notary

notary
notaryship, n.
/noh"teuh ree/, n., pl. notaries.
[1275-1325; ME < L notarius clerk, equiv. to not(are) to NOTE, mark + -arius -ARY]

* * *

Public officer who certifies and attests to the authenticity of writings (e.g., deeds) and takes affidavits, depositions, and protests of negotiable instruments.

The notary is commissioned by the state and may act only within the territory authorized by state statutes. Most states set maximum fees for notarial services and require that a notarial seal or stamp be impressed on documents authenticated by a notary public. In the civil-law countries of western Europe and in Latin American and French areas of North America, the role of the notary is more significant, being roughly equivalent to that of a lawyer who specializes in real estate, sales, mortgages, and the settlement of estates but who may not appear in court.

* * *

also called  Notary Public,  

      public official whose chief function in common-law countries is to authenticate contracts, deeds, and other documents by an appropriate certificate with a notarial seal. In Roman law the notarius was originally a slave or freedman who took notes of judicial proceedings. The work of the modern notary, however, corresponds more to that of the Roman tabularius, who took and preserved evidence. In medieval times the notary was an ecclesiastical officer who preserved evidence, but his duties were mainly secular.

      The modern notary is appointed, after making application, by a secular official; the appointment usually becomes effective on payment of a fee, on the taking of an oath of office, and, in many parts of the United States, on the deposit of a bond to assure the proper performance of duties.

      In the United States, qualifications for the position vary little from state to state, and, in general, a notary must be a citizen of legal age and a resident of the area in which he desires appointment. The jurisdiction of the notary's office is limited to the state or, in some states, only the county in which he resides. In countries such as France and Italy, however, and in the Canadian province of Quebec, which follow the civil-law (civil law) tradition, there are educational requirements for notaries similar to those for lawyers.

      In the civil-law countries of western Europe, and in Latin American and French areas of North America, the office of notary is a much more important position than in the United States and England. The civil-law notary may be roughly described as a lawyer who specializes in the law relating to real estate, sales, mortgages, and the settlement of estates but who is not allowed to appear in court. Documents prepared by him or authenticated in the proper manner are, in these countries, admissible in court without further proof of their authenticity; the notary guarantees the identity of the parties.

      In the Anglo-American–law countries, on the other hand, courts will not accept as true the facts certified by a notary except in the case of a bill of exchange protested abroad. Nor may a notary draw up legal documents such as wills, contracts, mortgages, and deeds for a fee, for such work constitutes the practice of law. Nevertheless, many statutes require that the authenticity of specified documents be certified by a notary; the most common of these in the United States are deeds conveying land. In these cases the notary must not take the acknowledgment of a person who does not appear before him or who is not known to him unless evidence of identification is presented.

      Certain other officials may be given notarial functions by statute, such as justices of the peace, consular officials, certain military officers, and various court officials.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • notary — index notary public Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 notary …   Law dictionary

  • notary — UK [ˈnəʊtərɪ] / US [ˈnoʊtərɪ] or notary public UK / US noun [countable] Word forms notary : singular notary plural notaries Word forms notary public : singular notary public plural notaries public legal someone who has the legal authority to make …   English dictionary

  • Notary — No ta*ry, n.; pl. {Notaries}. [F. notaire, L. notarius notary (in sense 1), fr. nota mark. See 5th {Note}.] [1913 Webster] 1. One who records in shorthand what is said or done; as, the notary of an ecclesiastical body. [1913 Webster] 2. (Eng. &… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • notary — no‧ta‧ry [ˈnəʊtəri ǁ ˈnoʊ ] noun notaries PLURALFORM also notary public notaries public PLURALFORM [countable] LAW JOBS someone such as a lawyer with the legal power to notarize a document …   Financial and business terms

  • notary — (n.) c.1300, clerk, secretary, from O.Fr. notarie scribe, clerk, secretary (12c.) and directly from L. notarius shorthand writer, clerk, secretary, from notare, to note, from nota shorthand character, letter, note (see NOTE (Cf. note) (v.)).… …   Etymology dictionary

  • notary — [n] notary public certifier, commissioner for oaths, court clerk, endorser, public official, recorder, registrar, scrivener, signatory, witness; concepts 355,423 …   New thesaurus

  • notary — (in full notary public) ► NOUN (pl. notaries) ▪ a person authorized to perform certain legal formalities, especially to draw up or certify contracts, deeds, etc. DERIVATIVES notarial adjective. ORIGIN Latin notarius secretary …   English terms dictionary

  • notary — [nōt′ə rē] n. pl. notaries [ME notarye < OFr notaire < L notarius < notare, to NOTE] short for NOTARY PUBLIC …   English World dictionary

  • Notary — A notary is a lawyer or person with legal training who is licensed by the state to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. Most… …   Wikipedia

  • Notary — Also called a notary public, this state appointed official witnesses important document signings and verifies the identities of the signers to help deter fraud and identity theft. A notarized document will contain the seal and signature of the… …   Investment dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”