A Notary Public must certify only those things which he has been able to personally verify. This requires a level of understanding and knowledge of the contents of the document being certifed which goes well beyond most other professional certified copies.  The Notary’s Notarial certificate must unequivocally confirm those things and only those things. A Notary may be deemed to have verified the original even if he has not done so. If therefore a Notary Public is unable to verify the original document the Notary will be required to qualify the notarial certificate with words such as ‘This Certificate does not certify the authenticity of the document produced.’

Whilst a Notary Public can produce a statement on this basis it is unlikely to be accepted by the receiving authority regardless of whether it has a legalisation certificate (Apostille) attached or not. The better position to adopt is to allow the Notary Public sufficient time and resource to verify the original document being certified so the Notary Public certification can be Sealed and Stamped without a restriction on the verification.

At M D Pryke Notary Public we advise all notary client to email copies of the documents to our notaries offices in advance of the meeting. This allows our Notary Public to verify information, prepare documentation and provide a free fixed fee quote well in advance of the meeting. For further information please get in touch matthew@mdpryke-notary.com.