Notary Public & Legalisation Services in Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Wokingham

Generally speaking, if you have been asked to have a document certified, notarised, verified or similar, for use overseas, you will require the services of a notary public rather than a solicitor. If you are unsure, please contact us and we will be happy to advise and arrange an appointment if needed.

Appointments will normally take place at Blandy & Blandy’s offices at 33 Blagrave Street in Reading, unless we have arranged to meet you at one of the firm’s other offices. Subject to availability, appointments can also be arranged at Blandy & Blandy's offices in Henley-on-Thames and Wokingham

Yes, it is always best to make an appointment please.

Please bring with you your current passport, or if you do not have one, some other satisfactory picture identity, such as a UK driving licence. You will also need to bring some evidence of your current address, which might be your driving licence or a current bank statement or utility bill.

No, it is important that the Notary discusses the document with you and witnesses you actually signing the document.

We can usually provide any necessary witnesses.

Yes please, it is very helpful if we have clear instructions from the foreign lawyer as to what is required and we have sight of the proposed document before you come and see us.

Our charges depend mainly upon the time it takes, but also the degree of urgency. We have a minimum fee of £100 + VAT (£120) for private documents and £250 plus VAT for commercial documents. If you tell us what is required, we are happy to provide you with a quotation for the cost of the work.

This is a common misconception. The Notary does not simply stamp the document. He is certifying the copy to be a true copy of the original and frequently will be taken to be verifying that the original document produced is genuine.  For that reason, the Notary needs to carry out certain checks and may need to qualify his certificate in some way.

Although we can certify copies of many documents, we cannot certify copies of UK birth, death and marriage certificates. If we are unable to verify the authenticity of a document, we may need to provide a certified copy, making that clear.

No.  It is best if you simply bring the original.  We make it our practice to take our own copies so that in the event of there being any issue, we can always confirm that we copy the document ourselves. 

If the document is in any language other than English, we will require a translation.  This is because the Notary has to understand the document so as to be satisfied that you understand what it is that you are signing.

No we do not. We only draw up Powers of Attorney for use in England and Wales. Powers of Attorney are subject to the law of the country in which they are being used, and must therefore be drawn up by a lawyer with experience of that jurisdiction.

Yes, we can. But most such documents can be dealt with by solicitors who are only permitted to charge £5 per affidavit and £2 per exhibit, so it will almost always be more cost effective to go to a solicitor. You will normally need a notary where the document is for use outside England & Wales.

An apostille is a certificate from the British Government (the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) certifying that the signature and seal on the document are genuine.

Yes, we can assist in obtaining an apostille and any other form of legalisation that may be required.