Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some answers to questions we frequently get:
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1. What sort of services do you provide?
2. What/Who is a Commissioner of Oaths? A Commissioner for Oaths (a.k.a. Commissioner for taking Affidavits) is an official who administers oaths or affirmations. They are regulated under Ontario's Commissioners for taking Affidavits Act. An oath or affirmation may be required on affidavits (which is a written statement confirmed by oath/affirmation usually prepared for court), statutory declarations (an out-of-court formal written statement for which the writer declares to be true), and other government forms. 3. What/Who is a Notary Public? In Ontario, a notary public is someone who has been appointed by the Government of Ontario pursuant to the Ontario Notaries Act, and has received their certificate of notarial appointment from the Official Document Services department of the Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services. The essential role of a notary public is to verify that signatures, marks, and copies of documents are true or genuine. Every notary public automatically has all the powers of a Commissioner of Oaths. 4. Are you a lawyer or paralegal? Do you provide legal advice/services? Yes! Neighbourhood Notary advertises and lsits independent affiliated notary publics oon its website. Every affiliated notary public is also a lawyer or paralegal in Ontario, and are members in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario. Our signatures are verifiable by the Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services' Official Document Services. However, despite the fact that we are lawyers or paralegals, the independent notary publics affiliated with Neighbourhood Notary limit their services to notarial services only and DO NOT provide any legal advice. If you require legal advice, we recommend using the Law Society of Ontario's Law Society Referral Service. 5. How are your notary publics affiliated with you? Neighbourhood Notary is a notary public listing / advertising service for independent notary publics offering their services to the general public. We are affiliated in the sense that we have created a network of notary publics across Ontario to refer clients and to share ideas. All our affiliated notary publics operate independently from Neighbourhood Notary. They are NOT employees, contractors, etc. of Neighbourhood Notary. They may also have their own legal practice as lawyers or paralegals. All work completed by our affiliated notary publics are their own. We do not endorse or approve any services provided by any notary public listed on this website. |
6. Where are your notary publics located?
For more information, please visit our Locations page. 7. Why do you need a copy / photograph my ID / document? As notary publics, we are required by law to verify our clients' identity and to securely retain identifying information regarding our clients for the future. We are also required to securely retain copies of the document we are notarizing. 8. Do you provide online / virtual services? Please see our Online Notary Service webpage. 9. How do I book an appointment? Visit our Contact page to book at an in-person appointment at a specific affiliated office or visit our Online Notary Service page to book an online appointment. 10. What do I bring to my appointment? What happens at an appointment? For a summary of what you need to bring to your appointment, and a summary of what will happen at your appointment, please visit our Notarization Process page. 11. Do you provide red or gold notarial seal stickers? In Ontario there is no requirement for a notary seal to contain a seal sticker. We would recommend a seal sticker if you are planning to take your notarized document outside of Ontario (in Canada or abroad), or if you need to photocopy, fax, etc. the notarized document (as it will show up better with a seal sticker). 12. What happens if I am going to be late or have to cancel my appointment? We understand that things can happen and plans may change. However, we ask that you let us know as soon as possible if you know that you will be late or if your plans change. We will then communicate that to the independent notary public on your behalf. We ask that you provide us with at least 2 hours notice of any changes in your plans. 13. What payment methods do you accept? Generally, we are able to accept cash, credit card, and e-transfer. However, please contact each individual office / notary public to see what forms of payment are accepted. If you can't find the answer you're looking for, shoot us an email at [email protected] |