We can arrange to have documents notarised using our preferred partners but we can not notarise documents ourselves.
The Apostilles Group is a service aggregator. We exist in order that you can come to one company and have all your legalisation, attestation, translation and verification requests completed and shipped to you in a single transaction. To this end, we liaise with Notary Publics to have some documents notarised on your behalf but there are some documents which require the presence of the individual in order that they can be notarised. In these cases, we will always point you in the direction of either;
One of our partners
Simon Vargas-Colwill - MSC Notaries
David Searle - Plymouth Notary
The Notaries Society website (which has a really good search page)
If you do have to visit a Notary Public personally, they will also be able to provide you with legalisation services. If you need to keep it all under one roof, it might be worth sticking with them throughout the process. However, they can be expensive and you would be well within your rights to not use them for the legalisation process and come back to us to complete this work.
What is a Notary Public?
According to the Notaries Society website...
A Notary is a qualified lawyer/solicitor - a member of the third and oldest branch of the legal profession in England and Wales. Notaries are appointed by the Court of Faculties of the Archbishop of Canterbury and are subject to regulation by the Master of the Faculties. The rules which affect Notaries are very similar to the rules which affect Solicitors. They must be fully insured and maintain fidelity cover for the protection of their clients and the public. They must keep clients' money separately from their own and comply with stringent practice rules and rules relating to conduct and discipline. Notaries have to renew their practising certificates every year and can only do so if they have complied with the rules.
Notaries are primarily concerned with the authentication and certification of signatures, authority and capacity relating to documents for use abroad. They are also authorised to conduct general legal practice (excluding the conduct of court proceedings) such as conveyancing and probate. They may exercise the powers of a Commissioner for Oaths. The majority of Notaries Public also practise as solicitors but the Scrivener Notaries do not, nor do some 150 of the general notaries.