Welcome to the website of Mark Barnett

Mark Barnett offers the service of a Notary Public in a commercial and efficient manner.

Drawing upon his experience he aims to ascertain exactly what the client needs to achieve and in some circumstances to direct the client to pose specific questions to the receiving party, in order to clarify his instructions and avoid time being wasted generally.

Once he has had an opportunity in reviewing the draft documents and clarifying the requirements Mark will generally be able to provide a fixed fee quote to deal with the matter.

I offer my services to clients in Central London, Marylebone, Mayfair, W1, Regents Park, West End, St. James, Knightsbridge, Belgravia and the City of London

I am also able to offer outside visits and evening & weekend appointments where necessary.

Below are answers to some frequently asked questions about what I as a Notary offer. Please contact me to arrange an appointment.

What is a Notary Public?

A Notary Public is a specialist lawyer who deals with documents for use in foreign countries. A Notary’s signature and seal are generally recognised worldwide. If you require a document to be accepted as authentic in a foreign country you will usually need a Notary Public to notarise that document.

What does a Notary Public offer?

A Notary Public can notarise documents for use all over the world.

The Notary Public has to be satisfied that the person signing the document is correctly identified by production of their current official photo -ID, that he or she understands the nature of the document and the legal implications of it and has the relevant capacity to execute it. Where appropriate the Notary will witness the signatures and then affix their own signature and Seal of Office.

Why do I need a Notary Public?

You may require a document to be Notarised in the following cases:

Executing a Power of Attorney either personally or on behalf of a company or other legal entity for use in another country
Establishing a branch or subsidiary of an English company abroad
Opening a foreign bank account
Appointing foreign lawyers
Buying or selling a property overseas
Sending a certified copy of your passport abroad
When marrying abroad you may need to provide evidence of your single status to that jurisdiction
Getting duplicate documents such as a passport
Swearing an Oath or Affidavit
Making a Statutory declaration
Authenticating a translation of a document
Getting permission for a child to travel with one parent
Legalisation or Apostille of documents
Registration of Trade Marks
Notarisation of commercial documents

Do I need an Apostille or Legalisation?

Some countries may also require the additional step of the document being Legalised. This is a process whereby the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirm the validity of the Notary’s signature and seal. Once this check has been carried out a certificate called an ‘Apostille’ is attached to the notarised document.

The need for Legalisation depends on the country involved and the requirements of the receiving party and we can advise you regarding this.

We can also arrange for the Apostilling to take place on an urgent or non-urgent basis depending on your requirements.

Foreign language documents

If you have a document that is currently in a foreign language it may be necessary to get an official translation of that document into English. We can advise you on whether this is required and also help you to obtain a translation which can be certified as authentic.

Notarisation – how much will it cost?

The cost will depend on the number of documents you require Notarising, as well as a number of other factors including whether the document also needs to be Apostilled and /or legalised and if so whether on an urgent or non-urgent basis .

Please contact me for a formal quote although we may need to see scanned copies of the documents concerned before being able to provide one.

Identification required when seeing a Notary Public

To comply with the relevant anti-money laundering regulations a Notary must confirm the identity of the appearer before being able to proceed with the Notarisation itself. When attending an appointment with a Notary, each person signing the document must provide at least one of the following:-

A valid passport
Driving licence with photo ID card
National identity card (only for EEA state members)
Armed forces pass (with photo and signature)
Firearms licence (with photo and signature)
Any other official government issue ID card (with photo and signature)
Residence permit (where relevant)

They must also provide separate proof of address by producing the original one of the following, from within the last 3 months containing their name and current residential address :-

A bank statement or letter from bank
A utility bill or council tax bill (not a mobile phone bill)
A Tenancy agreement or Housing Association rent card for your current address
An Inland Revenue tax demand or self assessment statement

If acting on behalf of a Company or other legal entity, evidence must also be produced evidence of the due incorporation of that entity. This may be one of the following documents although this will be confirmed at the time by the Notary :-

Certificate of Good Standing
Up to date printout from official registry
Certificate of incorporation
Latest report and audited accounts
Up to date certified copy of partnership agreement
Evidence of being regulated by a regulatory body such as the Law Society or FSA.

In addition to the above, each signatory will also need to produce one of the identification and proof of address documents mentioned above.

Complaints

If you have a complaint you can see a copy of my formal complaints procedure here.

Terms of business

My full terms of business can be seen here.