Notary: a prestigious profession for the most patient lawyers

Translated from Latin, the word “notary”, known to everyone today, will sound like “secretary”.
A modern notary is a specialist in legal issues who performs actions prescribed to him, in turn, by law. This specialist may be a government employee or have a private practice. The profession is considered very prestigious and well paid.

The essence of the work of a notary and his official responsibilities

Imagine that each of us suddenly begins to interpret the legality and literacy of drawing up various important documents in our own way. Of course, complete chaos will ensue, and endless lawsuits will drag on regarding the authenticity of documents.

But the seal of a notary, a legally competent specialist (whose professionalism is confirmed by a license) on a document is a guarantee of the authenticity of the document and the absence of errors. The reputation of such a specialist must be crystal clear.

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What specialties are best to study in?

To work as a notary, you need a higher legal education, and there is no separate specialty in notary publicity. Applicants can enroll in legal fields of various profiles:

• civil law;
• civil process;
• jurisprudence;
• judicial, executive and notarial activities;
• jurisprudence and law enforcement.

Having received a bachelor's degree, many graduates go on to master's programs, where they study to become a notary more specifically, since there are specialized profiles at the second level of higher education.

To enter a university to study law, you will need Unified State Examination results in history, Russian language and social studies.

What does a notary do and what are his responsibilities?

• Certifies documents and verifies the identity of clients applying.
• Registers ownership rights to real estate, etc.
• Draws up wills.
• Certifies various transactions (loan and powers of attorney, rent and exchange, purchase and sale, etc.).
• Testifies the authenticity of documents and signatures on them.
• Certifies the literacy and accuracy of translations of documents from a foreign language (sometimes he also does the translation itself if he has the appropriate diploma).
• Keeps copies of certified documents.

Each notary has his own individual stamp, and he is guided exclusively by the laws of the country.

Restrictions and prohibitions

To many who want to know what a notary does, the work of a representative of the law seems simple and dust-free. In many ways it resembles a secretarial room. It would seem that what could be simpler than making, for example, a copy of a document and having it certified? The very name of the profession came to us from Latin – notarius. Translated, it simply means “scribe.” However, high status and privileges are given to representatives of the law for a reason. The activity of a notary is associated with great responsibility and risks. Therefore, many restrictions are imposed on the so-called clerks:

1. A notary has no right to engage in matters not related to his district and competence.
2. It is also impossible to refuse to perform actions provided for by law in the interests of the applicant on “one’s territory.”
3. Serious liability is provided for the voluntary or involuntary disclosure of entrusted secrets. A notary can provide certificates of completed actions only to those persons on whose initiative and instructions they were carried out. Information about the will is allowed to be disclosed to a limited circle of people only after the death of the will-maker. The exception is the provision of information at the request of the court, prosecutor's office, investigative authorities, in accordance with the law.
4. As mentioned earlier, a notary has no right to engage in entrepreneurial activities. He cannot provide intermediary services in concluding transactions, work part-time in other positions, or perform any paid work other than as a teacher or researcher.

Notary salary and career features

• As a rule, the first step in the career of this specialist is the vacancy of a notary assistant.
• The second step is the notary himself, with his assistants.
• The main dream (so to speak) of every successful notary is to have his own office.

Of course, a competent professional specialist with work experience will always be in demand on the legal services market, but it should be remembered that you cannot private practice In turn, the state notary can count on paying for the rent of the premises, salaries of employees, etc.

Who can work as a notary

This position can be filled by a man or woman who meets the following legal requirements:

• having a higher education in law;
• five years of relevant work experience;
• age from 25 to 75 years;
• successfully passed the notary exam.

A person cannot perform the duties of a notary:

• having citizenship of another state;
• declared incompetent;
• registered in a narcological or psychoneurological dispensary;
• convicted or having an outstanding criminal record;
• submitted false documents;
• previously dismissed from such a position for violating the law.

As for personal qualities, a notary will need:

• responsibility;
• pedantry and attention to the smallest details;
• ability to resolve controversial situations and smooth out conflicts;
• good memory;
• honesty and integrity;
• perseverance;
• ability to work with electronic databases, including regulatory ones.

A description of a profession will be incomplete without pointing out its pros and cons. Positive aspects include stable income, connections and respect in society, constant demand for services and the opportunity for professional growth.

There are also a lot of disadvantages. First of all, this is high competition in the professional market, responsibility for one’s actions, including criminal and financial ones. The activities of notaries are strictly regulated and constantly checked by the Chamber of Notaries; if violations are detected, you can lose your license. Often, employees of notary offices are subject to pressure from fraudsters and other criminal elements who demand that they certify an illegal transaction.

What salary should I expect?

There are no high salaries in government offices: the highest salary in the capital is about 60,000 rubles.

The earnings of a private notary can be quite substantial - when working in a metropolis and with a significant flow of clients.

However, business and other professional activities are prohibited by law for a notary. Therefore, when the desire to do something else arises, you have to part with your license (as well as your career).

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Work organization

Services for citizens and legal entities take place in the office of a representative of the law. Less often he goes to the client's address. A notary engaged in private practice may have current and foreign currency accounts in banks, manage the income received, and act in court on his own behalf. This allows him to organize work to protect the rights of citizens in the most optimal way.

A notary engaged in private practice (RF) has a personal seal with the image of the state coat of arms, indicating his full name, position, and office address. He uses personalized letterhead for documents. In 2011, notaries also received highly secure electronic signatures. They are necessary for working with non-paper media.

Right to operate

Not everyone will be able to take the place of an official assistant in the future. First of all, testing, the place of delivery of which is determined by the city Notary Chamber and the Ministry of Justice.

You should notify authorized persons of your intention to take the exam 2 months in advance .

1. You must pass the exam with excellent marks , otherwise you will wait another year for this opportunity.
2. The commission usually consists of 5 people , and its composition is approved by the Ministry of Justice 1 month before the exam itself. And don’t expect your leader to be on the commission - he won’t be there.
3. Exam papers usually have 3 questions : a notarial act, a theory and a task. After the commission evaluates the answers, the “arithmetic mean” is displayed.

Passed it? May I congratulate you?

Great! But that is not all.

Documents that may be needed when contacting a notary

Notaries, performing notarial acts, enter into legal relations with interested parties on the basis of current laws. It is clear that their activities are impossible without legal consequences. This determines the notary’s right to present from interested parties certificates, documents confirming identity (legal status), delinquency, and legal capacity.

For reference: tort liability is understood as the ability of citizens to bear liability (civil law) for the harm caused by illegal actions. In some countries, delinquency today is part of the concept of legal capacity.

Documents are not the only thing notaries require. The requirement for the personal presence of interested parties at the place where the notarial act is carried out is legal. Persons participating in such an action are required to comply with the requirements of the notary. Otherwise, failure to comply with them will entail the legality of the specialist’s refusal to perform notarial acts.

Now - license!

• We pay the state fee within 5 days after passing the exam to the justice authorities.
• We submit there the permit for the license that you were given after the exam and a receipt for payment of the fee.
• Now the oath!
• Further data processing for 1 month and... the long-awaited issuance of a license.

Practice after obtaining a license must be continuous and continuous. If 3 years have passed since you received it and you still haven’t started working, you will have to take the exam again!

How to build a career

Becoming a notary is not an easy task. The job seeker will have to go through several labor-intensive steps:

• Study at a university to become a general lawyer.
• Complete an internship for at least a year with a private or public notary.
• Pass the qualifying exam. Commissions do not work at every university, the number of applicants is large, and a failed test can only be retaken after a year.
• Win a competition for the position of notary in a notary district and start working. If this does not happen within three years, the license will be canceled and everything will have to start all over again.

The career consists of growing from a notary's assistant to an employee of a state notary's office with access to opening your own office.

About the procedure for registering notarial acts, about duplicates

Notarial acts performed by notaries today are required to be registered in a special register.

Any notarial act has an assigned serial number, which is indicated on any copy of the document executed by the notary, as well as in the certification inscriptions.

The issuance of extracts from the register upon the (written) application of legal entities and individuals in whose name and on behalf of which notarial acts were performed is mandatory for a notary.

If documents certified or issued by notaries are lost, the above persons are given duplicates of the lost documents.

Fees, notary fees

The notary representing the state notary office collects a fee, which then goes to the local budget. For a private notary, this is the tariff. The values ​​of the first and second are the same, because established by the legislation of the Russian Federation. Let us clarify that state notaries receive a fixed salary, while private practitioners pay taxes to the state on their own.

It should be noted that a group of persons is legally defined for which benefits are provided for performing notarial acts, preparing draft documents, as well as performing technical work and issuing copies.

Ensuring the confidentiality of actions performed by a notary

Notaries and other notarial employees are prohibited from disclosing information or making public documents that they learned about during the performance of notarial acts.

This provision is valid even after the termination of the resignation or dismissal of the notary. A private notary who knowingly disclosed information about a completed notarial act or committed a (notarial) act that violated the law must, by court decision, fully compensate for the damage caused.

A notary of a state institution will be held liable in the so-called claim procedure. The latter is presented to the notary office as a legal entity.

Let us remind you that these documents on notarial actions performed are issued only to persons in whose name or on whose behalf these actions were performed.

Certificates of completed actions (notarial) are issued at the request of the prosecutor's office, investigative bodies, and courts regarding pending criminal or civil cases. An arbitration court may also require them to resolve disputes under its jurisdiction.

Specialist tasks

The main tasks that a notary faces include certification of all types of documents, after which they receive full legal force.

Most often they are used to certify various types of transactions. For example, contracts regarding purchase and sale, exchange or gift. Specialists are brought in to confirm the authenticity of lease or loan agreements. You should visit a notary in case of drawing up a will or power of attorney. These and many other tasks make it possible to make any transaction legal.

Training to become a notary (lawyer)

Courses

CHTA (Modern Scientific and Technological Academy) (SNTA)

A law degree can be obtained from the Modern Scientific and Technological Academy (SNTA) if you already have any other professional qualification. education. Retraining courses have the same status as a second vocational education. Diploma of the established form. Duration of training: from 3 months.

Russian Institute of Professional Education "IPO"

The Russian Institute of Professional Education "IPO" is recruiting students to obtain the specialty "Lawyer" through a distance program of professional retraining and advanced training. Studying at the IPO is a convenient and quick way to receive distance education. 200+ training courses. 8000+ graduates from 200 cities. Short deadlines for completing documents and external training, interest-free installments from the institute and individual discounts. Contact us!

Universities

St. Petersburg Law Academy

Jurisprudence (correspondence) (Faculty of Law (bachelor's degree))

Moscow Humanitarian University, Moscow State University

Legal business, services and activities of a corporate lawyer (Faculty of Law)

Russian New University

Civil law (RosNOU Law Institute)

International Law Institute

Jurisprudence (Faculty of Law)

University of Russian Innovative Education

Jurisprudence (Faculty of Economics and Law)

We invite you to familiarize yourself with our list of law universities in Moscow

Requirements

A notary is a very responsible profession. And not everyone is given the opportunity to build this kind of career. It's hard to believe, but not everyone is allowed to work as a notary. Why? Both the state and private companies put forward a certain number of requirements for such personnel. If at least one condition is missing, you cannot start a career.

Firstly, a notary is a profession that requires certain knowledge in the field of Russian legislation. Without higher education it is impossible to judge the legality of transactions. This means that without graduating from a university in the legal field, you will not be able to start a career.

Secondly, anyone who wants to become a notary must first obtain an appropriate license to conduct notarial activities. Without it, you don’t have to contact a potential employer - he still won’t hire the citizen. After all, in fact, he will not have any permission to carry out activities.

Thirdly, the profession of a notary implies not only knowledge in the field of jurisprudence. The employee must have a thorough understanding of a variety of codes. This is another mandatory requirement. But it is often not taken into account. After all, many believe that a person with a legal education a priori has knowledge of the country’s legal system.

Are the actions of notaries subject to appeal?

Refusal to perform a notarial act or its incorrect execution is subject to appeal in court.

If there are suspicions against a notary of carrying out incorrect notarial acts or a refusal to perform such actions is received, it would be lawful to go to court. Let us clarify that in this case the complaint is filed at the location of the notarial institution or the person (official) who is authorized to perform such notarial acts. Please note that the period for filing a complaint with the court is only 10 days. The countdown begins from the day when the applicant learned about the refusal to carry out a notarial act or about the performed notarial act. A court decision satisfying the applicant's complaint usually cancels the notarial act performed or obliges the lawyer to perform a similar act.

Requirements for documents for performing notarial acts

Documents for notarial acts cannot have erasures, additions, crossed out words, or unspecified other corrections. Documents executed in pencil are also not accepted. Texts for transactions (notarized) must be clearly and clearly written. Dates and deadlines related to the content of the document must be indicated in words (at least once). The names of legal entities must be presented without abbreviations and accompanied by the addresses of their bodies.

The same applies to citizens’ personal information (full name), addresses, and place of residence.

Documents, the volume of which is represented by more than one sheet, must be bound and sealed.

From the history of the profession

The first notaries appeared in Ancient Egypt; their functions were not much like the duties of employees of modern notary offices. Agoranomos - as the Egyptians called the people who laid the foundation for the notarial business - were engaged in collecting and recording legal evidence. The word “notary” appeared much later, in Ancient Rome. As the borders of the Roman Empire expanded, so did the flow of documents. It became clear: people were needed who would write down and preserve laws, contracts and legal acts, the number of which increased day by day. This is how clerks and secretaries appeared, whose position was called “notary.”

In Russia, the first mention of notaries dates back to the 15th century. They, along with priests, could certify transactions related to wills and donations of property.

Legality of a notary's participation in the performance of debt obligations to the debtor's creditor

A notary, according to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 327) and the Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Notaries (Article 87), can accept from the debtor for transfer to the creditor money or securities (valuables) due from him. The latter, as a rule, are handed over by a notary to a bank or other credit enterprise that has a license to accept deposits and open accounts. In cases where a legal entity acts as a debtor and creditor, in applications from the debtor, in addition to the passport data of the legal entity’s representative, the full name and address of location of both the debtor and the creditor are indicated. In this case, the application must contain reasons according to which this obligation cannot be fulfilled by the debtor personally. The notary, having accepted money or papers (valuables) from the debtor, issues him the corresponding document. The following is the procedure for notifying the creditor, who is indicated by the debtor in the application, about the acceptance of money or securities (securities).

The issuance of a sum of money (securities) to the creditor is carried out on the basis of the application submitted by the latter.

The debtor's implementation of debt obligations with the participation of a notary is carried out when:

• the creditor himself (the person authorized by him to accept this performance) is absent in the place where this obligation must be fulfilled;
• the creditor is incapacitated and does not have a representative;
• there is no clarity about who has the status of a creditor under an obligation, specifically in connection with debates on this issue between the creditor and other persons;
• the creditor's evasion from execution is recorded or there is another delay.

Let us clarify that the participation of a licensed person, the so-called Escrow Agent, who has the right to accept sums of money or securities (securities) in fulfillment of the debtor’s obligations to the creditor is a very popular practice in the West.

Definition

A notary is a legal entity authorized to perform certain notarial acts. This is a kind of employee who acts as a public or private witness when making transactions. But only in the absence of disputes between the parties.

This employee also confirms the authenticity of the documents. He helps with the preparation of wills and when citizens enter into inheritance. An important factor is the absence of disputes and inaccuracies in the transaction process. If any, the notary does not have any rights to certify a document or agreement.