What Documents Cannot be Notarized in Abbotsford?

24 Oct 2019 Notary Public

Before going to see a notary public about getting your documents authenticated, it is important to know what documents cannot be notarized in Abbotsford. Notaries are capable of verifying a wide variety of legal documents, but there are some types of documents that are not able to be notarized. At Sidhu & Associates, our team of notaries have a wealth of knowledge and experience in matters relating to legal documentation that we can turn into value for our Abbotsford clients.

What Documents Cannot be Notarized?

Whether you are working in Abbotsford or anywhere else in Canada’s legal system, it is important to have any documents of legal importance notarized. Notarization can help to avoid fraud and ensure that your documents stand up in court; however, there are some documents that cannot be notarized. Some of these documents include:

Original Birth Certificates

Notaries can make copies of birth certificates, but they cannot validate originals. If you are immigrating to Canada, your original birth certificate will need to be authenticated at Global Affairs Canada, which is in Ottawa, before it can be used or copied by an Abbotsford notary.

Photographs

Because photographs can be used for a wide variety of purposes, they are not able to be notarized. A document with written text containing a photograph can be notarized but, due to their subjective nature, photographs can be difficult to apply to legal documents.

Incomplete Documents

Any document that is incomplete is not able to be notarized. This is because, if alterations are made to the document after an Abbotsford notary has approved it, the document becomes invalid. All information on a legal document must be complete before it can be notarized.

Documents with Copied or Faxed Signatures

Typically, If a document has a signature that has been photocopied or faxed, it is not able to be notarized. The signature on the document must be up to date and valid. In many cases, the signing of the document must be witnessed by the notary public.

If you would like to learn more about what documents cannot be notarized in Abbotsford or anywhere else in BC, or to find out about any services that Sidhu & Associates offers, please contact us at 604-859-4825 or fill out a contact form on our website and we will get back to you as soon as we can.