NOTARIAL SERVICES

Our firm has a department dedicated to notarial services, and we assist with any type of notarisation required in an efficient manner.

A Notary Public is an attorney who is also admitted by the High Court as a Notary Public, and has additional powers to prepare, witness, attest and legalise certain documents such as ante-nuptial contracts, general powers of attorney, notarial documents and documents to be used abroad.

International documents, or documents to be used abroad, must be legalised by a Notary Public to be accepted as such in another country. A document is apostilled by a Notary Public when the country the document must be used is a party to the Hague Convention. Where the country is not a party to the Hague Convention, the following steps apply for the legalisation of a document in South Africa for use abroad:

  1. The document is notarised by a Notary Public.
  2. The document is submitted to the Registrar of the High Court who authenticates the Notary Public’s signature and attaches a certificate to this effect.
  3. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (“DIRCO”) is supplied with the notarised document, including the Registrar of the High Court’s certificate, who authenticates the Registrar of the High Court’s signature and attaches a certificate confirming this.
  4. Once legalised by DIRCO, the documents are submitted to the relevant embassy or consulate of the foreign country in which the document is to be used, who legalises the document and also attaches a certificate to this effect.

Our notarial services include, but are not limited to:

  • Authentication of documents to be used abroad (including legalisation by the High Court, DIRCO and the relevant embassy)
  •  Legalisation of documents for use abroad including Apostille Certificates
  • Drafting and registration of powers of attorney
  • Drafting and registration of ante-nuptial contracts
  • Notarial certification of documents
  • Authenticating documents and signatures
  • Registration of notarial bonds, usufructs and servitudes

We assist with everything from the initial consultation, to the finalisation of the matter and ensure that our clients are kept up to date throughout the process.