What Does A Notary Do?
A Notary’s duty is to screen the signers of important documents for their true identity, their willingness to sign without duress or intimidation, and their awareness of the contents of the document or transaction. Some notarizations also require the Notary to put the signer under an oath, declaring under penalty of perjury that the information contained in a document is true and correct. Property deeds, wills and powers of attorney are examples of documents that commonly require a Notary. Impartiality is the foundation of the Notary’s public trust. They are duty-bound not to act in situations where they have a personal interest. The public trusts that the Notary’s screening tasks have not been corrupted by self-interest. And impartiality dictates that a Notary never refuse to serve a person due to race, nationality, religion, politics, sexual orientation or status as a non-customer. As official representatives of the state, Notaries Public certify the proper execution of many of the life-changing documents of private citizens — whether those diverse transactions convey real estate, grant powers of attorney, establish a prenuptial agreement, or perform the multitude of other activities that enable our civil society to function.
Notarial services
notarial services are rendered to South African citizens and foreign nationals requiring South African official (public) documents to be legalised for use abroad. These services are rendered to provide legal validity to South African official (public) documents to enable a person to use the documents outside the Republic of South Africa. Legalising documents means that official (public) documents executed within the Republic of South Africa for use outside the Republic of South Africa are affixed, sealed and signed either with an Apostille Certificate (where countries are signatory to the Apostille Convention) or with a Certificate of Authentication (where countries are not signatory to the Apostille Convention). Legalisation therefore basically means the process followed by which the signature and seal on an official (public) document is verified.
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Documents we can authenticate and apostille for you
- Decree of Divorce / Court Order issued from any South African Court
- Agreements / Contracts / Trade Documents / Power of Attorney
- Medical / Radiological reports
- Copy of Passport / ID Book / Drivers Licence
- Translations
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We can also submit documentation for Consular / Embassy Authentication
- Submission fees vary depending on the Embassy / Consulate.
- Embassy / Consulate turnaround times to process the documentation also vary.
- Once your instruction is received and the Embassy / Consulate is confirmed, we will advise on the submission fees and time to finalise the documents.
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We assist with the following applications:
- Unabridged birth certificates
- Unabridged marriage certificates
- Death Certificates
- South African police clearance certificates
- Court Orders
- Apostille of all of the above documents
- Embassy authentications if required
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How to order our services.
Just 3 steps to follow! 1 Print and complete the order form. (If you need any assistance with this, please contact us for help). 2 Courier, Postnet or hand deliver your original certificate/s to us with the completed order form. Let us know if you want the original document certified or if you would prefer we make a notarised copy. 3 Your certificate will be checked, notarised by our notary public. The apostille certificate is issued in just 1 to 2 days. We offer comprehensive legalisation for degree certificates and almost any other qualification. If you have more than one document or want to include your transcript we can bind documents into sets to save you money. You can also arrange for your application or admittance signed and attested in front of our notary as required by many institutions overseas especially in the medical field. Contact us to discuss you specific apostille needs or to get a no-obligation quotation…
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Apostille
Providing notary, apostille, authentication and legalisation services for all South-African documents at a reasonable fee structure. We aim to process most documents in just 24 hours making our service exceptional value for a quick legalisation service. The apostille legalisation certificate can be attached to nearly all South-African documents that need to be used in another country, which country is also a signatory to the Apostille Convention (Hague Convention) for official purposes.Authentication
The following countries are not signatories to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. South-African documents that needs to be legalised for ultimate use in these countries needs to follow the authentication legalisation process. This is a longer more involved process than the truncated apostille legalisation process. Depending on the destination country the documents needs to be additionally legalised at the embassy or consulate of the foreign country in South-Africa.Embassy Legalisation
Legalising documents with most embassies is a time consuming and confusing the process. Researching the subject alone can take hours before you even begin stumbling through the various steps required. Knowledge of each embassy document legalisation rules and regulations; submission procedures and payment requirements ensures that we avoid delays and the inconvenience and cost implications of rejected documents.Notary Services
Notary Public services for businesses and corporates in South Africa Notary services for Businesses and Individuals in South Africa. We provide the following services: Notarising the execution of Powers of Attorney on behalf of a company, or other trading medium; Notarising; Providing Certified Copies of Company Resolutions, Minutes, Reports and other Company Documents; Certified copies of company resolutions, minutes, and reports
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What is a Notarial Contract and why do I need one for a Life Partner Visa?
“The notarial contract is a formal agreement entered into by a South African citizen/permanent resident and a foreign partner, notarised by a South African notary, setting out the details of their rights and privileges in terms of their relationship. There is no standard format for this notarial contract and each one will be unique according to the party’s particular requirements and circumstances.”- Louwrens Koen
The reason for notarial contract is to show proof that your relationship with your partner has exceeded a period of 2 years and to prove that your relationship is valid indeed. This is presented in the form of a sworn affidavit and a notarial contract which is included with your application for a life partner visa.
Please note under the new immigration regulations that it’s a requirement to prove that you have been in a relationship with your partner for at least 2 years or more in order for the South African Embassy to award you with a life partner visa.
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APOSTILLE / AUTHENTICATION
■We specialise in obtaining Apostille Certificates for all original South African public, company, commercial and educational documents.
■Apostille is a certificate issued by the government of a country, authenticating the signature and/or seal of a public official on a public document issued by that country, and intended for use in a foreign country.
■South African public, company, commercial and or educational documents, including documents witnessed, certified and sealed by a South African Notary Public, when affixed or attached with an Apostille Certificate issued by the South African Government, will automatically be accepted for legal use in foreign countries which are signatories to the Hague Convention.
■Apostille Certificates are restricted in their use to those countries which are signatories to The Hague Convention otherwise a full embassy or consulate legalisation procedure is necessary.
■List of Countries who are signatories to the La Hague Convention
■If the foreign country in which you require your South African public, commercial or educational document to operate is not a country which is a signatory to The Hague Convention, the High Court rule 63 authentication process must be followed which inter alia could entail notarisation, High Court authentication, DIRCO legalisation and, depending on the country, an embassy legalisation. Apostille Certificates are unacceptable in countries which have not ratified the Hague Convention.
■Notarisation, Authentication at the High Court and DIRCO in conjunction with possible Embassy legalisation is a complex, time consuming and difficult legal process. Each Embassy or Consulate has its peculiar opening hours, rules, procedures, guidelines, and fees payable, all of which you must deal with to legalise your South African document for use in their country. It is a tricky and sometimes costly exercise to conduct on your own.
■It may require a written translation of the contents of a document from the English language into their country’s own language, and that such translation is authenticated by the South-African Government.
■Some countries require a Chamber of Commerce Certificate affixed to commercial documents as well as authentication. Other countries, especially Middle Eastern Arab states, charge substantial fees to legalise commercial documents and are closed on their national holidays and religious days.
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