A notary public is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with foreign or international business. Notaries in Ireland are appointed by the Chief Justice of the Irish Supreme Court. In general only solicitors are appointed as notaries.
A notary is obliged to vouch and keep records of the identity of all persons appearing before him to sign documents.
Notaries certify the execution in their presence of a deed, a contract or other writing. They can also verify some act or thing done in their presence. Among the things they do are:
The question of "how much does a notarisation cost?" is one I am often asked and it's nice to be able to give a direct answer - €60. Unfortunately the process can be more complicated and about 30% of the time it's necessary to charge a little more. If you are unwaged, a senior citizen or otherwise disadvantaged please let me know as I can also charge less in certain circumstances.
Charges vary depending on the particular engagement and the nature of any additional services required. If a document requires to be translated or is in a foreign language, if you require urgent service or if the document contains a legal opinion on corporate matters I will have to charge more.
Accordingly, it's best to say that my basic fee for a single document signed at our office during normal working hours is €60. Where there are multiple documents and just one signatory, I apply a 50% discount on the third and each subsequent document (so five such documents would cost €210).
Some documents can be more complex and may have multiple signers, may require unusual means of execution (e.g. the affixing of an inked fingerprint) or require the effective giving of a legal opinion as to the status of a corporate signatory. Similarly, it is sometimes necessary to draw up documents such as powers of attorney which comply both with Irish law and the law of the place in which they are to be used. In such circumstances, the fee would be higher and may be calculated either on a 'per document' basis or on the basis of the time that will be taken overall.
I can provide out of hours service and service to your location by prior arrangement (and at a reasonable additional charge). I am happy to provide a fixed fee quote in advance if you are in a position to share your documents by email.
I am pleased to be able to accept cash, cheque, Revolut, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, V Pay, Maestro, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club, UnionPay and Discover. If you can think of another means of payment we don't accept please let me know. Note that we have no plans to accept Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency.
You are most likely to require a notary where you have to send papers or documents to a foreign jurisdiction where you need them to be legally recognised. You may require the services of a notary in relation to:
© 2019, Giuseppe Santoro