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What a beautiful day it is today! This seems like the perfect weather for hiking near the beach.
I wanted to take a moment to discuss an important topic when ordering notary services. When you need a notary to come to your location to sign documents, you call for an appointment and a rate quote. It is good to understand that the notary gives you a rate quote based on what you tell them you need. For instance, my associate was called for a one document signing to someone's location in Encino. Based on signing one document and travel charge, an appropriate rate was quoted. However, when the notary arrived, instead of one document, the signer had a large loan package. The result was that the signing, which would have been 15 minutes for one document, ended in 90 minutes of loan documents with many pages needing notarizations. Needless to say the client was disappointed about their previous rate quote, but appropriately informed before the notary started the signing and the rate was agreed upon at that time.
When you need notary service and are interested in a realistic rate quote, be prepared to inform the notary on the phone whether it is a loan package or a single document. The difference in rate quote can be quite large. Singe notarizations in the state of California are $10 per signature, plus a travel charge to your specific location. These types of notarizations are usually quick and your fee will be quite low for the convenience of having this done at your location without interrupting the rest of your day. However, if you have a loan to sign, understand that this can include sometimes up to 16 actual notarizations ore more. The time and attention to minute detail taken is important on such a transaction. This is the reason for the larger fee. Also, if you are needing service at a detention facility, you will likely pay a much higher fee as the time spent to go through security and waiting for the prisoner can be quite long, at times, taking several hours.
The most important thing to remember, however, is to be clear on what you are needing before calling the notary so the fee that you are quoted is realistic to your actual needs. This will ensure there is no miscommunication or disappointment. If you have any questions or need an idea of a realistic quote for your specific job, please call Karen at 805.444.7064 or visit our notary services website. I hope this helps.
1 comment:
I often find that US citizens approaching UK Notaries Public are surprised to find not only that the cost of Notarial work in the UK is substantially higher than in the USA, but also the procedures to be far more complex than they expected.
I hope that this brief guide to UK Notary procedures will clarify some of the reasons for this common misconception.
Legal qualifications required to practice as a UK Notary
Most notaries public in the UK also practice as a solicitor or barrister. It is possible, although quite rare to be a qualified notary without being a lawyer first but it does require passing strict legal qualifications.
Length of commission
A UK notary is qualified for an indefinite period (subject to the issuing of an annual practicing certificate by the Faculty Office). Consequently the concept of a commission expiring does not apply to UK notaries.
Verification requirements
A UK notary is required to identify the individual via two forms of identification (both of which must comply with money laundering regulations) and then is required to determine matters such as authority to sign (for example in the case of a company if this is a director or individual that has been authorized via a board resolution).
Further, a UK Notary Public must determine the knowledge and understanding of the individual signing the document. This is particularly important for foreign documentation which may be in alternative languages. Finally a notary is required to ensure that the document is executed in a manner which meets the legal requirements for the document involved (e.g power of attorney being signed in the presence of a witness.)
Notarization process
UK Notaries have a steel bespoke stamp which is usually embossed on to the page of the notarization
In addition most notaries will rivet and usually tie with ribbon the document which they notarize to ensure that the notarized document is complete with no pages being able to be moved in or out of the document after notarization.
Legal status of UK Notaries
UK Notaries are deemed to be Public Officials. Therefore documents which have been notarized by a UK Notary Public can then be legalised either through the Foreign and Commonwealth office by adding an apostille or alternatively via various UK embassies recording and acknowledging the public function carried out by a notary.
Typical fees charged by UK Notaries
UK notaries are required by the Notary rules to charge a reasonable fee which is appropriate for the services undertaken. As a consequence most UK notaries will charge a fee per document of somewhere between £60-£120.
Legal protection and Insurance
UK Notaries Public are bound by a duty of care and are therefore required to carry a minimum level of £750,000 of professional indemnity cover. In reality most UK notaries will carry several million pounds worth of professional insurance.
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