Notary Public in Lewisham

If you need notary services in London in the region of Lewisham, you can rely on our notary public. Our notary has a main responsibility of authenticating various legal documents or being a witness when one needs to sign a document in front of a specialist, as requested by the applicable legislation. Our notary public in Lewisham can also handle the legalization of documents and can provide apostilles as well. The apostille is generally required when a person from the UK needs to present specific documents to the authorities of other countries, as long as the respective countries are part of the Hague Convention, which has ratified the formal usage of the apostille.

General notary services in London

Our notary public in Lewisham, which is a region located in the southern part of London, can offer multiple services to clients who can be natural persons or legal entities. The notarization, legalization, or certification of documents is available for both entities, but differences will appear, of course, when we refer to the types of documents generally applicable to each party.

We also mention that our notary in London is able to help all our clients with certified translations of various documents, such as contracts (commercial contracts, contracts for the sale of a property), agreements, and any other document that might require an official translation in a foreign country.

This service can be requested at our notary public in Lewisham, but you should know that the translation of the document will always be handled by a person who has the qualification of a certified translator in the respective language. In relation to any public institution, one will generally need to present a certified copy of an identity document, and this can apply to both individuals and persons representing legal entities. Our notary can easily help in this procedure, which generally represents a simple task.

You can also rely on our team if you need to sign a power of attorney; this document can be used by persons who receive the right to represent other persons for a given legal situation or for multiple situations, or it can be required for various legal matters concerning corporate entities. If you need to sign this document, please contact our notary in London for assistance.

How can our notary public in Lewisham assist companies?

Notary services in London are created to cater to both local and foreign companies. Our team can help any investor with the steps that he or she must take when opening a company in the UK, but we can also provide our services to foreign companies expanding in Lewisham.

Some of the ways in which our notary public in Lewisham can assist businesses refer to the following: the notarization of statutory corporate documents, the execution of a power of attorney for a company representative, signing sworn statements, the certification of identity, documents of various company representatives, such as the shareholders, the directors, company secretary, notarizing documents necessary for opening a corporate bank account and others.

What are the VAT regulations applicable to notary services in London?

Given the fact that a notary public in Lewisham represents an independent, private activity, developed for the purpose of obtaining a financial gain, the income of such entities is charged with various taxes, prescribed by the national law. A notary public can operate as a corporate entity (such as a limited liability company), as a partnership, or as a sole trader, depending on the wishes of the person who will provide notary services in London.

One of the taxes prescribed by the tax law in the UK is the value-added tax (VAT), a type of tax that is applied to almost all the products and services that are sold on the local market. However, the manner in which this tax is charged on notarial services can vary based on multiple factors, and some of the basic information with regard to the taxation of notaries is presented below:

• Section 94(4) of the Legal Aid Committees stipulates that its members, which also include notaries, can charge taxes on their legal services;
• the Public Notaries Act 1801 stipulates the manner in which a notary can charge fees;
• the taxation of legal services in the UK can be traced back to 1533, under the regulations of the Ecclesiastical Licenses Act;
• the standard VAT in the UK is charged at a rate of 20% from the value of the service/product;
• reduced rates of 5% and 0% apply as well, but only for a limited category of goods and services.

Thus, a notary public in Lewisham can charge the VAT based on the legal entity under which the person develops his or her activity.

Documents that need to be notarized 

To stand in a legal capacity, some documents need notarization; otherwise, they would have no authoritative status. The reason behind notarization is to protect people from any kind of fraud. A notary public must ensure that the person who is signing the document is the same person named on the document and he/she is signing with his/her free will. Notaries follow strict rules and regulations; if any document does not meet their criteria, it will not be notarized. Such rules and regulations ensure the credibility and safety of the public by protecting people from any fraud or misrepresentation. The documents that are usually notarized by the notary public are divided into three categories: business documents, financial documents, and legal documents.

Notarization of business documents

Business documents are files that usually provide details about transactions. These documents may come in written, printed, or in the form of electronic form. Not all, but some of the business documents must be notarized by a notary public. The documents that fall under business capacity and should be notarized are as follows:

• commercial lease,
• article of incorporation,
• construction and loan agreements,
• employment contracts,
• memorandum of understanding documents,
• vendor contracts.

 Notarization of financial documents

Financial documents are also called financial statements, and they are used for reporting financial information. Financial institutions like banks, title companies, and investment firms require notarization for several types of processes and documents. Some of the examples of financial documents include:

• financial statements,
• property deeds,
• loan paperwork,
• some kinds of credit documents,
• mortgage closing papers.

Notarization of legal documents

Generally, a legal document is a kind of contract in which two or more parties enter into a contract, and it is confirmed by signatures. Most frequently notarized legal documents are those that deal with the responsibilities and lawful ownership, for instance:

• agreement of guardianship and custody,
• will,
• power of attorney,
• executorship,
• court document,
• advanced directive,
• trusts.

Our notary public in Lewisham can assist you with the notarization of all concerned documents.

Understanding the types of notaries

Usually, the signers simply ask a notary public to notarize a document unknowingly the kind of that notary. The paperwork may require these:

• Acknowledgement: An acknowledgement is required for valuable assets like mortgages and deeds. It confirms the identity of the signer along with the witness, that the signature is made of the free will of the signer. During notarization of the document, the presence of the signer is important, while the presence of a notary public is not necessary for the duration of the actual signing process;
• Jurat: A jurat confirms the information and authenticity of a document. The notary public leads the signer through an oath, in which they confirm that what is provided in the document is authentic. While performing the jurat, the presence of a notary public is important when the signer signs the document;
• Signature witnessing: The process of signature witnessing is different from jurat because it does not involve an oath. During signature witnessing, a notary witnesses a person who signs a document and further confirms the identity of the signer. Most of this process is similar to an acknowledgement, with the difference that the documents must be signed in the presence of a notary.
• Copy certification: This is required for leases, bills of sale, diplomas, medical records, social security cards, driver’s licenses, etc. This process confirms that the copy of a document is true to the original. Notary publics conduct a copy certification in which the holder brings the original document, and the notary makes a copy of it. You can rely on the services of our notary in Lewisham for any kind of notarization.

Organization of notaries in England and Wales

Out of 775 notaries in England and Wales, about 725 are members of the Notary Society. This society is run by a council of 15 members headed by a president. The Notary Society also employs a secretary to run the organization. Except for 150 notaries, the remaining notaries in England and Wales are qualified as solicitors, while 30 scrivener notaries belong to the Society of Scrivener Notaries. In these two regions, notary publics are authorized to carry out all the legal work other than the conduct of litigation. 

If you need more details on the services available at our notary public, as well as on the fees and taxes we currently apply, we invite you to contact our notary in London.