Notarial Acts and Certifications
Certification of signatures, certification of copies and documents and other legally admissible acts, within the applicable professional remit.
What is included
- Simple signature certification
- Signature certification with special wording
- Certification of photocopies
- Certification of translations
- Authentication of private documents
- Deed of authentication
- Drafting powers of attorney
- Declarations and statements of responsibility
- Registration of acts on the official platform
- Support with prior document preparation
- Guidance on the legal form required
- Other legally admissible acts
Every situation is assessed individually. These services are provided within the remit of a Trainee Lawyer, under the supervision of Dr. João Nogueira Marques, Lawyer.
What helps prepare for your consultation
- The document or draft you want certified or authenticated, if you already have it.
- The intended receiving body and any instructions it has provided.
- Details of who will sign, in what capacity and in which country the document will be used.
- Identification for everyone who will sign or be represented.
- Proof of the authority relied on, such as a power of attorney or minutes, where someone signs for another person or a company.
- The language of the document and whether translation or recognition is required for use abroad.
What we review with you
We clarify the purpose of the document and the requested act before confirming the preparation needed. We examine questions about signatures, representation, copies or translation and the appropriate form for the case. Performance of the act depends on the applicable professional remit and the information verified. We separate what requires a formal act from what can be settled by certifying the existing document, because the preparation differs. We also confirm which body the document will be presented to, since that determines the form required.
Official information
Common questions before a consultation
Which type of act is needed in my case?
It depends on the purpose of the document and who will receive it, not on the name we give it. The consultation starts by clarifying that, because preparing a formal act differs from simply certifying a document that already exists.
Is it enough to certify the document I already have?
Sometimes it is, and that is one of the first things to check, because it avoids unnecessary work. In other cases the purpose requires a different form. The answer depends on what the receiving body accepts, and that is what we confirm before proceeding.
Who has to be present to sign?
What matters is who signs, in what capacity, and whether anyone signs for another person or for a company. In that case proof of the authority relied on is needed, such as a power of attorney or minutes, prepared ahead of the intended date.
The document will be used abroad. What changes?
The preparation changes, because translation or a form of recognition may be required for use outside Portugal. That is why we ask for the language of the document and the country where it will be presented, before setting the steps and their order.
I do not have the document drafted yet. Can I still proceed?
You can. A draft, or even a description of what you want to agree, is enough to start. The consultation helps define the content and the appropriate form, based on the purpose and on what the receiving body requires.
How do I find out what the receiving body requires?
It is one of the points we confirm, and anything you have already received from that body is the best starting point. If it has given written instructions, bringing them avoids preparing the document in a form that is later refused.
Are there acts that cannot be carried out here?
There are, and that is said plainly from the outset. Performing any act depends on the applicable professional remit and on the information verified. Where the matter calls for different involvement, we explain the appropriate referral rather than proceeding.
Can the preparation be done remotely?
Yes. The assessment and preparation are handled by video call or telephone, in Portuguese, English or Spanish, with documents sent in advance. The act itself may require attendance, and that is clarified before any date is arranged.
Editorial responsibility: Carvalhos Advocacia. General information; confirm the current position for your case before acting.