Notary profession

What is written with a pen cannot be cut out with an ax, especially if the record is certified by a notary – a lawyer who has christopher columbus hero or villain essay been empowered by the state to draw up and certify documents.

Average salary: 30,000 rubles per month

Profession rating

Demand 72% Payability 65% Competition 66% Entry barrier 61% Perspectives 68% A notary (from the Latin word notarius, meaning « clerk ») is a specialist with a legal education, to whom the state has delegated the authority to certify the authenticity of documents and draw up them in accordance with applicable law. ContentA bit of historyDescription of the professionWhat specialties are better to studyBest universities for studyResponsibilities at workWho can work as a notaryHow much getHow to build a careerProfession prospectsRelated VideosComments

A bit of history

Most scholars believe that notary in the modern sense appeared in Ancient Rome, although even in Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt there were people who had the authority to draw up and certify legal information (hieromemnes and agoranomos, respectively).

The development of property and civil law and document flow in ancient Rome required a large number of scribes to draw up written contracts and other legal acts. Some of them worked for private individuals, others were elected by the magistrate and stayed in the public service, for example, the tabellions, who worked exclusively in offices and drew up judicial and legal papers. All documents drawn up by them were recorded in the minutes so that they became public acts and could not be challenged.

The term « notary » appeared approximately in the II-III century. It comes from the Latin word notta, which means a sign used to speed up writing. In the Roman Church, the functions of a notary consisted of recording the conversations of bishops with people and drawing up various legal acts. Subsequently, the profession migrated from church life to secular practice.

In Russia, the first information about notaries dates back to the 15th century. In those days, the notary drew up written wills, was present at transactions of purchase and sale, entered into the « land books » mortgages, deeds of sale, donation and other acts, certified loan agreements. Notaries in Russia became an independent legal institution in 1886.

Description of the profession

A notary is a highly qualified lawyer who can work in government offices or practice privately. In both cases, the authority of the specialist is the same, and the documents drawn up or certified by him are equally valid.

The terms of reference of a notary defined in the legislation are very wide. Private and public specialists are involved in the execution of various legal documents – donations, wills, powers of attorney, certificates of purchase and sale transactions. They also have the right to confirm the authenticity of a person’s signature, certify copies of documents or extracts from them, certify the correctness of translation from other languages ​​or into other languages, accept funds and securities for safekeeping.

In fact, the work of a notary is that he fixes and certifies the existence of any fact in order to avoid disputes about this fact later. If there are any doubts, then such a fact is not recorded until an appropriate confirmation is received. Also, the parties can go to court to understand the cause of doubt.

What specialties are better to study

To work as a notary, you need a higher legal education, and there is no separate specialty in notaries. Applicants can apply to legal areas of a very different profile:

civil law;civil process;jurisprudence;judicial, executive and notarial activities;jurisprudence and law enforcement.

Having received a bachelor’s degree, many graduates go to master’s degree, where they study as a notary in a more targeted manner, since there are specialized profiles at the second level of higher education.

To enter a university in the legal direction, you will need the results of the exam in history, Russian language and social studies.

Best universities for study

You can learn to be a notary not only in specialized law schools, but also at the law schools of most classical universities. A few examples:

Ural State Law University (Yekaterinburg) in its Institute of Justice offers training in the profile of « notary registration and mediation specialization ». University graduates can become not only notaries, but also legal advisers and mediators (specialists in negotiations and settlement of disputes).Samara State Economic University at the Institute of Law trains judges, bailiffs and notaries. Students can practice in law enforcement and judicial authorities, as well as regional authorities. The university has established close ties with foreign universities where you can take an internship.Russian Academy of Advocacy and Notaries. This is a university where you can get a bachelor’s degree in jurisprudence and a master’s degree in notary and notarial activity, advocate and notarial activity.Baltic Federal University Immanuel Kant (Kaliningrad) gives a wide-profile legal education in the specialty « jurisprudence ». Students from 40 countries of the world study at the university. It has highly qualified teachers and a base for scientific activities.Moscow State University M.V. Lomonosov. At a leading university in the country, you can get a law degree at a law school or at the Graduate School of Public Audit.

It is believed that it is the education of a lawyer with a wide profile that is more suitable for fulfilling the duties of a notary than a diploma of a graduate of a certain legal direction. This is due to the fact that activities can relate to a wide variety of branches of law (corporate, tax, civil).

Responsibilities at work

Functions of a notary in the workplace:

to certify various transactions and contracts – donations, barter, sale and purchase, marriage contracts. Some of these documents are certified on a mandatory basis, while others are better formalized to avoid risks;certify powers of attorney (for the use of property, including vehicles, for the right to receive documents, money, etc.);issue certificates of inheritance rights and draw up wills;to draw up various consents (for obtaining citizenship, for a temporary residence permit, for a child to travel abroad, for a transaction by one of the spouses, etc.);issue various certificates, including identity confirmation;to certify copies of documents, the correctness of the translation, the authenticity of the signature;accept securities or funds from the debtor in order to transfer them to the creditor or to place them on a deposit;to accept for storage valuable documents or payment checks for presentation for payment;draw up naval protests, protest bills of exchange and much more.

Notaries undertake to keep the secrets of their clients, as well as to inform them about the possible consequences of their actions. In order to fulfill their duties, they must have a room that meets the requirements, official forms, official seal and stamps, and a digital signature.

A notary is prohibited from engaging in other types of commercial activity, including acting as an intermediary in the conclusion of a transaction, and is only allowed to teach and engage in science. He also has no right in his office to perform any notarial actions in his own name or on his own behalf, as well as on behalf of close relatives (wife (husband), children, grandchildren, parents). In these cases, you have to contact your colleagues.

In each region, there are regional chambers that control the performance of notaries’ duties. Each professional is a member of the Federal Notary Chamber of the Russian Federation.

Who can work as a notary

This position can be occupied by a man or a woman who meets the following legal requirements:

the presence of higher education in the legal field;five years of work experience in the profile;age from 25 to 75 years;successfully passed the notary exam.

A person cannot perform the duties of a notary:

having the citizenship of another state;declared incompetent;registered in a narcological or neuropsychiatric dispensary;convicted or having an outstanding criminal record;submitted false documents;previously dismissed from such a position for violation of the law.

As for personal qualities, the notary will need:

a responsibility;pedantry and attention to the smallest detail;the ability to resolve controversial situations and smooth out conflicts;good memory;honesty and incorruptibility;perseverance;ability to work with electronic databases, including regulatory and legal.

The description of the profession will be incomplete if you do not indicate its pros and cons. The positive aspects include stable earnings, connections and respect in society, constant demand for services and the possibility of professional growth.

There are also a lot of cons. First of all, it is high competition in the professional market, responsibility for their actions, including criminal and material ones. The activities of notaries are strictly regulated and constantly checked by the Notary Chamber, if violations are detected, you can lose your license. Often, employees of notaries are subject to pressure from fraudsters and other criminal elements demanding to certify an illegal transaction.

How much get

Despite the fixed amount of services, the salary of a notary depends on the number of clients and the place where the office is located. On average in the country, the level of income of a specialist of the state notary service ranges from 30 to 35 thousand rubles, in Moscow and St. Petersburg it can reach 60-70 thousand rubles.

How to build a career

Becoming a notary is not an easy task. The job seeker will have to go through several time-consuming steps:

Study at a university to become a general lawyer.Complete an internship for at least a year with a private or public notary.Pass a qualifying exam. Commissions do not work at every university, the number of applicants is large, and a failed test can only be retaken in a year.Win a competition for the position of a notary in a notary district and start working. If this does not happen within three years, then the license will be canceled, and everything will have to start over.

The career consists in growth from a notary assistant to an employee of a state notary office with access to the opening of your own office.

Profession prospects

Today, the profession of a notary is in demand, but there are few vacancies and there is a very large competition for them. In addition, new technologies may seriously squeeze people in this area in the coming decades. Abroad, procedures for confirming documents in digital form are already being implemented using blockchain technology, which completely excludes the possibility of their substitution or forgery. The first « victims » of the transition to virtual numbers will be precisely the notaries, the banking sector and government services, but this will require amending the legislation.

Author: Alexey Kuznetsov