Need a very cheap notary

Mr.Boy

In order to claim some money I'm owed from the US, I must get a notarised affadavit. Many notaries are also solicitors and it seems that route is looking at around £60 minimum. The problem is that it's only about £20 I'm owed!
I'm told I can get my document notarised for as little as £8 - that was someone getting a magistrate to do it - but don't know what to do.

Please help!

jonesMUFCforever

Is it really worth it??

Bossyboots

You need to check the actual qualification requirement expected of the witness. In the US they use notary as a global term whereas here, it is a specifically authorised witness. Often, documents that say they need a notary in fact only need to be witnessed by a solicitor which costs £5 for the document and £2 for any exhibits. A Magistrate would not be qualified (unless they are a registered notary public as well) to witness documents requiring the signature of a notary public.

The reason it costs so much to use a notary public is that they have to pay a fee and register to be able to witness the international documents.

Mr.Boy

Thanks. I beleive the form has to be signed and also some stamp is involved. Which category does that sound like do you think?

Mr.Boy

ejones999 wrote:

Is it really worth it??

I might get some more payments another time, so yes as long as getting my affadavit done doesn't cost more than the $25 this time round.
Plus, it's the principle!

jonesMUFCforever

Can you explain a little about what the payments are for?

Bossyboots

d000hg wrote:

Thanks. I beleive the form has to be signed and also some stamp is involved. Which category does that sound like do you think?

Both. You would be expected to have a company stamp applied to the document to prove where it was witnessed. Anyone could write a name and address and pretend it had been witnessed properly so a company ink stamp is normally required.

Can you just clarify whether you have a draft affidavit in your possession or whether you need this drawn up as well?

It depends on the wording as to whether a notary or a solicitor would be necessary and many countries are now accepting just a solicitor as witness rather than the previous expectation of it being a notary. Some documents can only be done by a notary and you really need to know from the people who require it, what they will accept. Is it possible to explain to them that this in this country it is normally solicitors who witness documents in this way and ask if that is acceptable. You can tell them that you would still be able to obtain a stamp of the affidavit to prove authenticity.

Otherwise, without seeing the document it is hard to tell what level they are actually expecting you get it witnessed at.

littlepockets

I do recall someone getting a magistrates/crown/county court official to witness a signature for free - maybe worth checking with your local court ??

Bossyboots

littlepockets wrote:

I do recall someone getting a magistrates/crown/county court official to witness a signature for free - maybe worth checking with your local court ??

The county court will witness documents for free provided they relate to current county court proceedings.

At our local magistrates court they make you wait until the end of the court day to see if someone will do it for you but you can end up waiting hours. There are usually solicitors around who are prepared to do it but they do not have their company stamps with them and more and more documents require this before they are accepted.

If the OP does need a notary public then they are going to have to pay the cost. There is no shortcut to that unless you know one either personally or through someone else, that will do cheap or for free.