Notarial charges and expenses: It is difficult to provide an estimate of my fees without viewing the documentation that I am required to notarise. I will generally, however, be able to give a firm indication upon sight of the documentation and certainly before commencing work. If the matter is simple I will endeavour to charge a fixed fee to include disbursements such as legalisation fees, postage, consular agent fees, courier fees, travelling expenses, translating costs and so on. My minimum fee is £40. I do not charge VAT. For more complicated or time-consuming matters the fee will be based on my hourly rate of £180 subject to my minimum fee of £40, plus disbursements. The fee charged may include time spent on preliminary advice, drafting and preparation time, making and receiving telephone calls, correspondence written and received in all formats, arranging legalisation and record keeping. Disbursements: Some documents require legalisation before they will be accepted for use in the receiving jurisdiction by obtaining an apostille through the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and, for some countries, additional legalisation is required through the relevant embassy or consulate. (I will inform you of the cost of this, if applicable, to include the cost of legalisation in this matter, including agent’s fees and postage to and from the legalising authority as well as the cost of posting the documents to you/another person) Payment can be made by cash, cheque or bank transfer. Payment of my fee and disbursements is due when the document has been prepared which I may retain pending payment in full. Occasionally unforeseen or unusual issues arise during the course of the matter which may result in a revision of my fee estimate. Examples of this could include where additional documents are required to be notarised, additional translations or legalisations are needed to meet the requirements of the receiving jurisdiction, third party fees are adjusted to reflect external factors such as fuel price changes and so on. I will notify you of any changes in the fee estimate as soon as possible. Please note that if I have to make payments on your behalf such as legalisation fees, translator or interpreter fees, or other costs such as travelling expenses, your approval to these will be obtained and you are normally required to make payment in advance of any such amounts.
