Notary

The office has three Notaries on staff who will notarize documents at no cost to students. Please remember to bring an ID with a photograph i.e. driver's license, student ID, or your passport. You do not need an appointment to have documents notarized. However, you may want to call before you stop by to make sure one of the notaries is in the office.

• Do not sign the document before you come to the office. The Notary must see you sign the documents.
• You cannot bring in a document that someone else has already signed and ask that it be notarized. Again, the Notary must see the person sign the document. This comes up when apartment complexes ask that parent's sign as a co-signer/guarantor on a lease. Your parent must sign the document in front of the Notary. They cannot sign it, mail it to you and then have you go to a Notary to have their signature notarized.
• Any bank also has a Notary. They will usually notarize documents for a fee.

The Notary Public Section

• There is a difference between certification and notarization. Certification is a sworn statement that the document is a true copy by the officer to whose custody the original is entrusted. (Black's Law Dictionary) For instance, only the Registrar's office can certify a copy of your transcript because the Registrar is the office that creates the transcripts. Only the NC Department of Motor Vehicles can certify a copy of your driving record, etc.

Authentification

• Authentication Office of the NC Department of the Secretary of State
• Apostille - An "apostille" is a form of authentication issued to documents for use in countries that participate in the 1961 Hague Convention. A list of countries that accept apostilles is provided by the US State Department.
• Authentication or Certification - If the country of intended use does not participate in the Hague Convention, documents being sent to that country can be "authenticated" or "certified".

Exemplification

An official transcript of a document from public record… and authenticated or certified to be a true copy. (Black's Law Dictionary)

http://www.nccourts.org/Courts/Trial/Documents/CourtCosts.pdf (LINK BROKEN)

Wake County Courthouse fee $7.50

This is general information about the law and is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice as it relates to your particular situation. Consult with our office to discuss how your particular facts relate to the law.