Notary Public

If you are being admitted as a solicitor you will automatically be admitted as a notary public at the same time, unless you advise us to the contrary in your admission application. The fee is currently £50. Please note that the fee changes around twice a year.

If you are unsure of your status, please refer to the letter which you received from the Law Society of Scotland confirming your admission as a solicitor which will state if you were also admitted as a notary public.

Once you have been admitted will require to make your declaration of faithful administration before the Society’s authorised representative. There is no additional cost for this. To organise this please complete and submit the “Notary Public Compearance form” which you can find in the list of links on the left-hand side of the members’ home page after you sign in to the website. You will then be sent a link to book a time to make your declaration or you can organise to make your declaration before an authorised Law Society Council member.

You can see more information about making your declaration of faithful administration below.

For more information about the process for admission as a solicitor, please see Admission to the roll of solicitors

If you are a practising solicitor who is not a notary public and now wish to become one, please contact legaleduc@lawscot.org.uk to check your status and whether your petition (i.e. step 1 above) has been granted previously.

You will require to make your declaration of faithful administration before the Society’s authorised representative. There is no additional cost for this. To organise this please complete and submit the “Notary Public Compearance form” which you can find in the list of links on the left-hand side of the members’ home page after you sign in to the website. You will then be sent a link to book a time to make your declaration before a Law Society staff member, or you can arrange to make your declaration before an authorised Law Society Council member. You can see further information about making your declaration below.

Please note that this form is only made available on your member’s home page if your petition has been granted, you have been issued with a Practising Certificate, but you haven’t previously made your declaration of faithful administration. If you think that this form should be available to you, and it isn’t there, please contact publicnotary@lawscot.org.uk.

You can now apply to become a notary public by downloading and completing an application form and paying a fee, which is currently £252. Please note that the fee changes around twice a year.

Once you have submitted the application form, we will check it to establish if your petition has been granted previously, and if it has not, you will be asked to make payment of the fee at this stage. Please do not submit payment of the fee until you are requested to do so.

Once your petition is granted, you can then submit the notary public compearance form, and arrange to make your declaration as outlined above.

Please note that you must not act as a notary public until you have made the declaration.

You will be sent a link to the booking page when you have submitted a Notary Public Compearance form. Once you login to the booking page, you can select and register for an appointment to make your declaration before a Law Society employee via a video conference Teams appointment.

Once you have an active registration for an appointment with a Law Society employee you will not be able to access the booking page and cannot cancel or amend the appointment yourself. If you need to change your appointment, please contact publicnotary@lawscot.org.uk to have your original appointment cancelled. Once cancelled you will be able to re-book for a different date.

If you wish to make an appointment with an authorised Law Society Council member, you should submit the Notary Public Compearance form and also contact publicnotary@lawscot.org.uk to request a list of Council members who are authorised to perform this function. You can then arrange an appointment direct with a Council member.

You will be asked to raise your right hand and repeat the declaration after the authorised Law Society employee or Council member. The declaration is “I will faithfully discharge the duties of a notary public in Scotland according to law.”

As soon as you have made the declaration, you will be fully admitted as a notary public and able to start acting as such.

Once we have updated your record after you have made your declaration, your motto will be visible when you sign in to your account on the website. You will see this about halfway down the page on “My Profile”.

Yes, you can request a change to your motto at any time. Please email publicnotary@lawscot.org.uk setting out the motto you now wish to use.

Documents for use only in Scotland do not require to have a seal attached.

For foreign documents it is good practice to append the seal to the notary’s signature. The more formal the appearance the better is the view in many jurisdictions and the lack of a seal may be a problem in relation to a document presented abroad.

A notarised document that requires to have an “Apostille” added by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) does require to have the notary’s seal embossed upon it.

This refers to documents for use abroad which require a signature and seal of the notary public to be legalised or authenticated by the FCDO. This covers countries which are parties to the Hague Convention on Legalisation of Foreign Documents. In such cases the FCDO adds a certificate called an Apostille to the documents. Notaries can apply to have their signature and seal so authenticated by the FCDO to ensure an Apostille is available when required

We do not supply a seal for you. We suggest that, if you don’t already have a supplier in mind, to search on the internet for a supplier.

The seal should have your name, your motto and the words “Notary Public”. An example of what your seal should look like is below:

You can find detailed guidance about acting as a notary on our website.

Our Professional Practice team can advise you if you have any questions about when you are able to act as a Notary if your circumstances are not covered in the Guidance.

This will show in your entry in Find a Solicitor.

The name you use as a notary should match the name you use as a solicitor. To request a change to the name we have recorded on the roll of solicitors, please contact member.registration@lawscot.org.uk.

We also require to hold an example of the signature you use as a notary. Once your name has been amended on the roll, please send an example of your new signature by email to publicnotary@lawscot.org.uk in the form of a scanned PDF or jpeg image.

Historically, the notary public in Scotland has performed an important function in the legal life of the country. From the 13th Century, the notary developed distinct from the lawyers branch of the profession but in comparatively recent times these functions have enjoyed a resurgence. The influence of the Civil or Roman Law on Scotland is clear in this separate development of the notary public in Scotland. In many other jurisdictions the distinction remains today. In England, for example, the profession of notary remains separate from that of Solicitor and although many notaries in England are also Solicitors not all are, and there are firms comprising notaries only.

In Scotland, the historical importance and functions of the notary have been well documented.* Following the Law Agents (Scotland) Amendment Act 1896 which provided that only enrolled Law Agents could become notaries and the Conveyancing (Scotland) Act 1924 which extended notarial execution to solicitors (Law Agents) and others, the importance of notaries declined until recently, but changes in the law and increased international activity have breathed new life into the notary profession.

Today, the responsibility for admission and registration of notaries lies with the Council of the Law Society of Scotland under the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 and the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990. Education, Training and Admission A petition to the Court of Session for admission as a solicitor can include an application for admission as a notary public and, in practice, usually does. Since November 2007 only solicitors/notaries in possession of a practising certificate can act as notaries in Scotland: Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 Section 62.

Some of the traditional functions of a notary have continued throughout the centuries but reforms such as the Affidavit Divorce Procedure and Feudal Reform legislation have extended the work of notaries.

1. Oaths, Affidavits and Affirmations - One of the traditional functions of the notary public in Scotland which remains today is the acting where the legal validity of a document requires the administration of an Oath or the receipt of an Affidavit or solemn affirmation. Under the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980, in such cases the Oath may be administered or the affidavit or affirmation received by a notary public. Such affidavit or affirmation should not relate to any matter in respect of preservation of the peace; a prosecution; trial or punishment of an offence; or any proceedings before either House of Parliament or any Committee thereof.
2. Affidavits in Undefended Divorces - Following the Divorce (Scotland) Act 1976 it is no longer necessary to have parole evidence in undefended divorces. Instead, appropriate affidavit evidence can be used. The Court of Session practice note “Affidavits in Family Actions” (1 June 2004) and Sheriff Court Practice Note no.1 (2012) contain details about the procedure to be followed in such cases. Such affidavits or affirmations are made before notaries public, which has increased the work undertaken by notaries in recent years, as noted in the introduction.
3. Affidavits under the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 – Notices of termination of real burdens under s20 of the 2003 Act must be sworn before a notary.
4. Protests - where a protest is made in maritime matters, e.g. against poor wind and weather conditions a sea captain on arrival in a port, this is done before a notary public. Some notaries retain protocol books for this specific purpose. In addition, when a protest is required for bills of exchange or promissory notes, this is also done before a notary.
5. Foreign Documents - Many documents for use in foreign jurisdictions require execution or certification before a notary and notaries are frequently consulted by clients requiring documents authenticated in such matters, e.g. in the winding up of estates or in Court actions abroad. Powers of Attorney for use abroad often require to be executed before a notary to constitute their validity.
6. Notarial Execution - Since 1540 notaries have been empowered to sign documents on behalf of persons who are blind or unable to write. This has been a useful power frequently used by notaries. The requirements and procedure involved have been simplified by the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995.
7. Miscellaneous - Other less frequent functions can be noted including the entry of a person to overseas territories; completion of the documentation required for the registration of a company in certain foreign jurisdictions and drawing for repayment of Bonds of Debenture.

*For the authoritative exposition of the law relating to notaries Public see Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia of the Law of Scotland - Vol. 13, p. 485.

For the historical position see, for example, Brown - Origin and Early History of the Office of notary 1935 47 JR201, 335: the N.P. 1923 SLT (News) 77: and D.M. Walker - A Legal History of Scotland: John Findlay “The History of the Notary in Scotland in the Handbuch zur Geschichte des Notoriats der europaischen Traditionen. (2009)

For queries about applying, please contact notarypublic@lawscot.org.uk.

Tel: 0131 476 8173 (Direct)