Notary Public Swansea
Welcome to Notary Public Swansea
I am a Notary Public based in Swansea. I offer Notarisation to clients in the South West Wales region and can arrange Apostilles through the Foreign & Commonwealth office.
Visit the contact page to arrange an appointment or obtain a quote or click on a link below for more information.
- What services does a Notary Public provide?
- Notary services for businesses
- Notary services for individuals
- Documents in a foreign language
- What is Legalisation or Apostille?
- Independence and Rules
- Public Records kept by a Notary
- Conflicts of Interest
- What identification does a Notary Public require?
- What does it cost?
- Data Protection Privacy Notice
What services does a Notary Public provide?
A Notary, or Notary Public, can authenticate or legalise any document. A Notary can also arrange legalisation or an apostille, if needed. You will normally require the services of a Notary Public when you have documents which are needed to be used abroad. The Notary's signature and seal will verify to the authorities in that country that the relevant checks have been carried out.
The need for a Notary public is dictated by the requirements of the country where the document is to be used. For example, if you wish to buy a property abroad, it is often necessary to give your overseas lawyer power to deal with the purchase. This can be done by means of a power of attorney, which is signed by you in front of a Notary. The Notary public will confirm your name and identity and sign the document and seal it with his official seal.
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Notary services for Businesses
A Notary Public can provide the following services for businesses:
- assignments or registration of trade marks
- apostille and legalisation service
- witnessing a power of attorney
- notarisation of company documents
- affidavits, statutory declarations, and sworn statements
- share issues certified by a Notary public
- property transactions, transfers, purchases, sales
- any other documents for abroad, which require a Notary public certificate
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Notary services for Individuals
A Notary Public can provide the following services for individuals:
- copies of passports for example to open a bank account
- witnessing a power of attorney
- certified copies of documents such as exam certificates
- transfers of land, houses, shares
- lost passports, share certificates or other documents
- statutory declarations to be made before a Notary public
- declarations of single status when getting married
- oaths
- permission to let one parent travel with children
- apostille and legalisations at consulates
- any other documents for abroad, which require a Notary public certificate
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Documents in a foreign language
If a document requiring notarisation is in a foreign language it may be necessary for the document to be translated by an official translator who will then have to sign a statutory declaration certifying that it is a true translation.
In some cases the Notary may be able to watch the signing of a foreign document and then prepare a covering certificate to which he will fix his seal of office and signature to confirm that he has witnessed the signing and checked identity. The Notary must be completely satisfied that the person signing is fully conversant with the language of the document and has been properly advised on its contents.
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What is Legalisation or Apostille?
Many countries also require notarised documents to be legalised. Legalisation is a double check to make sure that the Notary's signature is genuine and recognised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Documents may in addition have to be legalised by foreign embassies as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The requirement for this will depend on the foreign country involved. Once the authenticity of the Notary's signature is confirmed a certificate is attached, called an "Apostille".
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Independence and Rules
A Notary is an independent officer and must not do anything to compromise this. Notaries should not act in matters where they have a personal interest, and are subject to professional rules and standards to ensure the protection of their clients. They are also bound to follow the rules on the prevention of money laundering. Notaries must be insured against negligence and dishonesty.
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Public Records kept by a Notary
A Notary will keep a register of all the official documents that he makes and this serves as a permanent public record. Notaries must make these available to all those who have a proper right to see them including their client and any other parties involved in such documents.
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Conflicts of Interest
A Notary has to act independently and impartially. A Notary may act for both parties to a contract, but has to identify potential conflicts of interest if they exist and try to resolve them if possible.
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What identification does a Notary Public require?
Following the implementation of the Money Laundering Regulations, notaries are now obliged to keep sufficient evidence on their files of the identity and the address of all their clients before they undertake any work.
Each person whose signature they are to certify must provide one of the following original identification documents at the time of the appointment.
- Passport
- Driving licence (with photo card)
- National identity card (EEA state members)
- An armed forces pass (with photo and signature)
- Firearms licence (with photo and signature)
- Other government issue ID (with photo and signature)
In addition, notaries require proof of address, which can be one of the following original documents:
- Bank statement or letter from bank
- Utility bill or council tax bill (not mobile phone bill)
- Tenancy agreement or Housing Association rent card
- Inland revenue tax demand or self assessment statement
When a Notary public is acting for a corporate client, evidence of the status and authority of the person acting on behalf of the company or entity is required. This may require one or more of the following documents to be produced:
- Extract from the company register
- Certificate of incorporation
- Latest report and audited accounts
- Certified copy of partnership agreement
- Evidence of being regulated by a regulatory body such as the Law Society or FSA.
In addition to the above, each individual signatory will need to produce the individual identification documents mentioned above.
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What does it cost?
An early indication of the costs can usually be given in advance but so that we can establish the charges please tell us the following:
- What service you need - witnessing signatures, certifying copy documents, obtaining apostille etc
- The type of documents concerned - for instance is it a Power of Attorney that you need witnessing
- Who is signing or presenting the documents and how many parties
- Are the documents personal documents or for a Company?
- How many documents are there?
- Which country they are to go to?
Please visit the contact us page to obtain a quotation.
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