We are happy to help with the swearing of oaths, statutory declarations and also with witnessing and certifying certain documents, subject to them being emailed in advance for our perusal.
Once the documents have been received, we will make the necessary arrangements with you for an in-person appointment at our office.
More detail on what we can assist with is outlined below for your information.
Oaths and Affidavits (also known as “Swears”)
An oath or affidavit is a document which you need to swear in front of a solicitor or commissioner for oaths whilst holding a holy book of your choosing. If you do not wish to swear an oath on a holy book, you are also permitted to make a solemn affirmation instead. By swearing an oath or affidavit you will be confirming, as if you were in court, that the document is true. Swearing or affirming something on oath which later turns out to be untrue could lead to a charge of perjury and may result in a fine or imprisonment.
Statutory Declarations
These are similar to affidavits and are commonly used for property related matters or at other times when evidence under oath is needed outside of court. They are declared as opposed to sworn and a holy book will not be used.
Witnessing Documents
Sometimes you need an independent person to witness your signature. The role of the witness is to guard against forgery or duress and in the event of a dispute, potentially corroborate the circumstances of the signing. It is also a statutory requirement that the witness be present when the executing party signs the deed, so you must make an appointment to attend our offices for us to act in this capacity.
Certified Copies of Documents
Certified copies of documents can be provided to organisations that are happy with a verified true copy of the original being provided, rather than them having to see the original themselves. This is particularly useful when there would be considerable difficulty for an individual to present the documents in person, for example if they lived in Edinburgh but the organisation requiring sight of the original document is located in London.
We have to be sure that the document we are verifying is the original, therefore we cannot certify documents downloaded from the internet as true copies as there is no way to prove their authenticity. We also cannot certify births, deaths or marriage certificates; certified copies of these documents are only available from a Registry Office.
How much will it cost?
As a guide, we charge £5.00 per document, plus £2.00 for each annex that accompanies it.
Once you have emailed your document to us via our Contact Us page, we will be able to confirm how much you will pay.