THAILIVING LAW

NOTARIZATION

In most countries, Notary Public is a public officer licensed by the state to provide authentication of legal documents, affidavits, signatures, or a statement of the person under oath. Notary services are very important as they help create a guarantee on the authenticity of the document. However, in Thailand, there is no Notary Public. Instead, the Lawyers Council of Thailand provides attorneys the role called Notarial Services Attorney which allows them to perform the said services and is regulated by the Lawyers Act B.E. 2528.

Why Notarization is needed

Signatures and documents of individuals are notarized in order to attest to their authenticity. This prevents fraudulent individuals from passing unauthenticated documents. Furthermore, the notary public or Thailand notary also acts as a neutral witness. He lays witness that the documents that are submitted are authentic and the individuals signing them are the same ones who are qualified to do so. Some documents cannot become enforceable nor binding until they are notarized. For such documents, notarization is mandatory.

In Thailand, notary services are often required by institutions such as:

Foreign Embassies
Private Organizations
Schools
Banks
Government Offices

Services Offered by a Thailand Notary Lawyer

As mentioned above, a Thailand Lawyer is provided the role of Notarial Services Attorney so that he or she can perform the duties of a notary public. Services offered by a Thailand Notary include:

Verification of the authenticity of signatures on legal documents
Certification of copies of original documents
Certification of official documents (copies) that were issued by government
Authentication of deeds
Verification of documents related to property and business acquisition and contract
Authentication of signature and other identification documents such as passport
Admiration of affirmations and oaths
Certification of the identities of parties involved in an agreement
Acting as witness to parties affixing their signatures on documents
Documents That Usually Need to Be Notarized

There are various documents that need to be notarized. Some of the most common documents that require notarization include:

Power of Attorney
Title Deeds
Contracts
Bank Statements
Application for Foreign Visa

The notary service fee varies depending on the type as well as the number of documents to be notarized.

The Hague Convention

Thailand is not a member of the Hague Convention on Legalization of Foreign Public Documents. So, if you are a foreigner and have acquired notarial services in Thailand, you will likely need to have your notarized documents further legalized or authenticated at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand Legalisation Division. In the same way for the documents that were issued abroad, will be legalized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand before it can be used at the Thai government offices.