Notary - How to become a Notary

Notary also known as a Notary Public in common parlance is a qualified and experienced lawyer appointed by the state or central government on the recommendation of courts under the provisions of the Notaries Act LII of 1952, who can give an oath to a person and declare the legal document like affidavits and contracts produced before him as authentic, by affixing his seal and stamp on it of course by charging some officially prescribed fee under provisions of notaries act, 1952.

Although an important requirement for all times, the requirement of services of a notary are increasing due to large-scale immigration of the persons from one place to another and change in the pattern of the lifestyle of the society. Their services are required by the persons who do not have any proof of residence, but want to apply for a ration card, domestic gas cylinder or power connection or wants to include his name in the list of voters as they may do so by filing an affidavit authenticated by a notary. Also, if there has been a gap period in education, the students have to sign an affidavit for readmission to the course. Besides any person intending to change his/her name, want to authenticate a copy of a financial or academic document, or a property sale deed is required to get the signature and stamp from a notary. Increase in all such requirement in recent few years has increased the demand of Notary public services thereby making the becoming of notary a lucrative career option.

To discharge his duties with the commitment he requires a lot of knowledge of the law of the land and plenty of experience.

Notary Eligibility

• Ten (seven years in case of reserved categories and women candidates) years of practice as an advocate or
• A member of the Indian Legal Service or
• Officer under the Central or State Government, requiring special knowledge of the law, after enrolment as an advocate or
• An officer in the department of Judge, Advocate - General or in the armed forces.

Notary Required Skills

• A Notary should have discipline, sense of responsibility, commitment and self-confidence.
• They should be a hard worker, have stamina, alertness of mind and above all honesty towards the society. 

How to become a Notary Public?

To become a Notary Public one has to follow the below-given steps:

Step 1

To become a Notary, one has to first possess a degree in LLB. To get the L.LB degree the eligible candidate has to undertake an entrance test conducted by Law departments of various universities of India or the independent law schools/ Institutions. CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) being one of the most sorts after ways to get into the law career.

CLAT is conducted every year to admit students into 5 years integrated B.A L.LB Degree Course in top ten of the national law schools.

CLAT consists of questions from the topics such as:-

1. Legal Aptitude
2. Logical Reasoning
3. English including Comprehension
4. General Knowledge/Current Affairs
5. Elementary Mathematics

Step 2

Once degree in hand and after the successful completion of the course every graduate has to complete the mandatory internship as per the norms of the institutions.

Step3

After completion of the internship, one has to enrol himself/herself as an advocate in any of the State Bar Council regulated by the Advocates Act, 1961 to become a practising advocate and get the necessary experience to apply for the notary license.

Step 4

After practising as an advocate for at least 10 years (seven years for Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe or other backward classes and women candidates as well) one becomes eligible to be appointed as a notary.  

The applicant, if not a legal practitioner, should be a member of the Indian Legal Service or have held an office under the Central or State Government, requiring special knowledge of the law, after enrolment as an advocate or held an office in the department of Judge, Advocate-General or in the armed forces.

Step 5

The aspirant has to submit an application in the form of a memorial, as prescribed in the rules, to the competent authority of the appropriate government.  If approved the applicant becomes a notary and a certificate of practice will be issued to him and gazetted in the State or Central Gazette. His name will be entered in the Register of Notaries maintained by the Government

Fees for the Certification: 

The fee for issuance of the first certificate of practice for 5 years (first appointment as notary) is Rs.1,000 as per the amended rules and for renewal it is Rs.500. A notary public in possession of a certificate of practice in a particular area may apply for an extension of his area of practice. The fees for extension of the area of practice are Rs.750.

Basic Points to be considered before appointing a Notary Public by the competent authority are:

• Whether the applicant ordinarily resides in the area in which he proposes to practice as a notary;
• Considering the commercial importance of the area in which the applicant proposes to practice, the authority should take into consideration the existing number of notaries in the area in question and whether additional notaries will be required;
• Should consider the fitness of the applicant as to his knowledge and experience of commercial law and, in case of a legal practitioner, his extent of practice, and so on;
• Whether the applicant belongs to a firm of legal practitioners and, having regard to the number of existing notaries in that firm, whether it is proper and necessary to appoint any additional notary from that firm;
• Where applications from other applicants in respect of the area are pending, whether they are more suitable than the applicant in question. On receipt of the report from the competent authority, the Government shall consider the report and allow the application in respect of the whole or part of the area, or reject the same.

Main services provided by a Notary Public are:

• Verify, authenticate, certify or attest the execution of any instrument;
• Present any promissory note, hundi or bill of exchange for acceptance/payment, or demand better security;
• Note/protest the dishonour by non-acceptance or non-payment of any promissory note, hundi or bill of exchange, protest for better security, prepare acts of honour under the Negotiable Instruments Act or serve notice or such protest;
• Note and draw up ship's protest, boat's protest or protest relating to demurrage and other commercial matters;
• Administer the oath to, or take an affidavit from, any person;
• Prepare bottomry and respondentia bonds, charter parties and other mercantile documents;
• Prepare, attest or authenticate any instrument intended to take effect in any country or place outside India in such form and language as may conform to the law of the place where such deed is intended to operate;
• Translate and verify the translation of any documents from one language into another;
• Act as a Commissioner to record evidence in any civil or criminal trial if so directed by any court or authority;
• Act as an arbitrator, mediator or conciliator if so required; and
• Any other act which may be described;

Notary Job Description

The main tasks of a notary public are to witness and authenticate signatures, administer oaths, verify signatures and take affidavits. Notaries public are utilized by state governing bodies to prevent fraud and theft within public matters.

Notary Career Prospects

Notary Public works in a variety of settings such as courthouses, courtrooms and law offices. Another option is to go into business as an independent notary, signing documents upon request. Mobile notaries travel upon customer demand from location to location. Mobile notaries may also be hired on a part-time, on-call basis for public offices or other organizations.

Notary Public Salary

The financial success of a Notary depends entirely upon his experience and knowledge complemented by his public relation. On an average, a Notary can earn as good as Rs.1000 per day or more for his services.