Our services are provided in accordance with our Terms of Business, which you can access here or through the link at the bottom of each of page of our website, where you will also find our Privacy Notice.
1. Services for Individuals
What happens
When you visit one of our notaries we’ll try our best to make the experience as quick, simple and cheap as possible. We pride ourselves on being amongst the most approachable, cost-effective yet professional notaries in London, so you’ll be in safe hands!
- What you need to bring
- What happens during the meeting?
- What are ‘apostille’ and ‘legalisation’?
- Payment
What you need to bring
First of all there are a couple of things that you’ll need to bring along to the appointment. Under the rules to which all notaries are subject we must first of all confirm your identity and your address. To that end we’ll need to see some form of I.D. and a proof of your address. Ideally these would be your passport or driving licence, and a recent bank statement or utility bill.
In addition to your I.D. and proof of address you’ll also need the documents that you want us to notarise for you! If the documents have been sent to you by email it might be an idea to email them to us in advance, so we can have a look. If you only have a hard copy, that’s fine. Do please bring it with you, but don’t sign it until you’re with your notary!
What happens during the meeting?
Most meetings are fairly quick – usually no more than half an hour. Once you’re comfortable we will ask to see the document that you’re signing and your I.D. and proof of address (we’ll need to take a copy of these, but rest assured that this copy stays private and won’t be used elsewhere). Usually the notary will discuss the document briefly with you, and then ask you to sign it. If it only needs to be notarised the notary will probably be able to do this for you whilst you wait. If the document needs an ‘apostille’ or ‘legalisation’ we can arrange that for you too, but we’ll need to hang on to the document for a bit longer.
What are ‘apostille’ and ‘legalisation’?
Most of the documents that you’ll need notaries for are for use abroad, often by lawyers, courts and official registries. Quite often they will not only need you to have your documents notarised, but also have them attested by either the Foreign Office, or the embassy of the country that the documents are for, or, sometimes, even both of these steps! We have an excellent set of contacts within the various consulates in London, as well as with the Foreign Office (who supply the apostille), so we can handle this step for you or, if you have the time, advise you on how to do this yourself.
Payment
Unfortunately you will have to pay your notary, but we promise to be as straightforward, honest and cheap as possible.
We accept payment by cash, cheque and credit or debit card (except American Express and Diners).
2. Services for Businesses
What happens
When you need one of our notaries we’ll try our best to make the experience as quick, simple and cheap as possible. We pride ourselves on being amongst the most approachable, cost-effective yet professional notaries in London, so you and your business will be in safe hands!
- Do we need to meet?
- Where can we meet?
- What we need to see from you
- What happens during the meeting?
- What are ‘apostille’ and ‘legalisation’?
- Payment
Do we need to meet?
It’s often better to meet your notary if you’re able to as it allows us to go through the documents and discuss them with you, however this isn’t always necessary and, if we can, we’ll notarise your documents ‘remotely’. This is possible for certain documents, especially if we have already met you at least once. If you’re not sure do call us or send us an email and we’ll be able to advise what to do very quickly.
Where can we meet?
We can visit you at your office, or you’re very welcome to come and see one of our notaries at Bank/Monument. If a document needs to be apostilled or legalised we’ll need a bit longer, but if it’s just notarisation we can usually do the documents ‘on the spot’ for you.
What we need to see from you
There are usually two key elements that a notary has to establish when notarising a document that has been executed on behalf of a company – the identity of the signatory and his/her authority. To establish identity we will normally ask to see some sort of officially issued photographic I.D. – for example a passport or driving licence.
The forms of proof of authority are many and varied and depend upon several different factors. For example, if the company involved is English and the signatory is a director, we can usually establish their authority by checking at Companies House. If the company is incorporated abroad, but signing the document in London, or if you’re signing under a power of attorney, we may need to see additional documents – it’s best to call or email us in advance and we’ll go through it with you and find a solution; we pride ourselves on always finding the best solution for our clients!
In addition to any I.D. and authority documents we’ll also need the documents that you want us to notarise for you! If the documents have been sent to you by email it might be an idea to email them to us in advance, so we can have a look. If you only have a hard copy, that’s fine. Do please bring it with you, but don’t sign it until you’re with your notary!
What happens during the meeting?
Most meetings are fairly quick – usually no more than half an hour. Once you’re comfortable we will ask to see the document that you’re signing and your I.D. and other supporting documents, if needed (we’ll need to take a copy of these, but rest assured that this copy stays private and won’t be used elsewhere). Usually the notary will discuss the document briefly with you, and then ask you to sign it. If it only needs to be notarised the notary will probably be able to do this for you whilst you wait. If the document needs an ‘apostille’ or ‘legalisation’ we can arrange that for you too, but we’ll need to hang on to the document for a bit longer (see below).
What are ‘apostille’ and ‘legalisation’?
Most of the documents that you’ll need notaries for are for use abroad, often by lawyers, courts and official registries. Quite often they will not only need you to have your documents notarised, but also have them attested by either the Foreign Office, or the embassy of the country that the documents are for, or, sometimes, even both of these steps. We have an excellent set of contacts within the various consulates in London, as well as with the Foreign Office (who supply the apostille), so we can handle this step for you or, if you have the time, advise you on how to do this yourself.
Payment
Unfortunately you will have to pay your notary, but we promise to be as straightforward, honest and cheap as possible.
We accept payment by cash, card and credit or debit card (except American Express and Diners). We can also issue invoices to our regular business clients for payment at a convenient time (take a look at our Terms & Conditions).