Notary-public

Notary-public is an officer of the law or professional person whose chief function is to act as a witness of any solemn or formal act, and to give a certificate of the same; which certificate, if duly authenticated, is accepted as good evidence of the act done in his presence, and attested by him. Solicitors are sometimes notaries-public, but in England there are fewer notaries, comparatively, than in Scotland, where notarial acts and certificates are more largely used. The English courts take notice of the seal of a notary, but his certificate is not generally received as proof of the facts certified. A notary is employed in the noting and protest of foreign bills of exchange in case of non-acceptance or non-payment. In the United States the powers of notaries are defined by the laws of the different states. See Brooke, On the Office of a Notary (ed. by Leone Levi, 1876); and Proffatt, Law of Notaries-public in the United States (1877).