PROCEDURE FOR NOTARISATION AND LEGALISATION /APOSTILLE
The procedure for notarizing a document in Nigeria requires a person seeking to notarize same to submit the relevant document that requires notarization to a Notary Public.A document may only be accepted internationally if it has been notarized or authenticated and its genuineness confirmed by a Notary Public. A Notary Public is a public offic
ial, usually lawyer appointed and duly sworn into office by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, authorized to perform acts in legal matters, in particular witnessing signatures on documents, verification and authentication of documents, taking Oaths and affidavits among other functions. The Notary Public Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and the Oaths Act Laws of the Federation are the laws guiding the appointment, duties and functions of a Notary Public and the notarization of documents in Nigeria. Whenever a Notary notarizes or certifies any document, such a document must be sealed with the Notary’s seal or stamp and recorded in a register permanently kept by him. IMPORTANCE OF NOTARIZING A DOCUMENT
The importance or benefits of notarizing a document includes the following:
To verify that signatures, marks and copies of documents are true or genuine. The presence of a notary seal in any document confirms for the court that the signatures in that document were placed by genuine person and it is not fabricated. It is required where a document needs to be authenticated for use at any embassy in Nigeria or in other countries. COST OF NOTARISATION AND OATH/AFFIDAVITS TAKING BEFORE A NOTARY
There is no fixed cost for notarizing a document in Nigeria or for taking affidavits/Oaths thereof. The cost depends on the Notary Public officer involved, the nature of and the number of documents to be notarized. A person seeking to notarize a document in Nigeria should visit or call a Notary Public for the fee. However, most Notary Public usually charge from N10,000 for authenticating signatures on a document and from N2,000 for taking of Oaths and Affidavits. it is not mandatory to notarize all legal documents, but in some cases, notarization of documents may be required. If a person refuses to notarize a document, which requires notarization, then the validity of such a document will be questionable and may not be accepted for any official purpose by any authority or court of law within or outside Nigeria in the case of such document being required to be tendered as exhibit before any court. Where a notarized document is also required to be used for any official purpose oversea, it must also be authenticated at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja in a process called LEGALISATION. APPOSTILE / LEGALISATION
Our Law offices can do this on your behalf for a modest fee. The process of Legalisation at the Department Of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, is a little bit cumbersome. First of all, if you want to notarize your documents for travel purpose, then you would need a Notary Public to notarize your document, especially when it is demanded by the embassy of your target country. We have already discussed the steps for that one in the above title “How To Notarize Your Document In Nigeria”. After bringing your document to the Department Of Foreign Affairs, Abuja. You will be required to complete the authentication papers at the Legal Services Department of the Ministry. Procure the correct cost quote for the documents you seek to validate. Thereafter, visit an affiliated bank to make the demanded amount of deposit into the Government’s bank account. When the bank deposit is completed, you will go back to the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Legal Services Department in Abuja and submit the teller of your bank deposit. You will be issued a receipt; approval of the deposit you had made. Then, forward your document that you want to be validated, to the proper desk of the Legal Services Department. You would be informed the date to return for your legalized/authenticated document. There is usually no assurance that on the issued date for collection of your authenticated document, that you would come and obtain the document. Chances are that, the staff at desk may have left your file on the drawer to gather dust, or that there may be too many applicants’ documents to process, so it will be in your interest to frequently return to that desk to keep on reminding the Staff to finish up the validation of your document. Now, since there are different documents that can be legalized and they all have unique steps in getting them authenticated. We are going to outline the procedures for getting each of them legalized here in Nigeria. Some of them will be grouped together because they have a similar procedure. Birth certificate or attestation of birth
Marriage certificate, divorce certificate, single status affidavit
Police Character certificate
Nigeria International Passport
School Results and Academic Documents ( Degree Certificates, Transcript, WAEC, NECO, et cetera
2 photocopies of each document is required for these purposes
Time frame for collection is dependent on how busy the department and schedule officers are at a given time.
