The office of Notary Public in Northern Ireland is governed by the Office of The Lord Chief Justice for Northern Ireland .
Although it is a very ancient one dating back to Roman times all persons wishing to be a Notary Public in Northern Ireland , in contract to the Republic of Ireland must hold a current practicing certificate in Northern Ireland as a Solicitor
I am appointed with jurisdiction throughout Northern Ireland although I principally service clients in County Down , County Armagh and County Tyrone as well as Belfast and Dublin based businesses looking for acts to be notarised in Northern Ireland
As a Notary Public (frequently referred to as a “Public Notary” or simply as a “Notary”), is a public officer dealing with non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney and foreign and international business.
The term Notary Public refers only to common law Notaries who practise in those countries in the world where the legal system is based on the British derived “common law,” (as in. e.g. the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Australia, etc.) and should not be confused with civil law Notaries (as in, e.g. France, Spain, Brazil, etc.) whose functions are quite different.
The principal functions of a Notary Public are to:-
- administer oaths and affirmations,
- take affidavits and statutory declarations,
- witness and authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents,
- take acknowledgments of deeds and other conveyances,
- protest notes and bills of exchange,
- provide notice of foreign drafts,
- prepare marine or ship’s protests in cases of damage,
- provide exemplifications and notarial copies,
- draw up Powers of Attorney and other legal documents customarily prepared by Notaries Public, and
- perform certain other official acts depending on the jurisdiction.
The performance of any of the above functions is known as “notarization” and in doing so a Notary will perform what is known as a “notarial act”.
Within the United Kingdom and Ireland, the vast majority of a Notary Public’s work is in connection with overseas business. The largest single category of work in this jurisdiction is in connection with people buying and selling property abroad. My Offices are based in Newry , Dublin and Castlewellan and I can see clients in any of these offices or by appointment elsewhere .
The purpose of having the execution of a document notarised is to verify, for the benefit of the person who will ultimately use that document, that the person executing it is who he says he is. It is also a safeguard as regards possible breaches of money laundering regulations having taken place.
It is not the function of the Notary to explain the nature or content of the document to you. He will, however, ask you to confirm that you understand the nature and content of the document and consequences that may arise if you sign it, before getting you to do so. He may even require you to sign a formal acknowledgement to that effect.
All Notaries Public in Northern Ireland are authorised to notarise documents for use anywhere in the world
