A national directory of public notaries

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A national directory of public notaries


Notary Public History

Notaries Public (also called "notaries", "notarial officers", or "public notaries") hold an office which is traceable its origins back to the ancient Roman Republic when they were called scribae ("scribes"), tabellius ("writer"), or notarius ("notary").


The office of a public notary is a public office. It has a long and distinguished history. The office has its origin in the civil institutions of ancient Rome. Public officials, called scribae, that is to say, scribes, rose in rank from being mere recorders of facts and judicial proceedings, copiers and transcribers, to a learned profession prominent in private and public affairs.



Notwithstanding the collapse of the Western Empire in the 5th century AD, the notary remained a figure of some importance in many parts of continental Europe throughout the Dark Ages. When the civil law experienced its renaissance in medieval Italy from the 12th century onwards, the notary was established as a central institution of that law, a position which still maintains in countries whose legal systems are derived from the civil law, including most of Europe and South America. The office of notary reached its apogee in the Italian city of Bologna in the 12th century, its most distinguished scion being Rolandino Passeggeri generally known as Rolandino of Bologna, who died in 1300 AD, and whose masterwork was the Summa Artis Notariae.


The Reformation produced no material change in the position and functions of notaries in England. However, in 1533 the enactment of "the Act Concerning Peter's Pence and Dispensations" (The Ecclesiastical Licences Act, 1533) terminated the power of the Pope to appoint notaries and vested that power in the King who then transferred it to the Archbishop of Canterbury who assigned it to the Court of Faculties and the Master of the Faculties.



Notary common law jurisdictions.. including Australia

The duties and functions of Notaries Public in England and other common law countries are described in Brooke's Notary on page 19 in these terms:


A notary, in almost all common law jurisdictions including Australia ,but other than most of North America, is a legal practitioner trained in the drafting and execution of legal documents. Notaries traditionally recorded matters of judicial importance as well as private transactions or events where an officially authenticated record or a document drawn up with professional skill or knowledge was required. The functions of notaries specifically include the preparation of certain types of documents (including international contracts, deeds, wills, and powers of attorney) and certification of their due execution, administering of oaths, witnessing affidavits and statutory declarations, certification of copy documents, noting and protesting of bills of exchange, and the preparation of ships' protests.

Notaries in Australia were first appointed to office by colonial State Governors and once eastern Australian States began to grow, appointments were made by the Archbishop of Canterbury until the passing of various State Notary Acts regulating appointment by Supreme Courts, excepting Queensland which still clings to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s breast.

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A Notary Public, Public Notary, or Notary are various descriptions of the same functionary.

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