What is a notary public?
A notary public is an appointed lawyer empowered to witness, authenticate and certify the execution of official documents, this can be either a person, a company or an organization. A document that is needed to be witnessed by a notary public would have the involved parties sign documents in-person, in front of the impartial lawyer who will then certify with an official seal that attests and certifies the identity of the incumbent. These documents are usually to be used in foreign countries. Notaries public throughout the world are viewed as state-appointed, impartial, and hold high regard for executing their due diligence and responsibilities.
Notaries public vary in different countries and jurisdictions. In Singapore, notaries public are qualified lawyers with at least 15 years of experience, that are appointed by The Board of Commissioners for Oaths and Notaries Public. The surrounding rules and laws are regulated by the Notaries Public Act.
What does a notary public do?
Notaries Public in Singapore are empowered to Notarize documents, to issue Notarial certificates. For purposes of this article, this is not to be confused with a Commissioner of Oaths, as only a Notary Public is empowered to witness deeds/documents to be used in a foreign country.
Let’s break these down further:
Attesting of signature and statutory declaration
If a person takes an oath, for affirmation with a statement, that a document is said to be genuine and truthful, this is then known as an affidavit or statutory declaration. A notary public is able to attest to such documents or be the one to administer the oath itself.
Witnessing the execution of documents
Essentially, the execution of documents simply means that the Notary Public witnesses the signing of documents by the required parties. Should the law require a number of parties or witnesses to be present at such a formality, a Notary Public is empowered to be an impartial witness to attest to this. These documents are usually required to be used overseas.
Certifying true copies of documents
For purposes of showing proof that certain documents are true when using it overseas, a notary public may do so by doing their necessary due diligence in studying the originals ie. making reference calls, downloading from official websites. These documents could range from educational transcripts, marriage certificates, birth certificates to identification certificates, and incorporation of companies.
Protesting bills of exchange
A bill of exchange is like a cheque, where one party has to pay a fixed sum to another party. As the name suggests, protesting an exchange of such a bill happens when the intended recipient is not able to collect the due payment. This can be done by enlisting the help of a Notary Public
Entering a ship’s protest
Rather interestingly enough, a notary public is also empowered to record a Ship’s Protest. A Ship’s protest is when the captain of a ship makes an oath of declaration that any damage to a ship or its cargo was due to mother nature, rough seas or a maritime accident and not due to the Captain’s fault. This protest essentially is to protect the crew from any liabilities of the ship and its cargo.
How do I find a notary public in Singapore?
There are well over 600 notaries public in Singapore, all of which are qualified lawyers and appointed by The Board of Commissioners for Oaths and Notaries Public. Here are 20 for easy reference:
Notary Public |
Singapore Notary Public |
|
Speciality |
Online legal service |
| Pricing |
Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
|
| Address |
135 Middle Road #05-11 Bylands Building Singapore 188975 |
|
Telephone |
65 6338 1810 |
| Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
Singapore Notary Public Harry Sim |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing |
Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
https://www.notarypublic.com.sg |
| Address |
HDB Hub, 490 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, #03-17 Singapore 310490 |
|
Telephone |
65 6222 2966 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
Notary Singapore |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing |
Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
http://notarysingapore.sg |
| Address |
51A Upper Weld Road S207408 |
|
Telephone |
65 6392 3995 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
Lim Hin Chye & Co |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing |
Dependent on type of notarial service |
| Website | |
| Address |
111 North Bridge Road, #05-24, Peninsula Plaza, Singapore 179098 |
|
Telephone |
65 6332 1183 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
Pereira & Tan LLC |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing |
Dependent on type of notarial service |
| Website | |
| Address |
141 Middle Rd, #04-02 GSM Building, Singapore 188976 |
|
Telephone |
65 6339 0359 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
TYT Law Practice |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing |
Dependent on type of notarial service |
| Website | |
| Address |
24 Raffles Place, #28-00 Clifford Centre, Singapore 048621 |
|
Telephone |
65 6637 8618
|
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
Sim Teow Leng & Co |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing |
Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
|
| Address |
20 Maxwell Road #09-02/03 Maxwell House Singapore 069113 |
|
Telephone |
65 6225 3636 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm Weekends by appointments only |
Notary Public |
HOH Law Corporation |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing |
Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
https://www.hoh.com.sg/ |
| Address |
60 Paya Lebar Road #04-42, Paya Lebar Square, Singapore 409051 |
|
Telephone |
65 65534800 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
Chiu Cheong LLC |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing |
Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
https://www.chiucheong.com |
| Address |
490 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #09-15 HDB Hub (Biz 3 Lobby 1) Singapore 310490 |
|
Telephone |
65 6397 6690 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
Mark Tan LLC |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing |
Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
https://www.conp-sg.com |
| Address |
The Adelphi, 1 Coleman Street, #05-02C Singapore 179803 |
|
Telephone |
65 8503 0996 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 10.30am – 5pm After office hours by appointment only |
Notary Public |
Gloria James-Civetta & Co |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing |
Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
https://www.gjclaw.com.sg/ |
| Address | 3 Church Street #15-04 Samsung Hub Singapore 049483 |
|
Telephone |
65 6337 0469 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
Tan & Yip LLC |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing | Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
http://www.tanyip.com.sg |
| Address |
24 Peck Seah Street #05-11 Nehsons Building, Singapore 079314 |
|
Telephone |
65 6323 0030 / 65 6323 0031 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
Justicius Law Corporation |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing | Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
https://justicius.sg |
| Address | 133 New Bridge Road #08-08 |
|
Telephone |
65 6532 5111 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
Pang Kok Foo & Co |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing | Dependent on type of notarial service |
| Website | https://pang-kok-foo-co.business.site/ |
| Address | 60 Paya Lebar Rd, #09-42 Paya Lebar Square, Singapore 409051 |
|
Telephone |
65 63341228 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 10am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
William Poh & Louis Lim |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing | Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
http://www.williamlouis.com |
| Address | 21B Mosque Street S(059501) |
|
Telephone |
65 6337 9677 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
S H Tan & Associates |
|
Speciality |
Notary Public |
| Pricing | Dependent on type of notarial service |
| Website | https://www.lawguidesingapore.com/directory/law-firm/s-h-tan-associates/ |
| Address | 150 Orchard Road Orchard Plaza # 07-16 Singapore 238841 |
|
Telephone |
65 6533 9050 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 5pm |
Notary Public |
Astute Legal LLC |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing | Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
https://www.astutelegal.com.sg |
| Address |
60 Paya Lebar Road #06-25 (Lobby 1) Paya Lebar Square, Singapore 409051 |
|
Telephone |
65 6385 2723 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
Mallal Namazie |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing | Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
http://www.mallalnamazie.com |
| Address |
No. 18 Cross Street #14-01 China Square Central, Singapore 048423 |
|
Telephone |
65 6225 6511 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Notary Public |
Eng Leong & Partners |
|
Speciality |
Notary Public |
| Pricing | Dependent on type of notarial service |
| Website | https://www.lawguidesingapore.com/directory/law-firm/eng-leong-partners/ |
| Address | 10 Anson Road International Plaza # 13-03 Singapore 079903 |
|
Telephone |
65 62228744 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 5.45pm |
Notary Public |
Ella Cheong LLC |
|
Speciality |
|
| Pricing | Dependent on type of notarial service |
|
Website |
https://www.ellacheong.asia |
| Address |
300 Beach Road, #31-04/05 The Concourse, Singapore 199555 |
|
Telephone |
65 6692 5500 |
|
Operating Hours |
Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm |
Why do you need a notary public?
Essentially, the straightforward answer is to deter fraudulent activities. Certain official documents require more than just signatures, and it is absolutely necessary for a qualified professional to deter and fraud.
The representative will perform due diligence and verify the identity of all parties, as well as verbally confirm all parties are understandably aware of what they are signing and not under any duress or coercion, such documents can be considered legitimate and legally binding. One such example of the necessity of such executions will be cross-border deals between businesses and organizations.
Authenticating the notarisation
You may think that having paid a lawyer to do all the above is good enough. The bad news is that certain documents require even more steps to be taken after notarization. The process of this is called legalization, in which the already authenticated document is further authenticated by the Singapore Academy of Law or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If deemed necessary, it may even be required to be legalized by the respective embassy of the foreign country.
If you think you misread that, yes it is an authentication of an already authenticated document. Again, this is to prevent fraud of any kind. Strictly speaking, all these are only possible for Commonwealth countries, but we’ll leave that for another topic in itself!
Fees payable for notarisation of documents
As Notaries public are appointed by the Board of Commissioners for Oaths and Notaries Public, most of their fees are fixed by the law. This is to make sure no appointed lawyer profiteers from this service, which in essence goes against the principles of the requirements of such an appointment, which is to be impartial and never for self-gain. However, for notarial fees not fixed by law, law firms are encouraged to charge reasonably for their services.
For the simplicity of this article, these are the fixed fees for common notarial services listed above. For more in-depth and specific services and fees, do consult the law firm.
Notarial execution of documents
- By one person: $40
- For second party to the same document: $20
- For each additional party to the document: $10
- For each exhibit marked on or attached to the document: $10
Statutory declaration
- For one party: $40
- For a second party to the same statutory declaration: $20
- For each additional party to the statutory declaration: $10
- For each exhibit marked on or attached to the statutory declaration: $10
Certifying true copy
- Examining and certifying as to the correctness of the copy of any document (where the notary public is required to affix a seal): $10 for the first page and $2 for each subsequent page
- Examining and certifying as to the correctness of the copy of any document (where the notary public is not required to affix a seal): $5 for the first page and $1 for each subsequent page
- Where a notarial certificate and seal are required to be affixed: $75
- Preparing and completing a special notarial certificate, in addition to the above charges: $75 (No additional charge to be made for each certificate)
Are notary fees negotiable?
Everybody loves a cheap deal. But before you think of that, fees that are fixed by the law are strictly non-negotiable because well, they are fixed by the law. You may, however, consult the law firm for other notarial fees that are not fixed by the Notaries Public Rules.
With so many legal processes and steps to follow, it might get confusing as to whether your documents suffice. For example, a simple and straightforward Notarization process could be as fast as 30 minutes. Some law firms even provide such expedited processes for same-day notarization for urgent needs.
However, it is worth noting that with effect from October 2019, it is mandatory for all notarized documents to be authenticated by Singapore Law Academy. These authentication fees are also collected upfront by the Notary Public to be paid to Singapore Law Academy. Therefore, it is best to always consult with the law firm for the right advice.
Editor’s Note:
While every precaution has been made to ensure the accuracy and fairness of this listing, we acknowledge that they may be inaccuracies. Therefore, we urge you to contact the service provider above for the correct information and/or contact us with the correct information.
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