In basic layman’s terms, a notary public that hold notary office is also called a public notary or simply, notary, and is a public officer appointed by law to serve on non-litigious non-controversial matters mostly concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign or international business. The notary in any notary office focuses mostly on administering oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and statutory declarations, witness and authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents, take acknowledgements 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, and perform certain other official acts depending on the legality of the situation. Acts based on any notary office is called notarization but, covers only common-law notaries and not to be confused with civil-law notaries.
In most of the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia, most notaries-at-law holding notary office are not lawyers. Since they cover only common law, notarial law is not the same as the general practice of law like lawyers do. Notaries cannot give legal advice or prepare legal instruments. In other countries, notaries-at-law do not exist and all notarial work and other notarization is carried out by licensed practicing lawyers.
Basically, notaries are appointed by government authority or courts, or by a regulating body of a society or faculty of notaries public. Lawyer notaries are appointed for life while lay notaries are commissioned on a renewal basis.
Before becoming a notary holding notary office, special training must be undergone. After this, one must first server as an apprentice before commissioned or licensed for notary office. For licensed lawyers, barristers, or solicitors, there is a prescribed specialized course of study and be mentored for two years before practicing notarization.
Historically, notaries public or notaries hold notary office which traces its origins back to ancient Roman Republic history before Cicero around 106-43 B.C. when they were called “Scribae” (scribes), “tabellius” (writer), or “notarius” (notary). Notary office is considered one of the oldest continuing branch of the legal profession in the whole world.
A notary public is simply a practitioner trained in the drafting and execution of legal documents. Throughout history, notaries recorded matters of judicial importance as well as private transactions or events in which an officially authenticated record or document drawn-up with professional skill or knowledge was necessary and required. Specifically, notaries are empowered to prepare certain documents like international contracts, deeds, wills, and powers of attorney, certification of their due execution, administering of oaths, witnessing affidavits and statutory declarations, certification of copy documents, noting and protesting of bills of exchange, and presentation of ship’s protests.
Notarized certified documents from any notary office are sealed with the notary’s seal or stamp and are recorded by the notary in a register or “protocol” permanently maintained by the notary. These are what constitutes notarial acts.
In the United States, it is possible to be a notary public for some or even in all states. In Australia, notaries are never appointed for more than one state or territory. In the USA, a notary is appointed by a state governor or the state legislature and a governing body issues the licenses and renewals. In Australia, notaries are appointed by the supreme court of the respective state or territory, with the exception of Queensland, wherein the Archbishop of Canterbury appoints the notaries through a Master of Faculties.
FindNotary.com provides detailed information about how to become a notary public, visit us!