Notarisation, explained honestly — and arranged end to end

What a notary is — and what the seal actually certifies

A notary is not simply a lawyer with a rubber stamp. Under the Notaries Act, 1952, notaries are appointed by the Central or a State Government, must hold a certificate of practice, use an official notarial seal, and record every notarial act in a notarial register with an entry number. That register is what turns a moment at a desk into a permanent, verifiable public record.

Section 8 of the Act lists what a notary may do. The functions you are most likely to meet:

• Verify, authenticate, certify or attest the execution of an instrument — the notary witnesses that a document was signed by the person it names.
• Administer oaths and take affidavits — the function behind every notarised affidavit.
• Certify copies of documents as true copies of the original placed before the notary.
• Translate and verify translations of documents from one language into another.
• Note and protest negotiable instruments — a commercial function most individuals never need.

Now the part most people get wrong. Notarisation of an affidavit certifies something precise and narrow: that the deponent appeared in person, was identified, and signed and swore or affirmed the document before the notary on that date. It does not certify that the contents are true — that responsibility sits with the deponent. And the rules take personal appearance seriously: attesting an affidavit without the deponent present is listed misconduct that can cost a notary their certificate. Any service offering "notarisation without visiting" is describing something no honest notary will do.

Documents that typically pass a notary's desk

• Affidavits of every kind — name change, address, marriage, birth, income, education gap. The oath must be administered by an authorised officer, and for non-court purposes that is usually the notary.
• Declarations and undertakings where the receiving authority wants the signature formally witnessed rather than merely submitted.
• Indemnity bonds for lost documents, duplicate certificates and payment against missing originals.
• Powers of attorney — notarised execution is commonly expected for general and specific POAs used in banking and routine matters. (Certain POAs and property documents need registration, which is a different and stronger formality — we flag those cases rather than notarising past them.)
• Certified true copies of originals, where an office insists on notarial certification rather than self-attestation.
• Agreements — rent, leave-and-licence and service agreements where parties choose notarised execution for evidentiary comfort.

Whether your document needs notarisation is a question about the receiving authority, not the document — some offices accept self-attested copies, others insist on the seal. We check the requirement before you pay for anything, as part of the purpose check that starts every job on our legal documentation desk.

An honest word about notarial fees

Notarial fees are not freely set — they are governed by a statutory schedule under the Notaries Rules, 1956, which has been amended over the years. Figures quoted online range from decades-old nominal amounts to whatever a given office charges in practice, so we will not publish a number we cannot stand behind: confirm the currently applicable fee schedule when you book.

What we commit to instead is transparency where it matters — your bill. The notarial charge is stated separately, before work begins, alongside stamp duty at actuals and our drafting fee as one fixed written quote, with receipts for the government-side amounts. Our approach to pricing across all services is on the pricing page.