Experienced Notary Terms of Business

1. Why a notary? It is almost always the case that you have been asked to see a notary because you have a document that needs to be used abroad. Seeing a notary is never a mere rubber-stamping exercise. The international duty of a Notary involves a high standard of care.  This is not only towards the client but also to anyone who may rely on the document and to Governments or officials of other countries.  These people are entitled to assume that a Notary will ensure full compliance with the relevant requirements both here and abroad, and to rely on the Notary’s register and records. Great care is essential at every stage to minimise the risks of errors, omissions, alterations, fraud, forgery, money laundering, the use of false identity, and so on.

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I offer appointments during business hours and occasionally outside of business hours in exceptional circumstances. I am also prepared to make home visits or visit corporate clients at their place of business. If the notarial appointments take place outside of my office I will make an additional charge to cover travelling time and expenses.  Occasionally I may not be able to see you within the timeframe you require, or I may decide that I am not able to act for you in which case I will advise you that that is the case and will provide you with the necessary information to locate an alternative notary.

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2. Signatures: The Notary should normally witness your signature. Please do not sign the document in advance of your appointment with me.

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3. Papers to be sent to me in advance: It will save time, expense, and mistakes if, as long before the appointment as possible, you can let me have the originals or photocopies of:

• The documents to be notarised;

• Any letter or other form of instruction which you have received about what has to be done with the documents;

• Your evidence of identification.

 

4. Identification: I will need you to produce by way of formal identification the original of (in preferred order):

• Your current passport (or, if not available);

• A current new driving licence (with photo) or national identity card

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If neither of the above are available, at least two of the following

• A current government or police issue certificate bearing a photo or other formal means of identification;

• A utility bill, credit card, or bank statement showing your current address which should not be more than 3 months old, or council tax bill;

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You must also bring any other means of ID which may be referred to in the papers sent to you as being required such as a foreign Identity Card. I may also ask to see further evidence of identity such as marriage certificates etc and will advise you of this if necessary.

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5. Proof of names: In a case where the name on the document is different from the name you are currently using, or there has been a variation in the form of spelling of the name over the years, please provide me as appropriate with Certificates of Birth, Marriage or Divorce Decree of Change of Name Deed showing all the different names that you use.  If there has been a change of name, then I will need to see a copy of the Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration which dealt with it.

 

6. ​Advice on the document: If you bring a document to me for authorisation as a Notary, I will advise you as to the formalities required for completing it. However, I will not be attempting to advise you about the transaction itself.

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7. Written Translations: It is essential that you understand what you are signing.

• If the document is in a foreign language which you do not understand sufficiently, I may have to insist that a translation be obtained. If I arrange for a translation, a further fee will be payable and I will provide you with details of this.

• If you arrange for a professional translation, the translator should add his/her name, address, relevant qualification, and a certificate stating: “Document X is a true and complete translation of document Y, to which this translation is attached.”

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8. Oral Interpreter: If you and I cannot understand each other because of a language difficulty, we may have to make arrangements for a competent interpreter to be available at our interview and this may involve a further fee.

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9. Companies, Partnerships etc: If a document is to be signed by you on behalf of a company, a partnership, a charity, club or other incorporated body, there are further requirements on which I may have to insist.  Please be prepared for these and telephone with any point of difficulty before attending on the appointment.

In each case:

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1. Evidence of identity of the authorised signatory (as listed above).

2. A copy of the current letterhead (showing the registered office if it is a company).

3. A Letter of Authority, Minute, Resolution or Power of Attorney, authorising you to sign the document.

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Additionally, companies: Certificate of Incorporation and of any Change of Name, A copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association Details of Directors and Secretaries.  In all instances I will be carrying out various company searches, which may have an effect on the level of fees charged.

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Additionally, partnerships, clubs, etc: A Partnership Agreement; or relevant Trust Deed; or Charter; or Constitution/Rules.

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10. Typical Stages of a notarial transaction: Each notarial matter is different and the requirements will vary according to whether the client is a private individual or a company. Some of the typical key stages are likely to include:

• Receiving and reviewing the documents to be notarised together with any instructions you may have received

• Liaising with your legal advisors or other bodies to obtain the necessary documentation to deal with the document (e.g. information from Companies House or foreign registries, powers of attorney etc)

• Checking the identity, capacity and authority of the person who is to sign the document

• If a document is to be certified, checking with the issuing authorities that the document/award is genuine. In the case of academic awards, this would entail checking with the appropriate academic institutions.

• Meeting with the signatory to verify their identity and to ascertain that they understand what they are signing and that they are doing so of their own free will and ensuring that the document is executed correctly

• Drafting and affixing or endorsing a notarial certificate to the document

• Arranging for the legalisation of the document as appropriate

• Arranging for the storage of copies of all notarised documents in accordance with the requirements of the Notarial Practice Rules 2019

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11. Notarial Records and Data Protection: When I carry out my work for you, I am required to make an entry in a formal register, which is kept by me as a permanent record.  I will retain a copy of the notarised documentation with that record. My practice is a registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Personal data received from clients is held securely and not capable of being accessed externally. Data collected as part of notarial records is used solely for the purposes of meeting our professional legal responsibilities as Notaries Public. For full details of my PRIVACY POLICY and data processing terms please see my website: www.midlandsnotaryservices.co.uk

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12. Insurance and exclusion of liability: In the interests of my clients, I maintain professional indemnity insurance at a level of at least £1,000,000.00 per claim. Reasonable care and skills will be applied in undertaking notarial work. Liability for consequential, special or indirect damages, loss of profits and liquidated damages is excluded.

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13. Use of Technology, Devices and Artificial Intelligence

1. To the extent that I use any automated decision-making technology, including artificial intelligence, in the course of my services, I do not rely upon the same without human intervention.

2. Before using any new technology including artificial intelligence, I carry out an appropriate risk assessment to ensure that your rights are not adversely affected by the same.

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14. Termination/ Your Right to Cancel: You may terminate your instructions to me at any time by giving me reasonable written notice. All fees and disbursements incurred up to the date of termination will be charged.

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Consumer Cooling Off Cancellation Period –Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (“CCR”):

Where the CCR apply (typically where you are an individual consumer and my contract with you was concluded either at or following a meeting with you or by a form of distance communication) you have a cancellation period of 14 days after the date you sign my retainer letter or the date on which you continue to give me instructions, whichever is earlier.

You can cancel your contract within the cancellation period by giving me a clear statement and I will reimburse all payments received from you by the same method that you used, at no cost to you, without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which you inform me of the cancellation.

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If you ask us to begin work during the cancellation period, you can still cancel but you must pay me an amount in proportion to the work which I have performed and this proportion will not be reimbursed to you.

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15. Termination by me: I reserve the right to terminate my engagement by you if I have good reason to do so, for example, if you do not pay a bill or comply with my request for a payment on account or you fail to give me the co-operation which I am reasonably entitled to expect.

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16. Data Protection Privacy Notice 

1. The Notary Business (“Business”, “we”, “us”, “our”). The Business is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”). 

2.  If you have any questions about this privacy notice (“Notice”), please contact us by email. 

3. The Business will process your and third parties’ personal data, as further explained below, in the course of providing you with notarial and associated services including access to our website and online features (“Services”). 

4. We will let you know, by posting on our website or otherwise, if we make any changes to this Notice from time to time. Your continued use of the Services after notifying such changes will amount to your acknowledgement of the amended Notice. 

PLEASE NOTE: You shall and you hereby agree to indemnify the Business and its affiliates and their officers, employees, agents and subcontractors (each an “Indemnified Party”) from and against any claims, losses, demands, actions, liabilities, fines, penalties, reasonable expenses, damages and settlement amounts (including reasonable legal fees and costs) incurred by any Indemnified Party arising out of or in connection with any breach by you of the warranties included in paragraph 9. 

What is Personal Data? 

1. “Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person, known as ‘data subject’, who can be identified directly or indirectly; it may include name, address, email address, phone number, IP address, location data, cookies and similar information. It may also include “special categories of personal data” such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a data subject, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation. 

2.  The Business may process personal data and special categories of personal data which you provide in connection with the Services about yourself and other data subjects, e.g. individuals whose details are included in any materials provided by you to the Business. The Business may obtain information about you and other data subjects from third party service providers, such as due diligence platforms. If you use our online Services, the Business may collect information about your devices including clickstream data. 

3. The provision of certain personal data is mandatory in order for the Business to comply with mandatory client due diligence requirements and consequently to provide the Services. You warrant on a continuous basis that such personal data is accurate, complete and up to date. Failure to comply may result in documents being rejected by the relevant certification authorities, held invalid in the destination country or other difficulty to successfully completing the Services. 

4. In relation to personal data of data subjects you warrant to the Business on a continuous basis that: 

• where applicable, you are authorised to share such personal data with the Business in connection with the Services and that wherever another data subject is referred to, you have obtained the explicit and demonstrable consent from all relevant data subjects to the inclusion and use of any personal data concerning them;

• to the extent this is required in connection with the Service, such personal data is accurate, complete and up to date; and

• either you provide your explicit consent and warrant that each data subject has provided explicit consent for the transfer of personal data to foreign organisations in connection with the Services as set out at paragraph 18, or that an alternative legal gateway for such transfer (such as transfer necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract concluded in the interest of the data subject) has been satisfied. 

How do we use your personal data? 

The Business will only process personal data, in accordance with applicable law, for the following purposes: 

• responding to your queries, requests and other communications;

• providing the Services, including, where applicable, procuring acts from foreign organisations;

• enabling suppliers and service providers to carry out certain functions on behalf of the Business in order to provide the Services, including webhosting, data storage, identity verification, technical, logistical, courier or other functions, as applicable;

• allowing you to use features on our website, when you choose to do so;

• sending you personalised marketing communications requested by you, as well as serving personalised advertising to your devices, based on your interests in accordance with our Cookie Statement below. You have the right to disable cookies as set out above or to unsubscribe by clicking here;

• ensuring the security of the Business and preventing or detecting fraud;

• administering our Business, including complaints resolution, troubleshooting of our website, data analysis, testing of new features, research, statistical and survey purposes;

• developing and improving our Services;

• complying with applicable law, including Notary Practice Rules, guidelines and regulations or in response to a lawful request from a court or regulatory body. 

The legal basis for our processing of personal data for the purposes described above will typically include:  

• processing necessary to fulfil a contract that we have in place with you or other data subjects, such as processing for the purposes set out in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d);

• your consent, such as processing for the purposes set out in paragraph (e);

• processing necessary for our or a third party’s legitimate interests, such as processing for the purposes set out in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (f), (g) and (h), which is carried out on the basis of the legitimate interests of the Business to ensure that Services are properly provided, the security of the Business and its clients and the proper administration of the Business; and

• processing necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, such as processing for the purposes set out in paragraph (i). 

Cookie statement 

What exactly are cookies? 

1. In order to collect the information including personal data as described in this Notice, we may use cookies and similar technology on our website. A cookie is a small piece of information which is sent to your browser and stored on your computer’s hard drive, mobile phone or other device. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie. This enables you to decide if you want to accept it or not. However, some of the Services offered through our website may not function properly if your cookies are disabled. 

2.  Cookies can be first party or third party cookies. 

• First party cookies – cookies that the website you are visiting places on your device.

• Third party cookies – cookies placed on your device through the website but by third parties, such as, Google. 

The cookies placed on our website 

1. We use the following cookies on our website: 

• Strictly necessary cookies. These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around our website and use its features. Without these cookies, Services you have asked for cannot be provided. They are deleted when you close the browser. These are first party cookies.

• Performance cookies. These cookies collect information in an anonymous form about how visitors use our website. They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around the website when they are using it and the approximate regions that they are visiting from. These are first party cookies.

• Functionality cookies. These cookies allow our website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in, if applicable) and provide enhanced, more personal features. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, fonts and other parts of web pages that you can customise. The information these cookies collect may be anonymised and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites. These are first party cookies.

• Targeting or advertising cookies. These cookies allow us and our advertisers to deliver information more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as to help measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.  They remember that you have visited our website and may help us in compiling your profile. These are persistent cookies which will be kept on your device until their expiration or earlier manual deletion.

• Social Media cookies. These cookies allow you to connect with social media networks such as LinkedIn and twitter. These are persistent cookies which will be kept on your device until their expiration or earlier manual deletion.

• 2. We may combine information from these types of cookies and technologies with information about you from other sources. 

Cookie consent and opting out 

1. We assume that you are happy for us to place cookies on your device. Most Internet browsers automatically accept cookies. However, if you, or another user of your device, wish to withdraw your consent at any time, you have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying your browser setting. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of our website, our platforms and Services.

2.  When you arrive on our website a pop-up message will appear asking for your consent to place advertising cookies on your device.  In order to provide your consent, please click ‘I understand’. Once your consent has been provided, this message will not appear again when you revisit.  If you, or another user of your device, wish to withdraw your consent at any time, you can do so by altering your browser settings otherwise we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies from our website. For more information please visit allaboutcookies.org and http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/. 

Disclosure of personal data 

1. There are circumstances where the Business may wish to disclose or is compelled to disclose your personal data to third parties. These scenarios include disclosure to: 

• our subsidiaries or associated offices;

• our suppliers and service providers to facilitate the provision of the Services, including couriers, translators, IT consultants and legalisation and other handling agents, webhosting providers, identity verification partners (in order to verify your identity against public databases), consultants, for example, in order to protect the security or integrity of our business, including our databases and systems and for business continuity reasons;

• public authorities to carry out acts which are necessary in connection with the Services, such as the Foreign Office;

• foreign organisations to carry out acts which are necessary in connection with the Services, such as Embassies, Consulates and High Commissions;

• professional organisations exercising certain public functions in relation to the notaries profession, such as Chambers of Commerce;

• subject to your consent, our advertising and marketing partners who enable us, for example, to deliver personalised ads to your devices or who may contact you by post, email, telephone, SMS or by other means;

• successor or partner legal entities, on a temporary or permanent basis, for the purposes of a joint venture, collaboration, financing, sale, merger, reorganisation, change of legal form, dissolution or similar event relating to a Business. In the case of a merger or sale, your personal data will be permanently transferred to a successor company;

• public authorities where we are required by law to do so; and

• any other third party where you have provided your consent.

International Data Transfers

We may disclose or transfer your personal data to a third party in countries outside the United Kingdom for further processing in accordance with the purposes for which your personal data were originally collected or for purposes to which you have consented. In these circumstances we will ensure that your rights are adequately protected by technical and contractual means, in particular that appropriate transfer mechanisms, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, are in place to ensure an adequate level of data protection, where applicable. 

Retention of personal data 

1. Your personal data will be retained for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes listed above or as required by the law. For example, the Notaries Practice Rules require that that notarial acts in the public form shall be preserved permanently. Records of acts not in public form shall be preserved for a minimum period of 12 years. Please contact us for further details of applicable retention periods. Personal data may for reasons of security and convenience be stored on remote data facilities but in an encrypted form. 

2. We may keep an anonymized form of your personal data, which will no longer refer to you, for statistical purposes without time limits, to the extent that we have a legitimate and lawful interest in doing so. 

Security of personal data 

1. The Business will implement technical and organisational security measures in order to prevent unauthorised access to your personal data. 

2. However, please be aware that the transmission of information via the internet is never completely secure. Whilst we can do our best to keep our own systems secure, we do not have full control over all processes involved in, for example, your use of our website or sending confidential materials to us via email, and we cannot therefore guarantee the security of your information transmitted to us on the web. 

Data subject rights 

Data subjects have numerous rights in relation to their personal data. For further information about your data protection rights please visit the ICO website. 

• Right to make a subject access request (SAR). Data subjects may request in writing copies of their personal data. However, compliance with such requests is subject to certain limitations and exemptions and the rights of other data subjects. Each request should make clear that a SAR is being made. You may also be required to submit a proof of your identity and payment, where applicable.

• Right to rectification. Data subjects may request that we rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

• Right to withdraw consent. Data subjects may at any time withdraw their consent to the processing of their personal data carried out by the Business on the basis of previous consent. Such withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on previous consent.

• Right to object to processing, including automated processing and profiling. The Business does not make automated decisions. Profiling may be carried out for Business administration purposes, such as monitoring trends in user visits of our website, and in order to deliver targeted ads. The Business may use third party due diligence platforms which provide recommendations about data subjects by automated means. We will comply with any data subject’s objection to processing unless we have a compelling overriding legitimate ground for the processing, the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or we have another lawful reason to refuse such request. We will comply with each valid opt-out request in relation to marketing communications.

• Right to erasure. Data subjects may request that we erase their personal data. We will comply, unless there is a lawful reason for not doing so. For example, there may be an overriding legitimate ground for keeping the personal data, such as, our archiving obligations that we have to comply with.

• Data subjects may request that we restrict our processing of their personal data in various circumstances. We will comply, unless there is a lawful reason for not doing so, such as, a legal obligation to continue processing your personal data in a certain way.

• Right to data portability. In certain circumstances, data subjects may request the controller to provide a copy of their personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and have it transferred to another provider of the same or similar services. To the extent such right applies to the Services, we will comply with such transfer request. Please note that a transfer to another provider does not imply erasure of the data subject’s personal data which may still be required for legitimate and lawful purposes.

• Right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority. We suggest that data subjects contact us about any questions or complaints in relation to how we process personal data. However, each data subject has the right to contact the relevant supervisory authority directly. 

17. Complaints: My notarial practice is regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury:

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The Faculty Office
1, The Sanctuary
Westminster
London 

SW1P 3JT

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Telephone: 020 7222 5381                

Email: Faculty.office@1thesanctuary.com
Website: www.facultyoffice.org.uk

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If you are dissatisfied about the service you have received please do not hesitate to contact me.

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If we are unable to resolve the matter you may then complain to the Notaries Society of which I am a member, who have a Complaints Procedure which is approved by the Faculty Office.  This procedure is free to use and is designed to provide a quick resolution to any dispute.

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In that case please write (but do not enclose any original documents) with full details of your complaint to :

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The Secretary of The Notaries Society

P O Box 1023

Ipswich IP1 9XB

Email: secretary@thenotariessociety.org.uk

 

If you have any difficulty in making a complaint in writing please do not hesitate to call the Notaries Society/the Faculty Office for assistance.

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Finally, even if you have your complaint considered under the Notaries Society Approved Complaints Procedure, you may at the end of that procedure, or after a period of 8 weeks from the date you first notified me that you were dissatisfied, make your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. If you are not happy with the result :

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Legal Ombudsman
P O Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ

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Tel: 0300 555 0333
Email:  enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Website:  www.legalombudsman.org.uk

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 If you decide to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, you must refer your matter to the Legal Ombudsman within one year from the act/omission or within one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

 

I hope that these notes are of help to you in understanding what is expected of each of us.