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A Note about Notaries: What is a Notary Public?
You may have heard the term or may have seen it on a lawyer’s letterhead, but unless you have had cause to engage one, the role of a Notary Public may be a matter to which you have not given much thought. However, with the ever-increasing globalisation of business and our Kiwi love for travel you are likely to hear more of Notaries Public in both business and personal contexts.
A Notary Public (or Notary) is an officer of a distinct branch of the legal profession; not every lawyer is a Notary Public. Notaries have a separate, distinct and additional qualification and it is a role steeped in tradition. In fact, Notaries spoken with by Fineprint were proud to point out that in New Zealand they are still appointed by England’s Archbishop of Canterbury.
Why use a Notary Public?
If you need to have documents accepted overseas, there may be a requirement to have them authentiated by a Notary. In most instances, you will be told by the relevant foreign authority, entity or overseas lawyer you are dealing with that you need specific documents ‘notarised’ and also if any further authentication of the documents is required by government authorities.
This contrasts with the situation in New Zealand where if you want documents (for use in New Zealand) authenticated or your signature witnessed, you can get those certified by a lawyer, Justice of the Peace or court officer.
Using a Notary Public
Fineprint talked with several Notaries who said that their main role is in relation to foreign transactions. You may need to talk with a Notary if you want documentation certified to:
- Open a foreign bank account
- Provide ‘notarised’ copies of qualifications when applying for work overseas
- Complete property transactions overseas
- Adopt a child from a foreign country
- Deal with matters to be heard in overseas courts
- Sign certain overseas contracts
- Sign certain export documents such as some customs documentation and certificates of origin regarding goods, and
- Verify dishonoured New Zealand payments for imported goods.
What does a Notary Public do?
The Notaries we talked with explained that their main tasks were to:
- Verify a person’s identity and signature; usually this is done by checking a person’s passport
- Certify that a document is a true copy
- Mark a document as being verified with the Notary’s signature and seal to verify his or her presence at the time the document was signed, and
- When required, arranging for notarised documents to be further authenticated by appropriate government authorities.
The role of the Notary Public is not likely to diminish as Kiwis continue to do more business with foreign parties and in overseas jurisdictions. When you need the services of a Notary Public please contact us and we can discuss your needs further.
From: FinePrint / Issue 52 / Winter 2010
