Notarial Services

Esmond Jenkins, director of Bampton Legal is a Notary Public.  Based at the office in Bampton, he offer's notarial services throughout Oxfordshire, The Cotswolds and the surrounding areas.

A Notary Public is a specialist, independent lawyer recognised internationally and trained to prepare, witness or certify documents for use in foreign countries.

Whatever the document that needs notarising, there is always more to the Notary’s role than just signing their name. Seeing a notary is never a mere rubber-stamping exercise and a lot of the work carried out happens behind the scenes. The international duty of a Notary involves a high standard of care. This is not only towards the client but also to anyone who may rely on the document including governments or officials of other countries. Great care is essential at every stage to minimise the risks of errors, omissions, alterations, fraud, forgery, money laundering, the use of false identity, and so on.

Many foreign countries require further verification by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. This is known as an ‘apostille’. Some then require further verification from their own embassy or consulate known as legalisation’. We can arrange this for you.

• Signing of Powers of Attorney for use throughout the world;
• Obtaining translations of legal documents and confirming their accuracy;
• Verifying documents of record from organisations including Companies House, Registries of Births, Marriages and Deaths;
• Assisting foreign lawyers in establishing companies abroad with British officers;
• Administering Oaths as well as Statutory Declarations or Affirmations for foreign legal requirements;
• Procuring legalisation of documents, whether Notarised or not by foreign embassies, or dealing with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office;
• Certifying validity of academic or other qualifications;
• Notarising the execution of foreign Wills;
• Assisting in verification of persons and passports in foreign adoption process.

We always aim to complete the work in one appointment. To enable us to do this, please read the following notes carefully:

• At least a day before the appointment, please email us a copy of the document or documents to be notarised as well as any instructions you have received from any foreign lawyer or other person who prepared the document.
• It is essential that you understand what you are signing. If any of the documents to be notarised are in a language that you do not fully understand, and you have not been provided with an English translation of them, please let us know as we may need to arrange a translation.
• It also helps to email copies of your identification documents to us prior to the appointment i.e. your current passport together with a bank statement or utility bill that is less than three months old. You will need to bring the originals to the appointment as well. If you do not hold a current passport or do not have recent evidence of your address, please contact us straight away so that we can discuss other acceptable means of identification. You must also bring any other type of identification referred to in the papers sent to you as being required such as a national identity card.
• If the name on the document is different from the name you are currently using, or there has been a variation in the form of spelling of the name over the years, please provide us as appropriate with Certificates of Birth, Marriage or Divorce Decree or Change of Name Deed showing all the different names that you use. If there has been a change of name, then we will need to see a copy of the Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration which dealt with it.
• If you notice any errors on any of the documents sent to you for signing, please let us know straight away so that we may contact the foreign lawyer or person who prepared the document.
• If you will be signing on behalf of a company, partnership, charity, trust or other organisation, further verification will be necessary. We will need to verify that the company, trust or other organisation exists and that you are authorised to represent it. Please contact us prior to the meeting so that we can confirm the documentation you will need to produce.

It is not our role to advise you on the suitability of the documents to be notarised or the merits of any transaction the documents relate to. We would strongly recommend that you seek appropriate professional advice.