Notarial Acts, Procedure, and Notarial Document Requirements
Acts, procedure, and documents
This domain tests the mechanics of a notarial act: identification, capacity, language, drafting, signature, register entry, seal, and delivery. The notary must read the document to the parties, explain its legal effect, and ensure that blanks are closed. Acts are recorded in the register; duplicates and certified copies are issued only under the statutory rules.
Procedure
- Verify identity with reliable documents and record the details.
- Establish capacity and authority; for legal persons, check the charter and the representative's powers.
- Draft in the required language; use an interpreter and record the interpreter's details where needed.
- Obtain signatures in the notary's presence; certify copies only from originals.
- Enter the act in the register and issue the required number of originals.
Worked example. A client asks the notary to certify a copy of a power of attorney. The notary sees that the client has only a photocopy. Analysis: a copy can be certified only from the original or a properly legalised duplicate; a photocopy of a photocopy proves nothing. The notary refuses and explains how to obtain a duplicate. The written refusal identifies the document and the defect.
Traps. Leaving blanks or unsigned pages; certifying a copy from a copy; failing to record an interpreter; accepting an expired ID; omitting the register entry; issuing an original without the required number of copies.