NOTARIZATION OF DOCUMENTS

By: Magna Carta Law Office

Notarization or notarial act is the official fraud-deterrent process of examining, certifying and record-keeping performed by Notary Public or Notarial Services Attorney that solidifies the important document as trustworthy. It is an assurance by a duly appointed and unbiased Notary Public that a document is authentic, that its signature is genuine, and that its signer acted without coercion or intimidation. It is a requirement of many countries that personal or commercial documents originating from or signed in another country to be notarized before they can be officially used or before they can be legally recognized.  A notary certifies that the person signing the document is who they claim to be and that they signed the document in front of a Notarial Services Attorney. Once notarized, a document will have much more legal credibility.

Unlike other countries, in Thailand, only lawyers/attorneys are given the authority to function as Notarial Services Attorney through the regulations of the Lawyers Council. For an Attorney in Thailand to become a Notarial Services Attorney, he must pass a special legal training course from the Lawyer’s council in order to get a notary’s license or attestation. 

A Notarial Services Attorney may execute the following functions:

• Verification of signature, documents

• Certifying True Copy of documents

• Attestation of ID such as passport / Driver’s License

• Authentication of Title Deeds

• Testimony and Oath and affirmation (Affidavit)

• Attestation of address

• Confirmation of Birth Certificate

• Certification of Translations

• Power of Attorney

• Witnessing contracts and other related documents

Certain affidavits, real estate deeds and other documents may not be legally binding unless they are duly notarized. Examples of documents that commonly require notarization are passports, bank statements, land title deeds, contracts, power of attorney, applications for international visa, etc.

To get your document notarized, be sure to bring an unsigned document to the notary as you will be required to sign them in front of the Notarial Services Attorney. You will be asked to present your original proof of identification with photo and signature such as Passport or other government issued ID. Your document shall be signed and marked with a stamp or seal to indicate that the signature is legitimate and it wasn’t somebody else pretending as you. Be sure to check that the document has been marked with a seal or stamp. The notation must correctly identify the date and place of Notarization, the full name, title, Certificate validity date and License Number of the Notarial Services Attorney.

It is important to know that Notarial Services Attorneys should not refuse to serve anyone because of religion, nationality or lifestyle.  A Notarial Services Attorney is only required by law to refuse service to anyone if they have a good reason to suspect fraud and the signer cannot reasonably prove his or her identity and general competence.