Notarial services, also known as notarial acts, are legally significant actions carried out by a notary.
A notary is a qualified professional with legal training, authorised by the state to verify the validity of documents in compliance with the laws of a specific country. The work of notaries helps to prevent legal disputes and ensures the legality of legal transactions.
Since notarial acts are performed on behalf of the state, only individuals with the appropriate licence are authorised to provide these services. A notary bears legal and financial liability for their actions and must maintain impartiality and objectivity. Furthermore, a notary must uphold confidentiality regarding the services provided and any information received from clients.
Both private and state notaries may provide notarial services. Documents certified by either category of notary hold equal legal validity. In addition to licensed notaries, authorised representatives of consular and diplomatic institutions abroad are also entitled to provide notarial services. In certain cases, official representatives of local authorities may be granted similar powers.
From the history of notarial services: Scribes and officials authorised to validate legal evidence can be considered the predecessors of notaries — such roles existed as early as Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. However, the closest equivalents to modern notaries were the Roman tabelliones, who prepared legal documents for a fee and operated under state supervision.
List of notarial services
The scope and range of services provided by notaries are established by law and may differ from country to country. Standard actions performed by private or public notaries include:
- сertifying the legality of contracts and transactions (including real estate sales, donation agreements, loans, property division, etc.);
- certifying a range of powers of attorney;
- confirming the authenticity of copies of documents, as well as partial extracts from them;
- verifying the authenticity of signatures;
- certifying a prepared will and its proclamation;
- taking measures to preserve property bequeathed as an inheritance;
- confirming the fact that a person is alive and/or residing in a specified location;
- providing extracts from government registers;
- accepting documentation for safekeeping and much more.
In many countries, legal consulting is also considered one of the notarial services.
Notarial services are provided on a fee basis, and their cost may be set by the notary themselves or by the government, depending on the complexity of the procedure and the time required.
