Notary Public in Singapore
A notary public certifies documents for use outside Singapore. We handle the notarisation, the notarial certificate and the authentication the law requires with it, and tell you the full cost before you commit to anything.
When do you need a Notary Public?
A useful rule of thumb is that documents that are to be used or submitted outside of Singapore need to be notarised. Notarisation means a Notary Public affixing their signature and official seal to a document, either to certify that it was signed in their presence, or to verify some fact of which they have certain knowledge.
A common source of confusion arises where the requirement appears to state that a Commissioner for Oaths will suffice. This sometimes happens when the document does not take into account that it is not being signed in its country of origin. If you are not sure which you need, the difference is set out here, or contact us to confirm the requirements.
Why the total is more than the notary’s fee
Two charges are added to every notarised document by law, and they are the reason a simple certification costs more than people expect.
It is mandatory for a Notary Public to issue a Notarial Certificate for every document attested to or certified as a true copy. That costs S$75. Since 1 October 2019 every Notarial Certificate must also be authenticated at the Singapore Academy of Law, which costs S$87.20. Together they add S$162.20 to whatever the notarial act itself costs.
More than one document can be bundled onto a single Notarial Certificate. How many you need depends on the party the documents are going to, so it is worth telling us the whole job at once rather than document by document.
We take the physical Notarial Certificate to the Academy of Law on your behalf, and that is included in the fees above with no additional service charge. Processing takes one to two working days on average, and we will contact you once the documents are ready. If you need it urgently, say so and we will do what we can.
Before you come in
For witnessing of signing, the person signing needs to bring the ID named in the document, so the Notary Public can verify their identity.
Please do not sign the document in advance. The Notary Public has to witness the signature being made.
Collection and delivery
Within Singapore, you do not have to come to us at all:
- Doorstep collection of original documents for certification of true copies, at a flat S$25 per trip.
- Outcall witnessing of signing, followed by courier delivery back to your location. Additional fees apply, so please get in touch.
- Courier delivery of notarised documents, at a flat S$25 per trip.
Translation of Documents
We are able to arrange certified translation of documents where necessary. All translations are certified with the details of the translator for verification, and because our notaries are in-house we can notarise or arrange an apostille for the translation in the same place.
Legalisation
We are able to assist with the legalisation of documents. The fees and costs involved vary depending on the Embassy of the country. Please contact us for more details.
Notarisation in Singapore: frequently asked questions
I wish to certify true copies of my documents, do I need to see the Notary Public?
No, you do not have to meet the Notary Public, but the Notary Public will have to see the original documents. You can choose to:
- Send us a soft copy of the documents that you need to certify and make payment online so that we can start preparing the documents. When the documents are ready for collection we will inform you, and you can bring the original documents along during collection so that the Notary Public can examine them (please note that you will need to make an appointment so that the Notary Public will be present to see you).
- If you can, drop off the original documents at our office during office hours and make payment either in person at the office or online. When the documents are ready for collection we will inform you (we can also arrange for the notarised documents and originals to be couriered to you), and you do not need to make an appointment to meet the Notary Public during collection.
- We can arrange for a courier to collect the original documents from you, and when the documents are ready you can either collect them from our office, or we can arrange for them to be couriered to you.
I wish to certify true copies of my documents. Other than the documents to be certified, do I need to bring any other documents such as my passport or identity card?
No, you do not need to bring your photo identification for certifying of true copies, just the original documents to be certified are required.
I wish to have the signing of my documents witnessed, what documents do I need to prepare?
Please have the following documents ready:
- The documents to be signed by you but please do not “pre-sign” the document in advance.
- The government-issued photo-ID as referred to in the document to be signed by you, i.e. a passport or national registration card.
I wish to have the signing of my documents witnessed but I am not in Singapore, can I still get my documents notarised via video witnessing?
We can still do the certified true copies if you courier the originals to Singapore, BUT we cannot do video-witnessing for the signing of documents if you are not in Singapore. If these documents are to be used in Singapore, we recommend that you get in touch with the nearest Singapore Embassy or Mission.
I am not sure about the documents that I need to bring and/or the calculation of the costs of notarisation, what should I do?
Please send us soft copies of the documents to be notarised via email at hello@jcplaw.com.sg or WhatsApp to +65 8800 8074 and we will be happy to assist.
I am not sure how many Notarial Certificates I need, what should I do?
Please send us soft copies of the documents to be notarised via email at hello@jcplaw.com.sg or WhatsApp to +65 8800 8074 and we will be happy to assist.
What clients say.
I had a good experience with their apostille service. The process was simple and smooth, and they kept me updated throughout. The documents were processed on time without any issues. The staff were helpful and responsive.
JCP helped me notarize documents more than five times for a very time sensitive inheritance matter. They were incredibly professional, supportive and accommodating throughout the entire process.
Was looking for a Notary Public to witness the signing of some documents for use in Malaysia and found JCP Law firm which had good reviews on the internet. True enough, it had been a wonderful and smooth process from the first phone call to find out more,…
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