Notarial Certification: the Process and What It Costs
When a notarial certificate is required, what the process involves, what evidentiary weight the certificate carries, and how notarial fees are set. Everything worth knowing before approaching a notary.
What separates a notary from any other lawyer
Some documents call for a signature, certification or authentication of a particular kind, and for those a lawyer who also holds a notary licence is required. The Notaries Law sets out what that licence takes.
Under the law a notary licence rests on several conditions. The applicant is a citizen or permanent resident of Israel; has practised law for at least ten years and is a member of the Israel Bar; and has no criminal or disciplinary record, including a licence revoked on disciplinary grounds. Where ten years have passed since a sentence was served or imposed, an application can be considered again.
Training at the Ministry of Justice and approval by the Committee for the Appointment of Notaries complete the process. Beyond the conditions themselves, the powers a notary holds are wider than those of a lawyer who does not hold the licence.
The powers of a notary
Section 7 of the Notaries Law sets out a number of powers unique to a notary. The first is authentication of a signature on a document. In performing it the notary confirms that the signature on the document is that of the person present, through identification in person with a valid identity card or passport.
The notary is further authorised to issue several kinds of certificate: that the person who signed a document is the person authorised to sign it; certification of a copy of a document; certification of the translation of a document; certification of affidavits; certification that a person is alive; and certification of an inventory list, for example after a fire in a warehouse holding stock.
In addition, a notary may attest a negotiable instrument, perform other acts assigned by various statutes, such as attesting an oral will, and authenticate a prenuptial property agreement for a couple.
What a notarial certificate is
A notarial certificate is the notary’s certification of one of the matters above: that a person consented to the document they signed, that a copied document is a true copy, that a translated document is correct, an affidavit, a certificate that a person is alive, or an inventory list. A notary also carries out acts required abroad. An inheritance order to be produced in a country party to the Apostille Convention, for example, is signed by a notary.
The common thread is that these powers extend over formal legal documents whose importance is high in itself, and whose evidentiary weight is heavier still.
The certification process
Each act a notary is authorised to perform has rules defined in law. To certify a person’s authority to sign a particular document, for instance, the notary verifies that authority through all the documents required for the purpose.
Where a notarial certificate is needed, the specific act is identified first and the documents that allow the notary to sign and certify are prepared in advance. If the chief executive of a company wants a notary to certify that they hold the company’s power of attorney, they will show both that they head the company and that they are authorised for the matter in question.
Where certification of a translation is required, both the original and the copy are brought before the notary. The notary has command of the source language and the target language, which is what allows the correctness of the translation to be certified.
At Mor and Co., Law Firm and Notary, the process with Adv. and Notary Igal Mor has three stages:
- Contact with the office of Adv. and Notary Igal Mor.
- Preparation of the documents required for the certificate, with the opening call used to settle the list in advance.
- Issue of the notarial certificate in accordance with the law.
The evidentiary weight of the notarial certificate
The notarial certificate carries two main advantages. First, a claim proved by a notarial certificate does not require further evidence of its truth, as the case law has held:
“Section 19 of the Notaries Law, 5736-1976, which establishes an evidentiary presumption as to the correctness of what is stated in a certificate of a notary given under that law.”
CA 7303/01 Assaf v. Israel Land Administration, 57(2) 847 (2003). Free translation.
And what that means in practice:
“The presumption as to the correctness of the matters contained in the notarial certificate transfers the burden of persuasion onto the shoulders of the party arguing against the correctness of any detail appearing in the certificate, and it is for that party to rebut the presumption.”
CC (Nazareth District) 286/94 Wadad v. Estate of the late Shalabi (Nevo 01.12.2002). Free translation.
Second, a notarial certificate is essential for powers of attorney that require registration in the Land Registry. Certification by a notary is therefore not only an advantage; at times it is a requirement.
What a notarial certificate costs
Notarial fees are fixed in the Notaries Regulations (Service Fees), 5739-1978. They are identical at every notary in Israel and are updated on 1 January each year in line with the consumer price index.
Because the amounts change annually, the full current fee table is kept in one place, on the Notary Department page.
In summary
In summary, a notarial certificate turns a private document into one the courts and the authorities can rely on, and in some cases it is what gives the document its validity at all. Which act applies, what has to be brought, and whether an apostille is needed all depend on the document and on the body it is intended for.
Those three questions rarely have the same answer twice, and an incorrect answer to one of them usually means a second appointment. That is the practical reason to settle them with a notary before the meeting rather than at it.
Our office issues notarial certificates and sets out in advance what each case requires. Tell us which body the document is for, and we will say which act applies and what to bring. The forms of notarial certificate under regulation 9(b) of the Notaries Regulations are collected on the firm’s forms and resources page.
What people ask most often
What documents should be brought to the notary?
Is attendance in person required?
Is a notarial certificate valid abroad?
What does a notarial certificate cost?
All Notary Department pages
Need a notarial certificate?
Tell us which document needs certifying and which body it is intended for. Those two details decide which notarial act applies, and we will say in advance what to bring.