# Notary who can authorise documents in English



## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

We will shortly need to sign a document in the presence of a witness and have it notarized.

The problem is that this is a document originating in Florida USA and will be in English.

Are there notaries in Spain who are allowed to authorize documents written in English?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

stevesainty said:


> We will shortly need to sign a document in the presence of a witness and have it notarized.
> 
> The problem is that this is a document originating in Florida USA and will be in English.
> 
> Are there notaries in Spain who are allowed to authorize documents written in English?


I had to sign a document written in English in the presence of a notary some years ago. Since all he was witnessing was that he saw me sign the document, & notarising my signature, the language of the actual document was immaterial.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

I was asked to do that by a major UK bank, even though I pointed out to them that asking someone who possibly didn't speak English to write a statement in that language was nonsensical. 
The notary agreed with me for the same reason & would only do it in Spanish. 
The Banks own complaints investigators agreed with me as well when I made official complaints.
So no ,I doubt that you will find a Notary who will be able, or willing , to do it.


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## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

gus-lopez said:


> I was asked to do that by a major UK bank, even though I pointed out to them that asking someone who possibly didn't speak English to write a statement in that language was nonsensical.
> The notary agreed with me for the same reason & would only do it in Spanish.
> The Banks own complaints investigators agreed with me as well when I made official complaints.
> So no ,I doubt that you will find a Notary who will be able, or willing , to do it.


Thank you Gus, we have arrived at the same conclusion. We feel that our only solution will be to get a US Consulate Notarial services to do it. Madrid has got bad reviews and long waits for appointments so it looks like Barcelona.
An added problem is that the Florida company is only giving us a 15 day window to get the document signed, notaraised and mailed back to Florida.


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## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

We finally received the document and travelled to the US Consulate in Valencia with a couple of friends in tow as witnesses. 

The whole process only took 15 mins. in the Consulate office at a cash fee of 49€, only one notarial signature required, leaving us the rest of the afternoon to have a mdd and enjoy a bit of sightseeing before we returned home. 

We made copies of the signed and notarized document and sent it off the very next day by track and sign post with the Royal mail through an easypost outlet. 

It arrived at its destination in Florida today, exactly 15 days after posting, not a very fast service obviously. 

Anyway, fingers crossed, once we pay the exorbitant fee we will be finally rid of the shackles of our time share!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

xabiachica said:


> I had to sign a document written in English in the presence of a notary some years ago. Since all he was witnessing was that he saw me sign the document, & notarising my signature, the language of the actual document was immaterial.


Absolutely, all they do is to witness the signature not the contents of the document.


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## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

snikpoh said:


> Absolutely, all they do is to witness the signature not the contents of the document.


They also check the bona fides of the signatories and witnesses.

When I needed a proof of life form signing from my UK pension provider I visited 3 separate Notaries in 3 separate towns only to come away empty handed as the document was not in Spanish. I had to settle for a notarised statement, in Spanish, confirming that the Notary had verified my identity and witnessed my signature on the original English form and used her notary stamp across both documents, half and half, to prove continuity. I then had to argue, quite forcefully, with my pension provider to get them to accept it. The lame excuse was that my English translation of the form may not have been accurate when even a half baked Google translation would have given them the gist.

So, once again, there is no consistency of service across Spain as both you and Xabiachica had no trouble having English documents notarized in Spain.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

xabiachica said:


> I had to sign a document written in English in the presence of a notary some years ago. Since all he was witnessing was that he saw me sign the document, & notarising my signature, the language of the actual document was immaterial.


That's not the view our local notary took about eight years ago when we needed her to witness our signatures on a UK legal document! She not only insisted upon having the document translated, but the translation had to be done by an officially recognised and very expensive Spanish legal translator!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

The Skipper said:


> That's not the view our local notary took about eight years ago when we needed her to witness our signatures on a UK legal document! She not only insisted upon having the document translated, but the translation had to be done by an officially recognised and very expensive Spanish legal translator!


sounds like a bit of a 'jobsworth'!


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

snikpoh said:


> Absolutely, all they do is to witness the signature not the contents of the document.



With mine they were asking for a certified copy of my passport along with a utility bill , amongst other things, & specifically stated that they required the phrase 
" I certify that this s a true & exact copy of the original etc;etc; " written in English & then signed ,dated & stamped & sealed.
Obviously no one is going to do that if they cannot understand what they are writing.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

stevesainty said:


> They also check the bona fides of the signatories and witnesses.
> 
> When I needed a proof of life form signing from my UK pension provider I visited 3 separate Notaries in 3 separate towns only to come away empty handed as the document was not in Spanish. I had to settle for a notarised statement, in Spanish, confirming that the Notary had verified my identity and witnessed my signature on the original English form and used her notary stamp across both documents, half and half, to prove continuity. I then had to argue, quite forcefully, with my pension provider to get them to accept it. The lame excuse was that my English translation of the form may not have been accurate when even a half baked Google translation would have given them the gist.
> 
> So, once again, there is no consistency of service across Spain as both you and Xabiachica had no trouble having English documents notarized in Spain.


Just read this

When I still recieved the widow benefit/pension from the UK, my gestor signed & stamped my 'proof of life' form. Bank managers will also usually do this.

When I had a notary witness my signature, he obviously also checked that I was me, by checking my passport!


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> Just read this
> 
> When I still recieved the widow benefit/pension from the UK, my gestor signed & stamped my 'proof of life' form. Bank managers will also usually do this.
> 
> When I had a notary witness my signature, he obviously also checked that I was me, by checking my passport!


Yes, they suggested bank manager to me. Unfortunately down here no one , including bank managers , town hall employee's , will sign anything unless they are given written dispensation absolving them of any come backs.  
Yet I can go to Mazarron old town hall & get a copy of my passport certified & the security guard does it , using the Town hall stamp with the wording in & then signs it. :rofl:


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