In many instances, a document, contract, affidavit, declaration, application, power of attorney or form needs to be signed in front of a Notary Public, who will attest to your identity and the fact that you have signed the document in front of him/her. In turn the notarised document can be legalised for use outside the borders of South Africa by means of an Apostille certificate or in the case of a non-Hague member destination country an authentication and possibly embassy legalisation process. We charge a fee of R850 per attestation which includes the consultation with the notary. Legalisation and the courier of the document can be done at an additional fee.
What are the requirements for the form and wording of the document?
• What are the witnessing requirements? For the document or form to be legally binding, it will need to be drafted in accordance with the local laws of the country where the transaction is to take place. As an example, if you live in South Africa but own an apartment in Spain and would like to appoint a person in that country to manage it, your document will need to be worded so as to reflect the laws of Spain rather than South Africa. Usually, the documents are prepared by lawyers in the country where the document is intended to be used. Once it is prepared, it is sent to South Africa in order for it to be signed before a Notary Public.
What about the signing requirements for the document?
The requirement as to how the document is to be signed may vary from country to country. It may need to be signed only in front of a Public Notary or alternatively, one or more witnesses may be required to be present in addition to the Notary. After being notarised by the Notary Public, the document may need to be apostilled, authenticated or legalised by the High Court, Department of Foreign Affairs and possibly the applicable Embassy or Consulate depending on the destination Country of the document. This means that along with how the document should be notarised, instructions should be sought on whether the document requires an Apostille, Authentication and/or legalisation in order for it to be legally recognised in the country of intended use. Our firm is experienced in notarising and legalising document documents for ultimate use in most countries in the world. We deliver a comprehensive document attestation and legalisation service, which service inter alia includes:
For further information, to schedule an appointment or should you have questions please contact with us.
Louwrens Koen Attorneys