Notary Covent Garden
Our notary practice covers the Covent Garden area. Our notary services include notarisation, apostille and legalisation of documents for both individuals and corporate bodies including but not limited to Companies and Charities. Appointments can be arranged for Home or Office visits- please confirm your requirements when making contact with us.
What is the role & function of a Notary Public
A Notary Public also referred to as a ‘Public Notary’ or simply as a ‘Notary’ is a member of the oldest branch of legal profession in England & Wales – & can be defined to be a qualified specialist lawyer who is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters.
A Notary’s function is to act as a co-ordinator between the English legal system and other foreign systems of law so that your documents can be used in a foreign country.
A Notary’s role is to verify or authenticate legal documents for use abroad. A Notary has to check the identity, capacity & authority of the person signing the document. If the Notary is satisfied after carrying out his obligations, the Notary will issue a notarial seal of office to the document, or where appropriate a notarial certificate. The form of notarial seal of office is exclusive & personal to each individual notary.
The Notary’s primary duty is to the document itself & not to the individual presenting it, unlike Solicitors & Barristers in the UK whose duties are to the clients. Notarial Acts therefore require high standard of care as this is relied upon by third parties such as foreign government officials. A Notary may satisfy his obligations where appropriate by drafting documents and/or witnessing the execution of the documents; authenticate the contents of the document; by administering oaths and declarations.
Who is our Notary Public?
Muhammad Karim is both a qualified Solicitor & Notary Public. Muhammad Karim qualified as a solicitor in 2012 & was awarded the post graduate Diploma in Notarial Practice from the University College London (UCL) & qualified as a Notary Public in 2015.
Although Muhammad Karim’s notarial practice is separate from his solicitors work, his dual qualification of being both a qualified Solicitor & a Notary Public allows him to use his extensive legal knowledge & experience to successfully represent both individuals & companies who require bespoke notarial services which is unique to their respective requirements.
Why choose us?
No hidden fees
Our price structure is very straight forward & transparent. Our notarial services start from £60 & we do not charge VAT. We are committed to providing you with the fastest service at the most competitive rate.
Competitive & Experienced.
Muhammad Karim has comprehensive knowledge of company & corporate law as well as legal knowledge required to accommodate & cater for individual clients. Muhammad Karim has notarised thousands of documents – in other words, he has seen it all! You can rest assured that your document will be notarised correctly in a quick & efficient manner.
Same day, weekend & Bank Holiday Appointments
We understand that each individual or company have urgent deadlines to meet & as such we strive to cater for their requirements. Muhammad Karim is able to offer same day appointments during the week day working hours as well as weekend & Bank holiday appointments with prior arrangements. We also cater for urgent instructions during the festive period (Christmas & New Years). Appointments during the weekend & Bank holidays attract a small additional charge.
Mobile Notary service
If you as an individual who works long hours & finds it difficult in taking time off work to travel to a notary – the mobile notary service provided by Muhammad Karim will resolve your problem. Other situations where by you may require the mobile notary service is if there is an elderly individual finding it difficult to travel or family groups collectively signing documents. – In such situations the mobile notary service provided by Muhammad Karim may be more convenient or even necessary.
The mobile Notary service may also be a benefit to businesses; many businesses require the mobile service as it can be quite a task for directors to visit the notary’s office while juggling the day to day roles as company directors.
If you are unable to travel to our office or otherwise require the convenience of our mobile notary service then please contact us & we will be pleased to make arrangements to travel to you. Mobile notary service will incur additional charges to cover travel & waiting.
White Horse Solicitors & Notary Public
96 White Horse Lane
London E1 4LR
Parking
Private Car Park Bays for clients at the rear of our Office
Bus
The 25, 309 and 205 buses run closest to our Office
Nearest Tube Station:
Stepney Green Underground tube station – (District Line) – (1 minute walk to our Office)
Mile End and Whitechapel Underground Tube Station – (Central Line) – (7 – 10 minutes walk to our Office)
OUR REVIEWS
FAQ’S
A Notary Public (also referred to as a ‘Public Notary’ or simply as a ‘Notary’ is a public officer & is a specialist lawyer authorised to witness, authenticate or certify documents for use in countries around the world. Solicitors & Barristers in the UK owe a duty of care towards their clients. In contrast a Notary Public owes a duty of care to the document he is notarising.
The short answer is yes. In certain instances it may be necessary to change a lettered translation of the document into English. Our Notary Public can advise you on whether this is required – If this is required the Notary can assist with obtaining a certified translation. If you do require notarisation of a document which is in a foreign language, please do contact our Notary Public & he will be happy to explain any specific requirements.
We provide notarial services to both our individual & business clients. We have years of experience in accommodating the needs of both of our individual & corporate institutions. Please visit our pages for ‘Services for Individuals’ & ‘Services for Businesses’ for more details.
An Apostille is a certificate issued by the foreign or commonwealth office in the UK & is the authentication of a document for use in another country.
The Apostille certificate confirms the signature, seal & stamp of the Notary Public to be genuine so that it is accepted when presented in another country outside the UK. The Apostille assures that any documents fraudulently ‘notarised’, purporting to be a Notary Public is not recognised & therefore reduces the risk of fraudulent documents being circulated around the world.
If the document being notarised is to be received by a country that is a signatory to the Apostille convention of 1961 – it is likely that you will require an Apostille. The purpose of the Hague Apostille Convention of 1961 is that once the country becomes a member/signatory there should no longer be any requirement for separate consular or embassy legalisation as long as the document has been notarised and apostilled. Our Notary Public will be happy to advise you on whether the recipient of the document will require an Apostille. If an Apostille is required, our Notary Public can advise you on the process of obtaining one, the cost & can arrange this for you.
We cater for all your urgent notarial needs & have a robust system in place to cater for your urgent needs. Unfortunately- the UK government have ceased the same day apostille service in London (save some limited types of documents). Our in-house courier will ensure that if required with an additional fee, the Apostille is obtained next day & country specific consular or embassy legalisation is obtained the following day if this is applicable.
If we are required to notarise documents to confirm they are authentic- remote or online electronic notarisation is possible on certain documents. At White Horse Notary Public, we have successfully carried out digital notarisations using the internationally recognised eIDAS Regulation standard “Qualified Electronic Signature” for use overseas and will continue to advise clients on the best course of action in this area. The resulting “qualified electronic signature” is recognised as having the same legal effect as a handwritten wet-ink signature.
Although many countries have become members/signatures to The Hague Apostille convention of 1961 – there still remains many countries around the world that are not signatures/members of the convention. This means that if your document is being received in a country who is not a signature/member is it likely that further legalisation of the document will be required by the consular or embassy of the receiving country.
Our Notary Public has comprehensive knowledge of the legalisation requirements for all the countries around the world & will be happy to advise you accordingly in relation to your specific requirements.
To comply with money laundering regulations, a Notary Public must confirm your identity. Our Notary Public would expect you to bring with you your current unexpired passport or your full photo card driver’s license as a proof of identification. You will also be expected to produce proof of residency which is no more than 3 months old – this can be by way of bank statement or utility bill issued to you.
For more information on specific identification requirements please check our ‘Identification’ page
The cost will depend on the number of documents you require notarising. Our charge for one document starts at £60. We do not charge VAT & there are no hidden charges. If you require an Apostille, consular or Embassy legalisation, the cost will depend on the number of documents & how quickly you require the documents to be apostilled &/or legalised.
Our Notary Public offers home or office visits & out of hours service (including weekends) by prior appointment. This service will incur on additional charge. Please do let us know if you require our out of hours/office service.