Notary Public

I am often asked how the role of a Notary Public differs from that of a solicitor.  Whilst you are likely to find that your Notary Public is also a qualified solicitor, a Notary Public has these days also undertaken a further training of at least 2 years in order to be able to practise as a Notary Public.

A Notary Public is the holder of a public office.  Whilst a solicitor will owe a duty of care to his/her client, a Notary Public will owe a duty of care to the transaction as a whole.  For this reason, a Notary Public will often need to communicate with the receiving jurisdiction to ensure that the Notarial Act will satisfy the legal requirements of the country of destination

A Notary Public will largely deal with documents that are intended for use internationally and will have been trained to establish which private international law applies to any given situation.

The word and acts of a Notary Public of England and Wales carry huge weight globally and they can authenticate documents and prepare and execute documents that a solicitor is neither qualified nor permitted to deal with.  The role is steeped in history and it is the oldest branch of the legal profession – the others being solicitors and barristers.