‘A Notary must keep his clients informed of barrier to the swift legalisation of their documents’, says Matthew Pryke Notary Public LLP.

‘As a Notary in London, it has been brought to my attention that the Legalisation Office in Central London will cease the legalisation of documents at 3pm on Wednesday 10 February.  A Notary wishing to legalise documents will have to wait until Friday 12 February, before the legalisation office re-opens.

‘A Notary in London would normally continue their notary service by sending their notary matters to the legalisation office at Norfolk House in Milton Keynes, if the London Legalisation office is closed.

‘The Legalisation Office in Milton Keynes, however, will also be closed from 3pm on Thursday 11 February and reopen on Monday 15 February 2010.

‘A Notary in London thrives on a fast turnaround service, so clients wishing their Notary Public to legalise documents over this period may have to bring their Notary matters forward to ensure they experience no delays.

‘These changes are due to essential IT upgrades and I look forward to working with these Legalisation offices once their normal service is resumed on Monday 15 February.’

If you are a client concerned about how the closure of Legalisation offices will affect your Notary service please contact Matthew through the usual channels.

Notary in London Matthew Pryke today launches a campaign to encourage law firms and fellow Notary Publics to donate a small percentage of their fees to a designated charity partner.

Matthew Pryke Notary Public says, ‘It’s not about the size of the donation really.  It’s more a case of little and often.

‘Notary matters tend to generate relatively small amounts of revenue, often just a small fee to notarise a document.  By donating £10 for every notary transaction I was recently able to donate £2,600 through my notary business to my designated Charity partner Honeypot to provide respite care for children who act as carers to their family.

Many clients enjoy the fact that a percentage of the firm’s revenue is passed on to community charities.  I would encourage other notary practices and law firms to set up a similar arrangement with a charity partner like Honeypot.  It generates revenue for their business, supports the local community and can help the public understand that the legal profession is more public spirited than they might believe.’

Ronan Macmillan of Honeypot agrees.  ‘We are thrilled that Notary Public Matthew Pryke has pledged to donate £10 to Honeypot for every notary task he undertakes.

In addition to the £2,600 he has raised through his London Notary practice this year, last year he raised £32,000 by organising a trip to climb Kilimanjaro and we are delighted to have Matthew  as an official corporate sponsor.’

If you are a Notary, or know of a Notary Public who is interested in sponsoring Honeypot, please call Matthew Pryke Notary Public to discuss this further.

For more information on how Matthew Pryke Notary Public donates to Honeypot through his Notary business, please visit www.mdpryke-notary.com/londonnotarypubliccharity

A Notary can provide valuable assistance to corporations by legalising documents (also called apostille) to ensure that all official documents are verified.  UK Notary in London Matthew Pryke has worked extensively with Saudi businesses in his position as Head of Commercial and IP Law at Wallace LLP and through his London Notary practice.

He offers the following advice to any potential Saudi investors seeking a Notary in London to provide document legalisation services.

1. Notary publics must follow various procedures depending on which country the documents to be legalised originate.  This means that some commercial documents to be used in Saudi Arabia must be obtained through the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth office.  This legalisation procedure must be followed by every Notary in London and other UK Notary.

2. Notary in London Matthew Pryke offers a same day service for the majority of Notary deeds.  He advises, however, that legalising documents from Saudi Arabia may take up to a week for a Notary to complete.

3. Notarizing documents that only require legalisation by the Consular Office of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia can be completed in one or two days.

4. Notary publics in London can charge a wide range of fees for legalising documents for use in Saudi Arabia.  UK Notary in London Matthew Pryke’s fees are £50 per document plus the consular fee.  The document to be legalised must first be certified by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office where the fee for certification is £69 per document.

5. Two photocopies are required of each document to be legalized and the name and address of the consignee or agent must appear on each document.

Notary Public Legalisation Office Closure Details

Algeria Embassy: Closed 26 November to 1 December 2009

Iraq Embassy: Closed 27 November 2009 only

Kuwait Embassy: Closed 26 and 27 November 2009

Qatar: Closed 26 and 27 November 2009

Saudi Arabia Legalisation Office: Closed 26 November to 30 November 2009

Tunisia Legalisation Office: Closed 27 November 2009 only

UAE Legalisation Office: Closed: 26 November to 30 November 2009 and 2 December to 6 December 2009

Consequently London Notaries Public Practice MD Pryke Notary Public will continue to provide the usual same day notary public legalisation service once the various legalisation offices of the embassies are reopened for business as usual.

London Notaries Public practice owner Matthew Pryke explains “With various Arab state embassies and legalisation offices closed during the end of November and beginning of December we will not be able to process any legalisation matters and requirements for these countries during this period.  However from the second week in December and onwards my London Notaries Public Practice will continue to provide a same day service for all legalisation requirements.”

For further about the Notary Public legalisation requirements for Arab states and the need to obtain additional legalisation stamps or legalisation certificates from any embassy please do not hesitate to contact London Notaries Public Practice MD Pryke Notary Public at his London Notaries website www.mdpryke-notary.com or via email at matthew@mdpryke-notary.com.

Personal purpose Legalisation (per document) -  from £12 to £15

Business purpose Legalisation (per document) -  from £23 to £25

Please note that documents for China may require a notarised translation into Chinese.  Legalisation by the Chinese Consulate is expected to take 48 hours. The Chinese Consulate requires a photocopy of each notarised document to be legalised when the document is lodged. For an additional fee, legalisation may be completed sooner. The document to be legalised must first be certified (by way of Apostille) by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office where the legalisation fee for certification (by way of Apostille) is £69 per document.

London Notaries practice owner Matthew Pryke explains “The increase in legalisation fees charged by the Chinese Embassy is unlikely to be warmly received by any of our London notaries clients.  However our London notaries clients are able to enjoy affordable and fixed notarisation fees which notarisation fees have not been increased for more than 3 years.  In addition our notary public legalisation solutions guarantee an affordable and efficient legalisation service which provides our London notaries clients with the opportunity to ensure even the tightest of notarisation and legalisation deadlines are met.”

For further tips and guidance regarding leglations fees and legalisation services please refer to the following notaries public article http://www.mdpryke-notary.com/2009/10/notary-public-legalisation-fee-tips. Alternatively and for or further information regarding notarisation fees or to obtain a notary public legalisation quote please do not hesitate to contact this London Notaries practice at www.mdpryke-notary.com

London Notaries practice owner Matthew Pryke explains “We understand the Legalisation Office is closed for staff training on 26^th November.  This is unfortunate and as a consequence we will not be able to process legalisation requirements for our London Notaries clients until 27^th November 2009.  However from the 27^th November 2009 and onwards my London Notaries practice will continue to provide a same day service for any Apostille and other legalisation requirements.“ 

Matthew’s London Notaries practice provides a complete range of legalisation solutions and legalisation tips for its London Notary clients for further information please refer to the recent legalisation tips article http://www.mdpryke-notary.com/2009/10/notary-public%20legalisation-tips/

For further information about the Legalisation Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and a range of options to obtain an Apostille or other legalisation certificates and stamps please contact London Notary Matthew Pryke at his London Notaries practice website http://www.mdpryke-notary.com/.

London Notary Public Office Opening Times – 9:00 – 18:00

Notary Public Matthew Pryke suggests that all London clients attending his Notary Public offices in central London should consider using neighbouring tube stations close to the Notary Public office such as Bond Street, Regent’s Park, Great Portland Street, Warren Street and Tottenham Court Road.  M D Pryke’s central London Notary Public offices are ideally located near to many popular and easily accessible London Tube Stations.

Qualified Notary Public Matthew Pryke commenting on the closure of Oxford Circus tube station explained, “Whilst Oxford Circus tube is closed we would suggest to clients to consider alternative ways of accessing our Notary Public offices in London’s West End. As always our central London Notary Public offices will be open for Notary Public clients during this time.  For further information we suggest that Notary Public clients view the Transport for London website www.thetube.com“.

Notary Public Practice MD Pryke Notary Public is based at One Portland Place and is conveniently located in London’s West End.  Consequently should you require Notary Public services or to receive a quote for fees please contact MD Pryke Notary Public at www.mdpryke-notary.com.

Notary Public Legalisation Fees Tip 1:  Consider the cost versus time for a Notary Public practice to deal with the legalisation.  Whilst notarial clients can save fees by dealing with legalisation themselves it can be counter productive if significant time is required to deal with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (for Apostille) or London Consulate. Time is money!

Notary Public Legalisation Fees Tip 2:  Determine an appropriate deadline. A number of London’s Consulates and also the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (for apostilles) offer varying legalisation services which can significantly reduce legalisation fees if clients’ requirements are less pressing. For urgent notarial matters this legalisation option will not be possible.  However a good Notary Public practice should provide such options to you as a way of reducing notarisation and legalisation fees. 

Notary Public Legalisation Fees Tip 3:  Seek courier quotes in advance.  As courier fees charged by London Notary Public practices vary greatly it is always advisable to seek a full and detailed fee quote.  Whilst the fees charged by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (for apostilles) and London Consulates will be fixed the courier fees will vary based on the competitive pricing of the legalisation service offer by the Notary Public London.

Notary Public Legalisation Fees Tip 4:  Legalise a number of documents at the same time.  Legalisation courier fees are likely to be incurred each time a trip is made to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (for apostilles) or a London Consulate.  Therefore cost savings can be enjoyed by dealing with several documents at the same time.  This provides the usual economies of scale as part of the legalisation process.

Notary Public Legalisation Fees Tip 5:  Ensure the document can be legalised.  Often legalisation fees and time can be wasted by taking documents to be legalised either to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (for apostilles) or London Consulates when the documents have not been dealt with, for example, via notarisation, and are therefore rejected.  It is always advisable to seek the advice of a qualified and experienced London Notary Public practice to ensure that all legal and procedural steps have been taken prior to legalisation.

London Notary Public Legalisation Option 1 – Premium Service

MD Pryke Notary Public offers a same day turn around of notarised documents which are couriered, legalised and returned to clients.  The large majority of notary clients prefer to opted for this legalisation solution as it provides certainty and an efficient service for a slightly increased fee.

London Notary Public Legalisation Option 2 – Hand delivering documents to Norfolk House

MD Pryke Notary Public also offers its notary clients a legalisation service whereby notarised documents are couriered to Norfolk House in Milton Keynes on a daily basis.  Notarial documents will then be dealt with via the “Public Counter” section of the Foreign and Commonwealth Offices legalisation department.  Notary clients are able to receive their notarised documents back legalised within approximately 24 – 48 hours based on when the notarised document is received by London Notaries practice MD Pryke Notary Public.

London Notary Public Legalisation Option 3 – Legalisation via DX

London Notaries Public practice MD Pryke Notary Public also offers notary clients a service whereby documents can be legalised and dealt with within a week without the need to incur additional courier fees.  MD Pryke Notary Public offers a legalisation service whereby notarised documents can be posted via DX and then legalised at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the same day.  Whilst this process takes a little longer than the premier service and couriering service the cost savings and turn around, in a matter of days, offers a useful and cost efficient legalisation alternative to the London notary clients of MD Pryke Notary Public.

For further details of the legalisation services offered by London Notary Public Matthew Pryke or alternatively to seek a notarisation or legalisation fee quote please visit the website of this London Notaries practice at www.mdpryke-notary.com.