Details of our fees are set out below.
Please note that if we have to make payments on your behalf such as legalisation fees, translator or interpreter fees, or other costs such as travelling expenses, your prior approval to these will be obtained and you are normally required to make payment in advance of any such amounts.
Notarial Fees:
If the matter is simple we will endeavour to charge a fixed fee to include disbursements such as legalisation fees, postage, consular agent fees, courier fees, travelling expenses, translating costs, etc.
We generally have set fees for most common documents, based on the type of document and the certification we would have to issue, and can offer progressive discounts on multiple similar certifications.
We can therefore best advise once having had sight of the proposed/draft documents, and can usually quickly provide a fixed quote for routine instructions. Our minimum routine instruction fee is £60.
Our fees and some disbursements (for example courier disbursements) currently attract VAT at the standard rate of 20%. Legalisation disbursements do not usually attract VAT.
Our VAT number is 380802111.
For more complicated or time-consuming matters the fee will be based on an hourly rate of £250 subject to a minimum fee of £125, plus disbursements. The fee charged may include time spent on preliminary advice, drafting and preparation time, making and receiving telephone calls, correspondence written and received in all formats, arranging legalisation and record keeping.
Disbursements:
Some documents require legalisation before they will be accepted for use in the receiving jurisdiction by obtaining an apostille through the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and, for some countries, additional legalisation is required through the relevant embassy or consulate. We will advise of the specific costs once what is required has been confirmed.
Legalisation Fees:
Should you only wish for us to undertake legalisation of documents which were notarised elsewhere or do not require notarisation before apostille, we charge a fixed fee per attendance to any institutions such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Consulates, Chambers of Commerce, etc.
This is in addition to the disbursements which are charged by these institutions, and which can change (sometimes at short notice) at their discretion.
Translation Fees:
Translations are charged on a per word basis, subject to a minimum charge for texts under 500 words. The charges vary depending on the language combination and whether they are undertaken in-house.
Payment:
Payment can be made by cash, cheque, card or bank transfer. We accept all major debit and credit cards. Payment of our fee and disbursements is fully due when the document has been prepared, which we may retain pending payment in full.
Occasionally unforeseen or unusual issues arise during the course of the matter which may result in a revision of our fee estimate. Examples of this could include where additional documents are required to be notarised, additional translations or legalisations are needed to meet the requirements of the receiving jurisdiction, third party fees are adjusted to reflect external factors such as fuel price changes and so on.
We will notify you of any changes in the fee estimate provided to you as soon as it is possible to do so.
Commissioner for Oaths:
As our practice is focused on documents for use abroad, we retain the right to decline to act as Commissioners for Oaths in relation to documents destined for use in England and Wales. If one of our notaries agrees to provide such services in this capacity instead of as a notary, exclusively for documents for use in England and Wales, then these will be charged at the statutory rate, which is currently £5.00 per affidavit or declaration and £2.00 for each exhibit thereto.