The notaries' rules require that their fees be reasonable in all the circumstances of the work that they are being asked to do. Notaries can give you an indication in advance of the fees that will be charged for any particular work but it should always be borne in mind that the work when analysed may be entirely different from that which originally it was contemplated would be involved and it would be prudent were any client to ask at any stage of any transaction as to any alteration in the estimated fees and whether or not there are any further estimated fees that the notary needs to pay to third parties.
All fees are payable on delivery of the fee note and all payments out made on behalf of the client are payable when I pay these on the clients behalf, although my normal practice (unless the fees are of an abnormal size) would be to include them in my account at the completion of the work or when any interim bill is delivered.
For normal straightforward matters I would charge a fixed fee for the first document dealt with (provided that you bring the document to me) and thereafter subsequent documents will be charged at half the cost of the first document. If I require or am required to draft or prepare documentation I will make an additional charge for the drafting work and any enquiries made and advice given in connection with such work on an hourly basis. The hourly fee is reviewed annually. No VAT is chargeable on these fees.
It is necessary for identification to be taken from individuals and companies prior to work being carried out. In the case of individuals this will normally require the production of the individual's passport. For a company it will normally be the production of documentation relating to the company substantiating its existence and its constitution and any other matters that are relevant or pertinent at that time. In the case of a company this identification work can be carried out by my office by way of a Company Search through my Company Agents by investigation at the Companies Registry but the cost of such a search, ranging between £25 and £75, will be payable by the client. However once the information is obtained full details of the individual's or the company's affairs will be kept on file for record purposes and no further information in this connection will be required (save in the case of companies to ensure that the information remains complete).
A typical cost for authentication of due execution of documents or signatures and the preparation of certificates of true copies of documents is based upon £80.00 for the first document and £35.00 for each of multiple documents. Drafting and preparation of normal certificates for this is included, but if fuller certificates are required they will be charged on a time-spent basis.
Any serious complaint about any matters may be referred to the Notaries Society for resolution on an informal basis.