In Mexico, as in several other countries including the UK (Commonwealth), France, Spain, Australia, South Africa, and Italy, among others, the Public Notary Service is a license granted by the Administrative authority to an attorney who meets specific criteria and legal requirements to act on behalf of the Government. Their role is to officially witness signatures, take statements, draft, and certify the validity and existence of specific legal acts and documents. Under this granting, the legality of those documents or copies (certified copies) is assumed, drawn from the fact that the document was notarially executed.
A notarially executed document contains authenticated signatures of those authorized or required to sign it before the Public Notary. The document is then signed by the Notary who witnessed the signatures, accompanied by the Notary stamping of the official seal. This stamping and signature constitute the certification. Such documents have legal effects and are also known as certified documents.
In Mexico, all Notarial activities and services are heavily regulated by specific State Notarial service laws, as well as several other additional or supplementary regulations (federal and local), including tax codes and anti-money laundering and criminal laws. One of the main requirements to become a Notary is that the candidate must be a fully licensed attorney at law in good standing with at least five years of credited professional experience. For some, the Public Notary is a highly specialized attorney at law and a highly respected and well-regarded professional who must also pass the notarial service exam. Therefore, a Public Notary cannot engage in other legal activities apart from notarial ones, except for academic and some pro bono work.
Common Notarial Services
Certain documents are required by law to be notarially executed to produce legal effects. In such cases, a Notary must draft the document, which is then signed and witnessed in the presence of the Notary. These documents, known as notarial deeds, include, among others, ante- and postnuptial contracts, deeds of servitude, deeds of cession of usufruct, real estate property leases, probations, trust deeds of donation, and notarial bonds. Power of Attorney, shareholders' meetings, and corporate books that must be notarized by law (corporate acts).
The Notary is also required to keep a protocol and register of all documents drafted by and attested to before them, filed before the Property and Commerce Public Registry or before the Estate General Notarial Registry, such as wills. All copies are kept confidentially and securely by the Notary.
Additionally, the Notary collects and enters the government taxes and duties applicable to those acts, which are owned by the client. They inform the Tax authorities of all Notarial transactions executed in the Public Notary, including the tax identification numbers of the participants. In the case of foreigners, their immigration or visa status up to the date of the Notarial Certification is also included.
A particularity of the Notarial service in Mexico is that the Notary may request additional information, documents, etc., and/or may refuse the service if the service required or the documents do not meet the legal standards and requirements, based on their professional criteria.
Notary Certification, Apostille & Legalization
The Notary also provides certification, apostille, and legalization services, including attestation, authentication, and notarization of documents for use in foreign countries.
Legalization of documents involves sealing and signing official documents with an Apostille Certificate affixed for international use, where countries are party to The Hague Convention. Alternatively, for countries not party to The Hague Convention, a Certificate of Authentication is used.
In some cases, apostilled documents from abroad intended to have legal effect in Mexico may additionally need to be registered in the public Registry in Mexico, such as the Notarial power of attorney, to meet legal requirements in Mexico.
The Apostille service is provided by the State department and may be procured by the Notary office as an additional service, subject to an additional fee in addition to government fees.
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