Increasing levels of fraud in this country and overseas are causing many financial services providers to tighten their anti-money laundering procedures. Sometimes this involves a request for a copy of evidence of an individual’s home address to be notarised. This will often take the form of a copy of a utility or council tax bill linking the person to an address. It is common for there to be a requirement that the document is dated within a specific period, say the last three months. Since United Kingdom driving licenses can be up to 10 years old, they are of limited use as evidence of address.

If I am asked to notarise a copy of a utility bill or similar, I will need to see either the original document, if it was issued in paper form, or the original electronic document on the website of the issuing body. To verify an electronic document, you will need to (a) bring a printed copy of the electronic document and (b) when we meet, have access to a device on which you can enter the relevant website with your log-in details so that I can compare the printed copy with the original electronic document. (To be clear, I do not wish to have access to your login details.)