ID Notary Requirements

Notarial Services in Plymouth

Patrick Selley, provides a comprehensive range of notarial solutions for both individual and corporate clients. Whether you are dealing with international property, overseas business transactions, or personal documentation, I will ensure your paperwork meets strict global standards.

Core services include:

Notarisation & Legalisation: Expert authentication of documents for use abroad, including coordination with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
Apostille Services: Streamlined handling of Apostille certificates to ensure your documents are recognised by Hague Convention member countries.
Powers of Attorney: Specialist notarisation of Power of Attorney documents for international legal matters.
Witnessing & Certification: Official witnessing of signatures and the provision of certified copies for:
- Proof of Identity (Passports/Driving Licences)
- Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificates
- Educational Qualifications and Professional Transcripts

Local Expertise: Based in the heart of Plymouth, I pride myself on providing a precise, efficient service that simplifies the complexities of international law.

Office: Salt Quay House 4th Floor 6 North East Quay Plymouth PL4 0HP

ID Notary Requirements - Plymouth

Proper identification of signatories has always been an essential part of notarial practice. Recent Government regulations mean that notaries must insist on even stricter proof of identity.

Why?

The government has introduced measures:

To make it more difficult for criminals to make and keep money from their crimes.
To confiscate proceeds of crime.
To require notaries and other lawyers to report suspicious transactions to a policy authority known as NCIS (the National Criminal Intelligence Service).

For this reason there are compulsory checks which notaries have to make of their clients.
Being asked for additional identification does not mean you are under suspicion. The new identification requirements apply to all clients when they are asking notaries to authenticate documents or undertake certain other types of work.

How this affects you:

Notaries have always asked for evidence of a client’s identity. In the case of private clients, you will have to show the notary some personal documentation that can include:-

Current signed passport
Photo-card driving licence
Birth Certificate
And for proof of address, a recent gas, electricity or other household bill

If you don’t have these documents, we will be able to advise you on how best to prove who you are.

For business clients, notaries will (in addition to checking your personal identity) often need to establish that the company or organisation which you represent actually exists and in many cases that you are authorised to represent that company or organisation. In the case of companies or organisations based in the United Kingdom, the notary will generally conduct their own checks of public records. Where the notary’s involvement in the matter goes beyond the mere witnessing of signatures, then their involvement in the transaction in a more substantial way can trigger Anti Money Laundering (AML) obligations. This requires a level of initial and ongoing due diligence that involves establishing and verifying Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) of the business entity. You may therefore be asked to produce certain documents such as share registers of any holding companies that may, in turn, be incorporated abroad. If the notary has to certify your authority to represent a company or organisation, additional documentation will be requested, for example:-

Constitutional documents (e.g. memorandum and articles of association)
Appropriate Board Resolutions
Power of Attorney
Chamber of Commerce certificate

public notary plymouth will be happy to advise exactly what will be required in your particular case.