| NOTARIAL INFORMATION & TERMS |
Notarial appointment
Thank you for booking an appointment for notarial services. This Information Sheet sets out what you need to do to prepare, some general information and my terms and conditions.
Place and time of the Appointment
For details of my availability and to make a booking, please see my appointment scheduler at:
Unless otherwise agreed, we will meet at 26 Leslie Crescent, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 4AN. For users of What3Words, the location is at transit.grape.economies. There is street parking nearby. If you have any mobility or other needs, please let me know in advance.
If you are delayed or cannot attend due to circumstances beyond your control, please let me know as quickly as possible.
Delivery times
Where possible, I will complete the notarial process at the appointment. This is not always possible and I may ask you to collect the document on the next working day or send the document to you.
Where you ask me to arrange legalisation, apostilles and onwards delivery, this will typically involve using Royal Mail Special Delivery to my consular agent in London. The agent then submits the document to the Government’s Legalisation Office and, if needed, the embassy of another country. My agent will then return the document to you or the person you wish to receive the document by Royal Mail Special Delivery or DHL. Usually, this well-tried process works efficiently. However, sometimes there are delays, and on rare occasions non-delivery of documents, due to matters outside my control. I cannot be responsible for such events, or for any losses arising. You may wish to make these arrangements yourself so you have greater degree of control over them.
Appointment preparations
- I aim to complete a notarial assignment in one appointment. To help achieve this, please send the document(s) to be notarised to me by email.
- Provide me with all instructions you have been given on the document formalities required. Unless I know exactly what is needed, I cannot be sure of meeting those requirements. Please also bring any onward delivery address details.
- I will assume that you will bring the document with you to the meeting, unless we have agreed in advance that I will print it here.
- The document must have all blank spaces completed (apart from dates and signatures) before the appointment. My professional regulations prohibit a part-completed document from being notarised.
- Affidavits and declarations often have exhibits or attachments. These must be brought to the appointment too, as they form part of the notarial process.
- Are witnesses needed? Check the document and instructions you have received: you may need to sign in the presence of one or two independent witnesses (who will need identification) as well as the notary. If necessary, check with the receiving body overseas if the notary can act as one witness and whether a relative is permitted to act as a witness. You are responsible for bringing the witness(es) to the appointment. By prior agreement, I can sometimes provide witnesses if a colleague is available.
- Each person signing must produce (1) their current passport, (2) their latest council tax bill or utility bill dated within the last three months as evidence of you home address and (3) any further documents that I may need to comply with anti-money laundering regulations. The name in your ID document must be the same as that in the notarised document – please bring your marriage certificate or deed poll on change of name if you have changed your name.
Charges and payment
I will provide a costing once the scope of work is known. This may be varied if the scope changes.
Payments made to third parties with your agreement, such as to Companies House or for an apostille, are charged at cost, based on the cost information I have received.
I accept debit and credit card and contactless payments, but not AMEX.
Unless agreed in writing, I require payment before releasing notarised documents or incurring apostille or other charges.
Who is a Notary?
A notary is a qualified lawyer. Notaries are regulated by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Please see: www.facultyoffice.org.uk/notary. Notaries must comply with professional, anti-money-laundering and data protection regulations, are required to maintain professional indemnity insurance and must renew their practising certificates every year.
Notaries are specialists in international transactions. I have until recently also practiced as a solicitor specialising in international trade and maritime law. Notaries prepare legal documents and have special jurisdiction in relation to protests noted by the masters of ships and the protest of bills of exchange. Notaries are also authorised to administer the swearing of oaths and declarations.
Why are you seeing a Notary?
In many countries, legal documents only acquire the necessary status when they have been signed before a notary public who authenticates their contents and verifies the identity, capacity and will of the person signing. Such documents include contracts, land conveyances, powers of attorney, wills and corporate documents. The notary issues a notarial certificate, either attached to the document or on the document itself, signed by the notary and impressed with the notary’s seal.
What needs doing?
Your notarised document will be an essential step in achieving something, usually overseas. It must be in a form that is acceptable to the person or body who will be receiving it. As documentary requirements vary from country to country, it is crucial that you inform the notary of exactly what is needed from someone qualified in the destination country.
Electronic and Remote Notarisation
These are two different things. I can notarise your documents in the traditional paper form or in electronic form, as a secure PDF file containing my Qualified Electronic Signature. An e-notarised document can receive an e-apostille (see below). Many e-notarised documents will contain a scan of a paper document that you have signed in a face-to-face meeting with me.
Remote notarisation is where I witness you signing a document using remote technology. This is only permitted where specific regulatory requirements are met; in practice, most documents are signed at a meeting with me, even if they are notarise electronically.
Legalisation & Apostilles
Sometimes the receiving body overseas will require a further formality called “legalisation”. This is governmental certification of my notarial seal and signature. You will need to check if this is needed. For about 125 countries (including EU countries) this is performed by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office attaching a certificate called an Apostille, issued under a 1961 Hague Convention. For other countries, including China (until November 2023), legalisation involves the notarised document receiving an Apostille and then a consular certificate from the UK embassy of the relevant country. Some countries, e.g. Iraq, also require a stamp from the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce.
If an Apostille or legalisation is required, you can either arrange that yourself or you can request that I ask my Consular Agent to do so on your behalf. I will discuss with you the cost and timescale.
E-apostilles can only be obtained on e-notarised documents. The FCDO require requires that certain documents, such as UK criminal record checks and birth, marriage and death certificates are only apostilled in paper form. See https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised.
Terms of business
You are my client My notarial services are provided to you, the person appearing before me and to any company of other body you represent on these terms of engagement. Advice rendered is provided for your benefit and solely for the purpose of the instructions to which it relates.
My notarial services are provided through Jonathan Kemp Notary Public Ltd; a company incorporated in England with Company No. 09506931, whose trading name is Jonathan Kemp Notary Public. The registered office is set out at the top of this document. The only services provided by me are those of a Notary Public carrying out all permitted notarial activities including, where appropriate, arranging legalisation of documents and sending them to their final destination.
Each notarial matter is different and the formalities required vary depending on the requirements of the receiving body and sometimes of the FCDO when an apostille is needed and an embassy that is asked to provide consular legalisation. You agree to provide me with the necessary instructions from the receiving body, which will usually be overseas, so that I can help you to meet those requirements.
Timescales I will advise you of the likely timescale for your work.
Identity Verifying the identity of clients and any person, company or other entity whom they represent is central to the principles of notarial work and is required by law. Following the guidelines above in producing evidence of identity is essential to enable me to assist you. I will decline to act where I cannot establish your identity.
Fees and disbursements My basic charge for a simple notarial authentication is £116.67 plus VAT, which totals £140. This figure is adjusted to reflect the time taken engaged in email correspondence and document preparations, printing documents, multiple documents, more than one person signing, travel, drafting, company checks, unusual complexity, liaising with other professionals and arranging apostilles, legalisation and couriers. My fee reflects the expertise of a lawyer experienced in international transactions.
Where possible, I will provide a cost estimate before the appointment. Where the scope of work is insufficiently clear until we meet, I will advise you of costs when we meet. My fees are subject to VAT.
Occasionally unforeseen or unusual issues arise during the course of the matter which may result in a revision of my fee estimate. Examples of this could include where additional documents are required to be notarised, third party fees are adjusted to reflect external factors such as fuel price changes and so on. I will notify you of any changes in the fee estimate as soon as possible.
Disbursements incurred on your behalf, such as legalisation and couriers will be charged at cost, subject to VAT, where applicable.
Billing and payment Payment of my fees and disbursements is due when your document has been prepared. You agree to make payment prior to my releasing documents to you or before ordering apostilles, legalisation, translations and courier services on your behalf. I prefer to receive payment by contactless, debit or credit card or by bank transfer. Payments from overseas are accepted only if the sum received satisfies the full invoice figure after deduction of my bank’s charges arising from received an overseas or non-sterling currency.
I may lien all documents held pending settlement of all outstanding costs. Statutory rights under late payment legislation to claim interest and debt recovery costs will be exercised if necessary.
I keep a record of documents I authenticate. Copies of my records can be provided to the parties to the transaction for a fee of £50 plus VAT per document.
If you terminate your instructions, I will charge for work carried out up to the point of termination and will charge for any disbursements or expenses incurred on your behalf. You agree to pay such charges within five working days of presentation of the invoice. A charge of £90 (includes VAT) is payable within five working days for non-attendance at an appointment to reflect the time spend preparing for the appointment and the lost opportunity to offer the appointment to another client.
Confidentiality, security, records and data protection Notaries are under professional and legal obligations to keep client affairs confidential unless instructed to make disclosure or compelled to disclose information by law. The professional body regulating notarial practice has rights of inspection. A Data Protection Privacy Notice is below.
Information held about you, including personal information such as your name, address and passport details, will be held in accordance with applicable data protection legislation including GDPR. This information will be used to provide notarial services to you. Your name and contact details may be used to contact you about notarial services that may be of interest to you, unless you inform me that you do not wish to receive such information.
Use of Technology, Devices and Artificial Intelligence: I do not use any automated decision-making technology, including artificial intelligence, in the course of my services. Before using any new technology, including artificial intelligence, I carry out an appropriate risk assessment to ensure that your rights are not adversely affected by the same.
Unless instructed to the contrary, I may use ordinary e-mail and other electronic means to communicate with you and to exchange documents. You should inform me of any specific security requirements.
Records of notarial acts are retained as required by notarial practice regulations.
Liability Nothing in these terms of engagement will exclude or limit any liability that I may have to you in respect of any loss caused by fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation or reckless disregard of professional obligations or in any other situation where the law prohibits me from excluding or limiting my liability to you, including in respect of any death or personal injury resulting from my negligence.
In all other cases, you agree that my liability for any claim made in respect of negligence and/or breach of contract (including in respect of any omission) or in any other way arising from each notarial matter is limited to a maximum sum of GBP one million.
The extent to which any loss or damage will be recoverable by you will also be limited so as to be in proportion to my contribution to the overall fault for such loss and damage, taking into account any contributory negligence by you and any negligence by your other advisers and/or any third party responsible to you and/or liable in respect of such loss or damage. No liability whatsoever will arise where your loss arises from inaccurate or incomplete instructions or information given by you or by any third party on your behalf. No liability whatsoever will arise in relation to any indirect, economic or consequential loss, including but not limited to loss of profit or business that you may incur.
Searches of the Register of Companies and at other public bodies will be carried out using appropriate means including on-line searches. No liability whatsoever will arise from any inaccuracy in the information so received.
If I agree to arrange third party services on your behalf, such as legalisation, translation, postage and courier services, you agree that I shall not be responsible for any failure by service providers to perform those services. You also agree to reimburse me for any return courier charges resulting from an inability of a courier to deliver to the addressee overseas.
Notarial Regulatory Information I aim to provide an exemplary service to clients. If you have any concerns, please let me know immediately so that, if possible, any problem can be rectified. Please note:
My notarial practice is regulated by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury:
The Faculty Office 1, The Sanctuary, Westminster, London, SW1P 3JT. Tel: 020 7222 5381 Email Faculty.office@1thesanctuary.com Website www.facultyoffice.org.uk
If we are unable to resolve the matter you may then complain to the Notaries Society of which I am a member, who have a Complaints Procedure which is approved by the Faculty Office. This procedure is free to use and is designed to provide a quick resolution to any dispute. In that case please write (but do not enclose any original documents) with full details of your complaint to :
The Secretary of The Notaries Society, P O Box 876, Chichester PO19 9ZH. Email secretary@thenotariessociety.org.uk
If you have any difficulty in making a complaint in writing please do not hesitate to call the Notaries Society/the Faculty Office for assistance.
Finally, even if you have your complaint considered under the Notaries Society Approved Complaints Procedure, you may at the end of that procedure, or after a period of 8 weeks from the date you first notified me that you were dissatisfied, make your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, if you are not happy with the result :
Legal Ombudsman, P O Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH Tel : 0300 555 0333
Email : enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk Website : www.legalombudsman.org.uk
If you decide to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman you must refer your matter to the Legal Ombudsman within one year from the act/omission or within one year from when you should reasonably have known there was just cause for complaint.
Law and Disputes This retainer is governed by English law and the English courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction for the determination of any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Agreement (including (without limitation) in relation to any non-contractual obligations).
Jonathan Kemp
Notary Public
DATA PROTECTION PRIVACY NOTICE
- Jonathan Kemp Notary Public Ltd, of 26 Leslie Crescent, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 4AN, trading as Jonathan Kemp Notary Public, is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under registration reference ZB856756.
- This privacy notice explains how we use the personal data we collect from you when you use our notarial and related services (the “Services”).
- What is ‘personal data’? Any data that relates to a person (‘data subject’). For example, your email address, electronic co-ordinates, financial details or medical details.
- Overriding objective. To handle your data with confidentiality, care and diligence as if it was our own, in accordance with your instructions, and complying with the law.
- How do we use your personal data? We will only process or disclose personal data in order to provide notarial and related services to you and to act on your instructions, which includes enabling service providers, such as consular agents and couriers, to perform the functions you have requested, such as obtaining apostilles from the FCDO. We will always comply with applicable law, including Notary Practice Rules, guidelines and regulations or in response to a lawful request from a court or regulatory body.
- International transfer of your personal data. Our records are kept within the U.K. If your document is heading overseas, then you agree that we may (a) liaise with any lawyer or other party you have introduced to us, (b) arrange for it to be translated, if you have instructed us to do so, and (c) send it to the FCDO’s Legalisation Office and any relevant embassy for legalisation and forward the document overseas in accordance with your instructions.
- Storage of personal data. Personal data will be retained for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes listed above and as required by law. The Notaries Practice Rules require that notarial acts in the public form shall be preserved permanently, with other notarial acts shall be preserved for a minimum period of 12 years. Personal data may be retained in documentary form or electronic form, suitably encrypted. Hard-copy documents are disposed of when no longer required by commercial shredding. Electronic documents are retained in encrypted form. They are not stored in cloud storage or outside the U.K.
- Electronic communications. Unless you give specific instructions to the contrary, we will communicate with you and with those parties that are necessary for the carrying out of your instructions and the provision of the Services by email and other electronic means. You should be aware that while we take prudent steps to secure our electronic communications, by their nature, they can never be considered to be without risk.
- Data subject rights. You have numerous legal rights in relation to data held by us. These are too numerous to list here, but please visit the website of the ICO: www.ico.org.uk.
- Marketing. We may occasionally send you information about our notarial and related services that we feel may be relevant to your business or interests. Please inform us if you do not wish to receive such information.
- Cookies. Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behaviour information. When you visit our website, we may collect information from you automatically through cookies or similar technology. Further information may be found on the website of the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-pecr/cookies-and-similar-technologies.
- Changes to our privacy notice. Our privacy policy and notice are reviewed periodically and any updates are placed on our website.
- How to contact us. If you have any questions about our privacy policy, the data we hold on you, or you would like to exercise one of your data protection rights, please do not hesitate to contact us. Call us: 0788 572 1559. Email: notary@jrkemp.com. Address: please see paragraph 1 above.
- How to contact the appropriate authority. Should you wish to report a complaint or if you feel that we have not addressed your concern satisfactorily, you may contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Tel: 0303 123 1113. www.ico.org.uk.
Jonathan Kemp
Notary Public
October 2026