14/05/2026
What is a Notary Public❓ A Notary Public is a person appointed by the government to perform the duties of certifying signatures on documents, drafting contracts, acting as a witness, or certifying true copies of documents to be used abroad. For Thailand, there is no direct government Notary Public system, but lawyers who perform this duty are called "Notarial Services Attorneys," who act equivalent to Notary Publics abroad.
1️⃣.Who is the lawyer that can certify? Not all general lawyers can certify documents. The lawyer who can perform this duty must have the following qualifications:
🔸 Must be a professional lawyer who has passed the training course on signature and document certification from the Lawyers Council.
🔸 Has received a license and is legally registered with the Lawyers Council of Thailand.
🔸 Has good conduct, is honest, and is not currently being penalized for lawyer etiquette violations (If a lawyer without this specific license is used, the document will be considered void when used abroad).
🔸 For those looking for a legally licensed lawyer to certify documents, you can contact Sartsupakit Law Office, Tel. 0909409704, Lawyer Pipat, located at 88 Moo 7, Chum Het Subdistrict, Mueang District, Buriram Province. 📌
2️⃣. What types of documents can a Notary Attorney in Thailand certify? A Notary Attorney can certify a variety of document formats. Mostly, they are documents for transactions or studying abroad, including:
1. Signature Notarization: such as a Power of Attorney, Letter of Consent, and signatures of corporate directors.
2. Certified True Copy: such as applications for studying abroad and copies of documents from government agencies.
3. Contract and Juristic Act Certification: such as business contracts, sale and purchase agreements, and cross-border real estate transfer documents.
4. Preparation and Certification of Legal Documents: such as an Affidavit, Statement, Oath making, and Instrument Protest.
5. Personal Information Certification: such as certifying status of existence, residence, certifying document translations, as well as online identity verification documents like an Affidavit of Identity for Facebook or AWS MFA.
3️⃣. The Procedure for Document Certification Document certification is divided into steps done with the lawyer and steps for submitting documents to government agencies:
🔸 Step with the Notary Attorney: The applicant must prepare the original documents and their actual ID card or passport to meet the lawyer -> The lawyer verifies their identity -> The applicant signs in front of the lawyer -> The lawyer signs, affixes the seal, and attaches a Gold Seal to certify completeness.
🔸 State Certification Step (Legalization/Apostille): For using documents abroad, after passing the Notary Attorney, there are 2 formats:
1. Traditional Chain Legalization Format: Take the document to the Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to certify the signature and seal of the Notary Attorney -> Take it to the embassy of the destination country for another certification.
2. New Format (Apostille): If the destination country is a member of the Apostille Convention (over 127 countries), you can take the document that has passed the Notary Attorney to obtain an Apostille certificate at the Department of Consular Affairs alone, and then use it in the destination country immediately without going through the embassy.
4️⃣. Do certified documents have an expiration date? The Notary Public stamp itself does not have an expiration date. However, what to be careful about is the "age of the original document" or the "conditions of the destination agency," which are usually specified. For example, a Certificate of Single Status or a Police Clearance Certificate often has a validity of only 3-6 months, or some embassies may stipulate that the document must not be certified for more than 90 days, etc.
5️⃣. The condition of the document must be perfect The Notary Attorney must always inspect the original document. If the original document is damaged, has erasures, scratches, crossings out, or is torn in essential parts, the lawyer may refuse the certification immediately to prevent potential legal problems that may follow.
6️⃣. Lost documents must be completely redone If the document certified by the Notary is lost, you must start the Notary process all over again. Because the lawyer's seal and signature are certified on a document-by-document basis (Original Stamp), a photocopy from the original set cannot be used as a replacement.
7️⃣. Additional Important Information to be Aware Of
1. Do not sign the document from home under any circumstances: Signature certification must be "signed in front of the lawyer only." If you have signed the document beforehand, the lawyer will not be able to certify it, and you must print a new document to sign again in front of the lawyer.
2. Signature certification "cannot be authorized by Power of Attorney": The owner of the signature must always appear and sign in person before the Notary Attorney. A representative cannot be sent (except for Certified True Copy, where the original document can be sent to the lawyer to process on their behalf without the person having to appear)
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Lawyer Pipat Tel. 0909409704
#สำนักงานทนายพิพัฒน์ , Tel. 0909409704, 🔖 📲
