In most countries, a Notary Public is known as an official who is licensed by the State to perform functions such as the authentication of signatures or documents, and the witnessing of affidavits or statements of persons under oath. Notarization of a document is important as the act of notarization itself creates a guarantee on the authenticity of the document, or to the act of the signatories to the instrument.
While there are no notaries public in Thailand, some lawyers are given the authority to function as Notarial Services Attorney in the country. In Thailand, it is the Lawyers Council of Thailand which regulates the practice of notarial services in the State. A Thai lawyer is required to undergo and pass a professional training course for the service before he is registered as a Notarial Services Attorney.
Once authorized to perform, a Notarial Attorney may execute the following functions:
- Verification to the authenticity of signatures in a document;
- Certification of identity of parties to an agreement;
- Administration of oaths and affirmations;
- Attestation and certification of certain classes of documents
- Be witness to the signing of parties to a document.
As Thailand is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, in some cases, parties who have engaged notarial services in Thailand may need to have the notarized document authenticated or legalized further at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, or at the Embassy of the country to which the document is to be presented.