The Role of Notaries in the Past Worldwide


Seal of a Notary Public of the Grand Duchy of Krakow until 1918.
Seal of a Notary Public of the Grand Duchy of Krakow until 1918, scanned in 2008 from an old Austrian document written and notarized before 1914. This old document is in the collection of the creator of the scan and was released to Wikimedia Commons and into the public domain.

[The history of Notaries is set out in detail in Chapter 1 of Brooke's Notary (12th edition) - the following is a condensation from the article in Wikipedia, the free, online encyclopedia.]

The office of a public notary is a public office. It has a long and distinguished history. The office has its origin in the civil institutions of ancient Rome. Public officials, scribes, rose in rank from being mere copiers and transcribers to a learned profession prominent in private and public affairs. Some were permanent officials attached to the Senate and courts of law whose duties were to record public proceedings, transcribe state papers, supply magistrates with legal forms, and register the decrees and judgments of magistrates.

In the last century of the Republic, probably in the time of Cicero, a new form of shorthand was invented and certain arbitrary marks and signs, called notae, were substituted for words in common use. A writer who adopted the new method was called a notarius. Originally, a notary was one who took down statements in shorthand and wrote them out in the form of memoranda or minutes. Later, the title notarius was applied almost exclusively to registrars attached to high government officials, including provincial governors and secretaries to the Emperor.

Notwithstanding the collapse of the Western Empire in the 5th century AD, the notary remained a figure of some importance in many parts of continental Europe throughout the Dark Ages. When the civil law experienced its renaissance in mediæval Italy from the 12th century onwards, the notary was established as a central institution of that law, a position which still obtains in countries whose legal systems are derived from the civil law.

Traditionally, notaries recorded matters of judicial importance as well as private transactions or events where an officially authenticated record or a document drawn up with professional skill or knowledge was required.


Notaries in the United States Play a More Limited Role


United Sates Flag as a backdrop to Statue of Liberty
In the United States a notary public is a person appointed by a state government (often the governor or the secretary of state of the state) to serve the public as an impartial witness. In most states, only qualified persons can apply for such an appointment, called a commission. Qualifications vary from state to state, but states often bar people with certain types of criminal convictions and/or below a certain age from being appointed, and applicants usually must pass an examination covering notary practices and law. The material for such exams is typically contained in a booklet published by the state. Some states also require a bond or insurance.

U.S. notaries have less authority than those in most of the rest of the world. In the United States, a non-attorney notary may not offer legal advice or prepare documents (with the exception of Louisiana) and cannot recommend how a person should sign a document or even what type of notarization is necessary. The most common notarial acts in the United States are the taking of acknowledgements and oaths. Unlike court reporters outside the United States, US court reporters are often notaries as this enables them to swear in witnesses (deponents) when they are taking depositions.

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