Module 3

Identity, capacity and free will: the three checks at the heart of every notarial act

A notary’s stamp tells the world three things: this person was who they said they were; they understood what they were doing; and they did it freely. Everything else in the profession, from the register to the insurance, exists to back those three statements. They sound simple, and they are the most difficult part of the work, because the notary can see only a person at a table, for a short time, and must make a judgement that may be tested years later in a dispute or a court. This module takes each check in turn, shows what careful notaries do, covers the special cases (elderly and vulnerable signers, interpreters, third parties in the room, incomplete documents, conflicts) and ends with the skill of refusing well. The Signing Screen in the labs lets you practise on invented situations. The rules on identification, capacity and refusal differ by country, and the decision is always the notary’s.

General education on the work of a notary across legal systems, using invented people, offices and cases. It is not legal or career advice. The acts a notary may perform, the form of certificates and deeds, the checks required, the reporting duties, the rules for documents used abroad and the routes into the profession differ between countries and change: check the rules that apply to you with the notarial authority and the profession.