Notarial Procedure, Records Management, and Archiving
The procedural sequence
Every notarial act follows a structure: identify the parties; verify capacity and authority; establish the subject and the parties' true intent; check legality and required consents; read the draft aloud or allow reading; obtain signatures; register the act; collect the fee; issue the instrument. Deviations from the sequence are a common source of disciplinary findings and of exam questions about the validity of the act.
Documents and verification
Know the identity documents accepted, the treatment of foreign documents (apostille or legalisation, and translation with certification), and the verification of powers of attorney. Trap: accepting an uncertified translation, or a foreign power of attorney without the required legalisation.
Registers and files
Each notarial act is entered in the register with a serial number; the notarial file holds the documents on which the act is based. Understand what goes into the register, what is stored in the file, and the rules on issuing duplicates and extracts.
Archiving
Notarial documents are kept for statutory retention periods; after the notary's cessation the archive goes to the Chamber or the state archive as prescribed. Trap: assuming the notary's heirs inherit the archive, or that documents may be destroyed at the notary's discretion.
Rule of thumb
'Identify → Verify → Explain → Read → Sign → Register → File → Archive.' If any step is missing, the file is defective even if the instrument looks perfect.
Worked example: A party presents a foreign power of attorney in a foreign language. The notary must require a translation certified in the prescribed manner and the apostille/legalisation; without both, the act cannot proceed, and the register entry must record the refusal.