1. Establishment of notary offices Municipalities, counties (autonomous counties), and cities establish notary offices. With the approval of the judicial administrative organs of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, notary offices can be established in municipal districts. There is no affiliation between notaries.

The notary office has a director and deputy director, who are served by notaries. The conditions for notaries are the same as those for judges and prosecutors.

2. Notary business scope

The business of the notary office mainly includes:

1. Proving civil legal acts;

For example, certifying contracts , entrustment, will, gift, property division, adoption of children, etc.

2. Prove facts with civil legal significance;

such as proving birth, death, marriage, divorce, kinship, identity, education, experience, etc.

3. Documents that prove to have civil legal significance;

For example, certifying that the signatures and seals on the documents are authentic, and that the copies, abridgements, translations, and photocopies of the documents are consistent with the originals, etc.

4. Prove the enforceability of creditor's rights documents;

For example, the enforceability of various repayment (property) agreements, loan contracts for debt recovery, etc.

5. Auxiliary services

Such as preserving evidence, keeping wills or other documents, drafting documents for notarization on behalf of parties, etc.

The notarization business in practice also includes notarization of withdrawals and deposits, lottery draws, etc.

3. The effect of notarization

Notarization generally has the following four effects:

1. Evidence effect

Also known as evidence capacity , refers to its legal certification qualifications. Article 67 of the Civil Procedure Law stipulates: Legal acts, legal facts and documents that have been notarized and certified through legal procedures shall be used by the People's Court as the basis for determining the facts, unless there is contrary evidence that is sufficient to overturn the notarized certification.

2. Execution effect

The execution effect of the notarial deed refers to its enforceability. It is currently limited to debt recovery documents for debts and items that are considered unobjectionable, not All paperwork. If one party fails to perform a creditor's rights document that has been certified as enforceable by a notary office in accordance with the provisions of the document, the other party may apply to the grassroots people's court with jurisdiction for enforcement.

3. Legal effect

The legal effect of a notarial deed means that certain legal acts only become effective after being notarized and certified, and are legally binding and protected by the state. Such as adopting children, registering marriage between Chinese citizens and foreigners, etc.

4. Extraterritorial effect

That is, the notarization becomes legally effective when used outside the territory. This is the extraterritorial extension of the legal validity and effect inherent in the notarization itself. According to international practice, documents sent by Chinese citizens or legal persons for use abroad must be authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the foreign affairs offices of provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions or foreign embassies and consulates in China after being certified by a notary public before they can have legal consequences abroad. effectiveness and have been recognized by the country of use.

IV. Notarization Procedure

According to the "Rules of Notarization Procedure" promulgated by the Ministry of Justice in 2002, the notarization agency and the notarization parties should strictly follow the following procedures when performing notarization acts:

1. Application and acceptance

Except for wills, adoptions and other notarization matters that are closely related to the person of the parties, citizens or legal persons can entrust an agent to apply for notarization matters. The application should be submitted to the notary office with jurisdiction. Notarization matters shall be under the jurisdiction of the notary office where the parties are domiciled, the legal act or the fact occurs. When applying for notarization, you should fill in the notarization application form and sign or stamp the application form. To apply for notarization, relevant materials should be submitted, such as ID card, power of attorney, documents requiring notarization, property rights certificates or other materials related to the notarization matter. The notary office shall make a preliminary decision on the application of the party concerned, and if it meets the conditions, it shall be accepted.

2. Review

is an important part of notarization work. The notary office focuses on examining the number, identity, qualifications, civil capacity, expression of intention and corresponding rights of the parties; whether the actions, facts or contents of the documents that need to be notarized are true and legal; whether the contents of the documents that need to be notarized are complete and whether the writing is Accurate, including whether the signature and seal are complete, etc.

3. Issuance of certificate

That is, the notary public will issue a notarization certificate for the notarization that meets the conditions after review. The certificate shall be produced in a format prescribed or approved by the Ministry of Justice. The notarial deed should include the following contents: (1) Notarial deed number; (2) Basic information of the parties involved; (3) Notarial testimony; (4) The signature (signature stamp) of the attesting officer, the seal and steel seal of the notary office; (5) ) issuance date. Unless otherwise provided by law, a notarial certificate shall take effect from the date of approval by the examiner and approver, and the date of approval by the examiner and approver shall be the date of issuance of the certificate.

4. Time limit, termination and refusal of notarization

The notary office should handle various notarization matters in a timely manner. Notarization matters should be completed within one month from the date of acceptance. For notarization matters that are major and complex, where the parties concerned do not provide sufficient evidence, or where entrusted investigation is required, the extension may be appropriately extended with the approval of the director or deputy director of the notary office, but the maximum period shall not exceed six months. The reason for the postponement should be communicated to the parties. The period during which the notary office is unable to work due to force majeure events will not be included in the above working period.

In any of the following circumstances, the notary office shall terminate the notarization: (1) The notarization cannot be completed within six months due to the parties’ reasons; (2) The party withdraws the application before the notarial certificate takes effect; ( 3) The process cannot be continued due to the death of the party concerned (termination of the legal person) or it is meaningless to continue the process.

The notary office shall refuse to notarize untrue or illegal acts, facts and documents. The decision to refuse notarization shall be notified in writing to the parties concerned, and the appeal procedure for refusal of notarization shall be informed.

5. Special procedures

Refer to the procedures that should be followed when handling certain special notarization matters. The notary office handles notarization matters such as tendering, lottery drawings, and auctions. The notary must visit the site in person to review and verify its authenticity and legality. If it is true and legal, the notarial statement shall be read on the spot, and a notarial certificate shall be issued within 7 days. party. This notarized certificate becomes effective from the date it is read. The notarization of the will should be handled by two notaries simultaneously, and one of the notaries should sign the notarization. When special circumstances are handled by a notary, a witness should be present, and the witness should sign the will and transcript. When the notary office handles deposit notarization, it shall notify the creditor by way of a notice or announcement to collect the subject matter for deposit within a determined period. When the creditor collects the subject matter for deposit, he shall provide proof of identity and proof of relevant creditor's rights, and bear the expenses incurred for the deposit. .

6. Appeal and reconsideration

The parties have objections to the notarial certificate issued by the notary office or the decision not to accept, refuse notarization, revoke the notarial certificate, or not revoke the notarial certificate If the case is notified, a complaint may be made to the judicial administrative organ at the same level of the notary office within sixty days from the date of receipt of the notarization or decision. If a person interested in a notarization matter has objections to the notarial certificate issued by the notary office or the decision to revoke or not revoke the notarial certificate, he or she may file a complaint with the judicial administrative authority at the same level as the notary office within 60 days from the date of becoming aware of it. ; However, the longest period for filing a complaint shall not exceed the statute of limitations stipulated in the General Principles of Civil Law.

In response to the complainant's complaint, the judicial administrative organ may make a decision to maintain the original notarization, revoke it, or order it to be changed. The decision made by the judicial administrative agency to handle the notarization appeal shall be sent to the complainant and the original notary office. If the complainant, notary office or other parties are dissatisfied with the decision, they may apply for administrative reconsideration to the judicial administrative agency with jurisdiction within the prescribed time limit.