law, there are several well-known notaries from other arenas of achievement. Klaus Hergescheimer of Massapequa, NY has the distinction of becoming the first notary to be commissioned in all fifty states (a feat since duplicated several times by others), as well as numerous territories and trust possessions. Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

confidant Robert Abplanalp

Robert Abplanalp

Robert Henry Abplanalp was an American inventor who invented the aerosol valve, the founder of Precision Valve Corporation and a political activist....

was a notary for many years, as were Fawn Hall

Fawn Hall

Fawn Hall was a secretary to Lt. Colonel Oliver North and a notable figure in the Iran-Contra affair, helping him shred confidential documents....

, teacher and astronaut Christa McAuliffe

Christa McAuliffe

Christa McAuliffe was an American teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, and was one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster....

, and former major league baseball pitcher Joe Moeller

Joe Moeller

Joseph Douglas Moeller is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1962-1971. Moeller is the youngest starting pitcher in Los Angeles Dodgers history at 19 years, 2 months of age...

.

From the world of entertainment, actor Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci is an American actor, writer, film producer and film director. He has been nominated for several notable film awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in The Lovely Bones...

, actresses Mindy Cohn

Mindy Cohn

Mindy Heather Cohn is an American actress, comedian known for her role as Natalie Green, the smart, overweight student of Edna Garrett , on the TV show The Facts of Life, and also being the current voice for Velma Dinkley in the Scooby-Doo franchise, which she has held since 2002.She currently...

and Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...

, television host David Horowitz

David Horowitz (consumer advocate)

David Horowitz is an American consumer advocate and former reporter for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, whose Emmy-winning TV program Fight Back! would warn viewers about defective products, test advertised claims to see if they were true, and confront corporations about customer complaints...

, and radio producer Gary Dell'Abate

Gary Dell'Abate

Gary Patrick Angelo Dell'Abate , also known as "Baba Booey", is an American radio producer, known for being the executive producer of The Howard Stern Show. His autobiography, They Call Me Baba Booey, was released on November 2, 2010.-Early life and career:Dell'Abate was born in Uniondale, New...

all hold or have held notary certificates.

Upon the death of President Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding

Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...

in 1923, Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...

was sworn in as President by his father, John Calvin Coolidge, Sr.

John Calvin Coolidge, Sr.

John Calvin Coolidge, Sr. was an American politician and businessman from Vermont and the father of President Calvin Coolidge.-Political and business career:...

, a Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

notary public. However, as there was some controversy as to whether a state notary public had the authority to administer the presidential oath of office

Oath of office

, President Coolidge took the oath, again, upon returning to Washington.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Overview

History

Common law jurisdictions

Australia

Canada

Nova Scotia

British Columbia

Quebec

India

Iran

Republic of Ireland

New Zealand

Sri Lanka

England and Wales

Scotland

United States

Acknowledgment

Oath, affirmation, and jurat

Venue

California

Colorado

Florida

Illinois

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Minnesota

Montana

Nevada

New Jersey

New York

Oregon

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Utah

Virginia

Washington

Wyoming

Controversies

Military

Civil Law jurisdictions

Notable Notaries

See also

External links