These experienced lawyers are selected and appointed by the Mexican state after practicing law, completing a rigorous application process, and passing a stringent exam.
In the United States and Canada, many lawyers are able to act as notaries, certifying documents or obtaining signatures. They are a public officer whose main duties are to witness and authenticate specific documents, including taking testimony, filing affidavits, administering oaths or dealing with matters related to estates.
In Mexico, the role of a notary public is different. The word of a notary has a lot of weight legally in Mexico, as they are the ones who will sign and certify titles and send them to the public records. The notaria is a position of great responsibility because they are legally required to ensure that a deed title is clear and recorded at the Public Registry. All real estate purchases that take place must be registered with a notary public.
ROLE OF THE NOTARIA PUBLICA
Some of the main functions of a notaria publica include:
- administering oaths and affirmations
- taking affidavits and statutory declarations
- witnessing and authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents
- taking acknowledgments of deeds, protest notes and bills of exchange
- providing notice of foreign drafts. Any of these acts is known as a notarization.
Here are some of the prerequisite for becoming a notary public in the state of Quintana Roo:
- the person must be over the age of thirty, have no criminal record
- must have five years minimum working at the notary
- the applicant needs two notaries to certify them, attesting to their competence as a lawyer,
- they must take an exam which, once passed, allows them to become a notary.
BECOMING A NOTARY PUBLIC
Once the above prerequisites have been met, future notaries are dependent on there being spots available, because the state only allows a fixed number of notaries at one time. Successful applicants must wait until another notary dies, or have the government allocate space for new notaries. When these spaces are available, all of the lawyers that already passed that exam will present another exam again, and the best one will be the new notary in the state.
WHO PAYS FOR A NOTARY?
When you make a real estate transaction in Mexico, the notary‘s services are usually selected and paid for by you, the buyer. They will not function as your attorney; their job is to be neutral and fair to all parties involved and to make sure all documents and permits are in order and that all taxes are paid on the property. During the purchase process, the notary will authenticate legal documents, transfer of title, calculate the capital gains tax and ratify all real estate transactions in Mexico. If a real estate transaction is not recorded in the Public Registry by a notaria public it will not be valid.
Here are two notaries that we recommend:
Do you have any questions about notary publics in Mexico or the purchase process in the Riviera Maya? Please leave us a message below or call us today: +52 1 (984) 119 1603 and we will be happy to answer all of your questions.
