Notorial Protest

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Apostille?An apostille is an official document certifying that the notary who performed a particular notarial act was a notary in good standing at the time of the notarization. It also certifies the authenticity of the notary?s signature and seal.

Documents that will require an apostille will be destined for countries that have signed the Hague Convention on Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents.

It is important to understand that the apostille does not authenticate the contents or effect of the document in any way. It pertains strictly to the notary?s authority to perform notarial acts on the date of the specific notarization and the authenticity of the notary?s signature and seal on that particular notarial certificate.


Certificate of Notarial Authority?Documents destined for jurisdictions within the U.S., or for countries that have not signed the Hague Convention, will not receive an apostille but will receive a certificate of notarial authority. The format of this certificate can differ according to the state that issues it. This certificate also authenticates the notary?s signature, seal and authority to act as a notary on the date that the notarial act was performed. It does not authenticate the contents or effect of the underlying document in any way.

Welcome to the real world: A notary public (or notary or public notary) in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business.

A notary's main functions are to administer oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and statutory declarations, witness and authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents, take acknowledgments of deeds and other conveyances, protest notes and bills of exchange, provide notice of foreign drafts, prepare marine or ship's protests in cases of damage, provide exemplifications and notarial copies, and perform certain other official acts depending on the jurisdiction.[1] Any such act is known as a notarization.

The term notary public only refers to common-law notaries and should not be confused with civil-law notaries.