A notarization is when we help you formally make or sign documents for use in courts, government work or business. Here’s what to do to get ready for your notarization appointment.
Make sure your document is notarizable
We can’t notarize every document.
Notaries aren’t “witnesses”, and can’t just “sign and stamp” any old document. A notary’s signature on a document doesn’t automatically make it valid, legal or enforceable.
When we “notarize” a document we are usually taking your signature under an oath or declaration, or certifying copies of original documents, or signing as an officer of a court or land title office.
We can, and will, refuse to sign documents which don’t need a notary’s signature, are incomprehensible, invalid, illegal or fraudulent, or where we cannot prove your identity, capacity, authority, understanding or willingness.
If you’re not sure whether we can notarize your document, call us and we’ll discuss it with you.
Some common examples of documents we won’t “notarize”:
- homemade Wills, Powers of Attorney or other estate planning documents
- letters or other documents with no required notarial function
- frivolous or vexatious documents (documents used by people to subvert or inappropriately clog legal or court systems)
- documents that we can’t read or understand
Give yourself lots of time
You will need an appointment. Please make your appointment well ahead of your deadline. There might be additional steps to take after you see us, such as sending your documents to an embassy, consulate or other governmental agency. Remember to take those into account too.
Tell us about your documents when you call for your appointment, so we know how much time to book for you.
Please come to your appointment a few minutes early. This gives us time to take your ID and get you set up in our system.
Please do not bring extra people or animals with you. We must make sure you aren’t being forced to sign things, or distracted by children or pets. Service animals are, of course, allowed.
Prepare your documents for notarization
When printing your documents, read the instructions carefully.
Make sure you understand and are prepared for any additional signing requirements, such as translations, apostilles or authentications. These additional signing requirements are often necessary when sending documents to other countries.
Read through them and get any legal advice you might need on what they do or how they could affect you. We will ask you to summarize them for us, so we know you understand what you are signing.
Complete your document first. Once you have notarized a document, you can’t make any changes to it.
Do not sign the document until you are in front of the notary.
Make sure they are in English, or have an official translation made by a certified translator (Google translate isn’t sufficient).
We do not offer public wi-fi access, or print out documents from a thumb drive for safety and privacy reasons.
Organize any witnesses you might need for your notarization
Read your documents carefully to see if you need a witness as well as the notary. Some documents (particularly those from outside BC) need both a witness and a notary.
If you need a witness, please bring one with you – we don’t provide witnesses for several different reasons. Make sure you witness meets any required criteria (age, not related, capable, etc.), and that they have two pieces of current, government-issued ID with them.
Bring your ID
We need to prove you are who you say you are, so bring two pieces of current, government-issued ID, one of which has a photo. Your full, legal name should be on both pieces.
Expired or damaged ID is not acceptable.
Be prepared for costs – notarization costs vary
Our fees differ depending on the type of work you are asking us to help you with.
Some things that can increase the cost of our work include:
- the number of signatures you need
- how many exhibits are included
- the number of documents needing certifying
- the type of work you are asking us to do (for example, helping you sign land documents is often more complicated, and thus more expensive)
- whether you need secretarial services
Please call if you would like an estimate.
Bring proof of your authority
If you are signing for a corporation, an estate, or another person, you will need to bring proof that you have the authority to sign for that third party. For example, you might need:
- a copy of a resolution or corporate minute book, proving the company is in good standing and that you are it’s authorized signatory
- the original, untampered-with Power of Attorney
- a copy of your grant of probate
- A copy of your committeeship order
Need extra help?
If you need legal advice, or help with secretarial services such as printing, emailing or faxing documents after they have been signed, let us know so we can give you an estimate for those services (which are billed separately from our fees for notarizing documents).
Be kind
It’s always surprising to have to say this out loud, but we do not tolerate abuse, of our staff, ourselves or the legal system.
We will refuse service to persons who are rude, abusive, who throw things or have tantrums. And yes, these are all real-life things that have happened.
We will also refuse you service if you appear to be taking advantage of another person, or bringing documents which are invalid or appear to have fraudulent purposes.
We love helping our clients within our professional obligations, and will often go out of our way to help where we can. When we can’t help, we will always let you know.