Maureen Crawford Gallagher | Letterkenny Solicitor & Notary Public

Example of an individual requiring the services of the notary. You may be:

• selling a property
• purchasing property
• opening a bank account/ closing a bank account/
• adopting a child abroad
• life certificates / this is where you would appear in front of the notary to prove you are still alive and the notary can confirm your identity and that you are alive.
• Notarising passport documents
• Letters of consent for children traveling abroad.
• Statutory declarations
• Statements of consent ( USA)

The above list is not exhaustive and is only an example of the type of work that a carries out.

The notary must satisfy themselves that the person appearing before them fully understands the content of the document they are signing. Please note that notaries do not provide legal advice to a client on any document they are signing notwithstanding the fact that they are a qualified solicitor or barrister. When the notary put on their notarial hat they are not acting as a solicitor and vice versa. The Letterkenny notary may advise you to seek legal advice before signing the document.

Under Data Protection, a notary is required by law to retain a copy of all notarised documents together with a copy of the client’s personal details for 5 years. The retained document can then be disposed of after 5 years by the notary unless required to retain the same for legal reasons.

Costs of Notarising documents

Prior to meeting the Notary, you will be asked to provide a copy of the documents you have to be notarised and the requirements for same which may be forwarded to the notary via email. There are different requirements for all types of documents and the receiving country will have their own requirements which must be followed to ensure the document is not rejected by the receiving country. On the basis of the information and requirements given the notary will be in a position to outline the fee. There is no set fee to notarise documents as every transaction has different requirements.

Fees are calculated on the nature of the work, and the number of documents involved.  Some documents may have to be apostilled or legalised.

To Apostille a document the following is required.:

An Apostille is a certificate issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs verifying the genuineness of the signature and or seal of a public officer/ Notary Public, on a public document and the capacity in which she or he has acted.

A Fee of €40.00 is charged where a document is apostilled.

The Apostille procedure applies in lieu of Legalisation between countries that have signed and ratified or acceded to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961. Ireland ratified the Convention in 1999.

Legalisation of a document.

Legalisation (in some countries spelled ‘Legalization’) is an internationally recognised procedure for certifying the authenticity of official signatures and/or official seal applied to a public document. It operates by means of an unbroken chain of verifying signatures commencing with that of the first signatory to the document and ending with the signature of the diplomatic or consular representative of the state upon which the document is to be produced and acted upon.

The legalisation procedure usually commences with the attestation by a Notary Public of the signature of a person to a formal document e.g. a Power of Attorney. The Notary Public having subscribed his or her name and affixed his or her official seal to the document by way of a notarial act arranges for the document to be produced to the Registrar of the Supreme Court for the purpose of having the Notary signature and official seal verified.

The document is then produced at the Consular Section of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin for the purpose of having the signature of the Supreme Court Registrar verified and finally, it is produced to the diplomatic or consular representative in Dublin (or London) of the foreign country in which it is intended the document shall be produced for the purpose of having the Irish Consular Officer’s signature legalised.

When all the foregoing steps have been completed, the document is said to have been legalised.

The acts of notaries are recognised worldwide.

For your notarial needs in Letterkenny, talk to Maureen Crawford Gallagher. With her commitment to quality and personalized service, Maureen can assist you with document authentication, identity verification, and more. Plus, she offers flexible options such as out-of-hours and mobile services to accommodate your schedule and location. Contact Maureen Crawford Gallagher today for all your notarial needs at mcgnotary@outlook.com .

Letterkenny Notarial Service Fees