Most people have heard of notaries public, but few know what they do. I’d like to talk about what notaries public do and also how to become one.
Notary public is one of the oldest professions in existence, dating back to Roman times.
In modern times, the power of notaries public varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Broadly speaking, Notaries public are essentially state-appointed officers who are entitled to administer oaths and attest to the authenticity of documents. In certain civil law jurisdictions, notaries public are entitled to practise law. However, this is not the case in most common-law jurisdictions, such as Ontario, UK, or the US.
In Ontario, notaries public are appointed under the Notaries Act. All lawyers in Ontario are entitled to apply for an appointment (with a small filing fee); non-lawyers who are Canadian citizens can become notaries public subject to examination by a judge or a public servant, although their notarial power may be limited in territory or in function, or both.
In plain language, the notary public provides the following services (please refer to the Notaries Act for the exact wording):
- drafting, passing, and keeping all deeds, contracts and other commercial agreements,
- confirming the execution and authenticity of all commercial instruments
- administrating oaths and statutory declarations in Ontario
Most clients think notarization makes a document more important or more acceptable in law; this is a myth. Over the years of my law practice, I’ve had clients ask me to notarize various documents. However, legally speaking, most of the documents have not required notarization, and notarizing them would have meant absolutely nothing in law. Thus, at times I find myself feeling conflicted while dissuading clients from obtaining my notarial services.
