Thai Notary Public Shop

A signature certification records that a named person, identified from photographic identity documents, signed the instrument in the attorney's presence on a given date. It does not verify that the statements inside the document are accurate. Reading the requesting authority's wording carefully tells you whether that is what they need.

For any act that certifies a signature, the signing must happen in front of the attorney. Documents that arrive already signed have to be reprinted and executed again, so bring an unsigned print and the original identity document you will be identified from.

A copy can only be certified against the document it was made from. Photographs, scans and previously certified copies are not a substitute for the original in front of the attorney. For passports and identity cards, the holder normally needs to be present as well.

Where a director signs for a company, the attorney has to see current evidence of who may bind it: a recent DBD certificate of incorporation and the affidavit showing authorised signatories and any seal requirement. Documents dated long before the appointment are frequently refused by the receiving party abroad.

Many overseas authorities want the notarial act followed by authentication at the Department of Consular Affairs, and then by the destination embassy or, where applicable, an apostille. Each step verifies the previous one, so an act performed out of order has to be redone. Tell us the destination country and the receiving body first.

Whether an apostille or a consular legalisation applies depends on the treaty position of both states and on the date the document is presented. The HCCH status table is the authoritative public record; we check it at the point of instruction rather than relying on how a similar file was handled previously.

There is no government notary registry in Thailand issuing notarial deeds. A request phrased as "notarised by a notary public" is satisfied here by a Notarial Services Attorney acting under Lawyers Council regulation, and it is worth confirming with the receiving party that this is acceptable to them before travelling.

An instrument is certified as it stands at signing. Leaving dates, amounts or party details to be filled in afterwards means the certified version and the version submitted no longer match, which can invalidate the act in the eyes of the receiving authority.

Identification is the foundation of the act. An expired passport, a heavily worn identity card, or a name that no longer matches because of a change of name without the supporting registry record will stop the appointment.

If the receiving authority reads a language other than Thai, decide before the appointment whether the instrument is executed bilingually or translated afterwards. Adding a translation to an already certified single-language document usually means a second act rather than an amendment.

Multi-page notarial work is bound and sealed as one instrument. Removing the binding to photocopy or re-staple it breaks the continuity the next authority in the chain looks for, and the bundle may be rejected at consular stage.

Certification confirms execution and identity; it says nothing about whether a court, registry, university or immigration authority abroad will accept the underlying request. No lawful service can promise that outcome, and any provider that does should be treated with caution.