What is a Notary Public?
A public notary is an officer whose job is to attest, witness and certify deeds, affidavits, statutory declarations, wills, contracts and other documents. In WA public notaries are divided into 2 categories – general public notaries and district public notaries. General notaries work in the suburbs/districts of Perth or Fremantle while district notaries work in their respective districts.

History of Public Notaries
Notaries Public (also called "notaries" or "public notaries") hold an ancient office which can trace its origins back to the Roman Empire, when they were called "notarius" or "tabellio". They are easily the oldest continuing branch of the legal profession and are known all over the world from England to the rest of the European Community, USA, Chile, Russia, Japan, China and of course Australia.

They first appeared in the English legal system sometime prior to 1279 when the Pope authorised the Archbishop of Canterbury to appoint notaries.

What makes them different from others who prepare or witness documents is that their acts will be recognised and accepted by foreign courts and authorities, whereas acts performed by non-notaries will generally be ignored. That is a notary’s seal is valid while a mere justice of the peace will not in foreign countries.

Wax seals with individualized engravings or symbols were used as signatures at the end of written agreements. In later centuries, ribbons were woven into holes placed in the margin of multiple page documents to tie the pages together. Wax seals were placed over the knots to ensure no pages were added nor removed. This was the birth of the notary seal and certificate. Today a mere signature is enough.

A public notary in Western Australia is governed by the Public Notaries Act 1979 (WA). Appointments are made by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

Functions of a Public Notary
Their principal duties include:

• Attestation of documents and certification of their due execution for use in Australia and internationally.
• Preparation and certification of powers of attorney, wills, deeds, contracts and other legal documents for use in Australia and internationally.
• Administering of oaths for use in Australia and internationally.
• Witnessing affidavits, statutory declarations and other documents for use in Australia and internationally.
• Certification of copy documents for use Australia and internationally.
• Exemplification of official documents for use internationally.
• Noting and protesting of bills of exchange, and
• Preparation of ships' protests.

Public Notaries can charge a fee for their services and generally this amount to their hourly rate.

Basically, the most important reason for notarizing anything is to protect against fraud. The notarization is effective, valid and binding as long as the document it appears upon remains effective and valid.

Appointments should be made to see Mr Raymond Tan if there is any need for him to notarise documents on the reader’s behalf.