Can I establish a notary office when I am not a notary in Vietnam?

Can I establish a notary office when I am not a notary in Vietnam?

Currently, I see many notary offices being established because the need for notarization and authentication of documents is currently very high. I want to establish a notary office for business. However, I am not a notary, so can I set up a notary office? Hope to receive a response from you. Sincerely thank!

Reply:

According to the provisions of Article 22 of the Notary Law 2014:

1. Notary offices shall be organized and operate in accordance with this Law and other relevant legal documents concerning partnerships.

A notary office must have at least 2 notaries being its partners. Notary offices have no capital contributors.

2. The at-law representative of a notary office shall act as its head. The head of a notary office must be a notary who is its partner and has practiced notarization for at least 2 years.

3. The name of a notary office must contain the words “notary office” followed by the full name of its head or another notary being its partner as agreed by all notaries who are partners, and must not be identical to or cause confusion with those of other notarial practice organizations and violate national historical and cultural traditions, ethics and fine customs.

4. Notary offices must have head offices satisfying the conditions prescribed by the Government.

Notary offices may have their own seals and accounts and shall operate on the principle of financial autonomy with their revenues coming from notarization charges, notarization remuneration and other lawful sources.

5. Notary offices shall use seals bearing no national emblem. Notary offices may have their seals carved and use them after obtaining establishment permission decisions. Procedures and dossiers of request for permission for seal carving and management and use of seals of notary offices must comply with the law on seals.

As you stated, you are not a notary but want to establish a notary office. According to the law in Vietnam, notary offices can only operate under the partnership model and must have 2 or more partnership notaries. The legal representative of the Notary Office is the Head of the Office. Therefore, you are not a notary so you cannot open a notary office.

How long must a notary office operate before it can be transferred to another person in Vietnam?

Let me ask about transferring the notary office: Currently, my friend's notary office has only been operating for 3 years, but due to the bad business situation, my friend wants to transfer it to someone else. I want to know how long it takes to be transferred? What are the transfer documents like?

Reply:

Transfer of notary office

- Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 29 of the Notary Law 2014 stipulates the transfer of notary offices as follows:

1. A notary office may be transferred to other notaries who fully meet the conditions prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article. A notary office may be transferred only after it has conducted notarial activities for at least 2 years.

Notaries who have transferred their notary offices may not participate in the establishment of new notary offices within 5 years from the date of transfer.

According to regulations, if a notary office wants to be transferred, it needs to operate for at least 2 years. So your friend's office is eligible for transfer in Vietnam.

Documents for transfer to a notary office

- Documents for transfer specified in Article 15 of Decree 29/2015/ND-CP are as follows:

a) The transfer contract, specifying the name, address, list of partner notaries of the private notary office; names, numbers of decisions of designation for the transferee notaries; transfer price, payment and procedures for transfer of the private notary office; rights and obligations of both parties, and relevant information.

The transfer contract must bear the signatures of partner notaries of the private notary office being transferred, the transferee notaries, and must be notarized;

b) Written commitments of transferee notaries to inherit every right, obligation, unfinished notarization orders, and documents of the private notary office being transferred;

c) Statistics of notarized documents of the private notary office being transferred;

d) Copies of Decision of designation of transferee notaries; documents proving that the intended head of the private notary office has worked as a notary for 02 years or longer;

dd) The permissions for establishment and Certificate of registration of the private notary office being transferred;

e) Tax declarations and audited financial statements of the last 03 years of the private notary office being transferred.

Will a notary office that has 01 active notary stop operating in Vietnam?

I am interning at a notary office. Recently, due to a conflict between a notary and the office manager, the notary quit his job. Now the office only has one notary, who is the office manager. Is the office going to cease operations?

Reply:

According to Clause 1, Article 30 of the Notary Law 2014, a notary office may have its establishment permission decision revoked in the following cases:

a/ The notary office fails to register its operation as prescribed in Article 23 of this Law;

b/ Past the 6-month period from the date of receiving the written operation registration, the notary office still fails to commence its operation;

c/ The notary office fails to operate continuously for 3 months or more, except cases in which all notaries being its partners are suspended from notarial practice;

d/ The notary office has only one notary being its partner and no new partner added within 6 months from the date when the number of notaries being its partners becomes insufficient;

dd/ All notaries being partners of the notary office are relieved from duty, die or are declared by a court to be dead;

e/ The notary office no longer satisfies the operation conditions prescribed in this Law and other relevant legal documents.

Thus, if the notary office only has 1 notary being its partner operating and does not add a partner notary within 6 months, its operating license will be revoked in Vietnam.

If within 6 additional months the notary cooperates, the operating license will not be revoked in Vietnam.

Best regards!