Business Verification via Notary Public

One of the services that a Notary Public is often asked to perform is helping Australian businesses with various aspects of their operations overseas. One example is the overwhelming load of paperwork that may need to be notarised, legalised (Apostille stamp) and then consularised.

Other Services provided by a Notary Public

Of course, these are not all of the services that are provided by a Notary Public. A few other services include:

1. Verifying any relevant addresses, or other company information such as shareholders, company directors, share structures, and more.
2. Verifying any tax registration information such as the Australian Business Number.
3. Verification of the company’s financial and banking information.

Certification and paperwork needed for verification

Often times, when dealing with overseas clients, the request may not be completely understandable for the Notary Public. In many cases, the client simply needs to bring in any paperwork or certificates that they obtained when they registered their business or company. Any paperwork which was provided by the Accountant is important to bring along as well. It is the job of the Notary to verify that the information given in these types of documents and paperworks. This helps the ones who are presented with this paperwork to be more confident and secure that all is legitimate and in order.

No Seal of Verification in Certification

One good example of this paperwork is the Certificate of Registration or Incorporation of the business or company. This certificate is usually issued electronically upon formation of a company. Because of this, there is no seal of authenticity on the document to prove that it is a real, true and correct certification. Without the verification of a Notary Public, the recipient of this information has no way to prove that it is indeed from a real and legitimate company or business.

How a Notary Public Can Help

In order to help with this type of dilemma, a Notary Public can conduct a search of the business or company and extract the current and historical information. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) provides this information as Australia’s company regulator. This makes it possible to verify that the business or company was registered on the date specified and whether or not the business or company is still operating. If the information provided by the company is consistent with that of the information provided by ASIC, then the Notary can issue the Notarial Certificate to verify that business or company.

After the certificate is attached

After the Notarial Certificate is attached to the documents from the business or company, the process will vary according to the country for which the information is needed. There are different procedures needed for different countries in order to make the certification legal in that country. For some countries, documents are made legal and authorised by the relevant office or department from that country. In others, the documents may simply be stamped with an Apostille.

In order to help with this type of dilemma, a Notary can conduct a search of the business or company and extract its current and historical information. ASIC provided his information as Australia’s company regulator. This makes it possible to verify that the business or company was registered on the date specified and whether or not the business or company is still operating. If the information provided by the company is consistent with that of the information provided by ASIC, then the Notary can issue the Notarial Certificate to verify that business or company.