New law shifts notary signatures to citizen service centers

Notary signatures for document certification will now be done at citizen service centres, according to a law being submitted for a vote in parliament, the interior ministry announced on Wednesday.

Previously, these certifications were performed by notaries across the island or at various government offices.

The ministry stated on Wednesday that the 200 currently certified notaries will continue their duties until retirement, but no further appointments will be made.

The ministry said that the replacement legislation establishes safeguards to limit irregularities and illegal actions by certifying, such as fake certifications resulting in misappropriation of foreign property or conflict of interest issues with individuals maintaining service offering offices.

The bill will be introduced in parliament for debate and vote.

In addition, the ministry set out new fees for signatures and/or seals by certifying officials. Charges are now based on the number of pages in the document and not on the number of signatories, as was previously the case.

The maximum charges, irrespective of the number of times the same signature/seal appears throughout the document, are set as follows: up to two pages: €5, from three to ten pages: €10, from 11 to 100 pages: €25 and from 101 pages and above: €40.