Appearance
The Session
A notarisation session is a live video call with the person who invited you, the notary public, and any other witnesses. Most last between fifteen and forty-five minutes.
Before the day
You need three things:
| A device with a camera and microphone | A phone is fine. A laptop is more comfortable. |
| A stable connection | Video is required throughout — it cannot be an audio-only call |
| Your ID to hand | The notary may ask to see the document you verified with |
Somewhere quiet and reasonably well lit makes the whole thing faster. The notary has to be able to see and hear you clearly, and a session held in a noisy place can end up being restarted.
Video and audio are required
This is a legal act being recorded, not a normal video call. You cannot take part with your camera off, and a session cannot proceed if the notary cannot see you.
Getting your join link
Your verification link is not the session link. They are different, and the session link arrives separately.
Shortly before or at the start of the session, the notary admits you and you receive a second email with your join link. Look out for it around the scheduled time.
If the room will not open, the notary knows
You have no account here and no way to raise a ticket, so a failed join is reported for you — the notary is notified with your name and can issue a fresh link from the session. Nothing about it is your fault to sort out. Stay on the page.
The join link works once
It opens the video room a single time, so do not forward it. If you get disconnected and cannot get back in, ask the notary to send a new one — they can do that from inside the session.
During the session
Roughly in this order:
- You join the video room and wait to be brought in.
- The notary confirms who everyone is — they may ask you to hold your ID up to the camera and to state your name.
- The document is reviewed and signed by the person you are witnessing.
- You sign as a witness — a typed signature, or a handwritten one drawn on your phone.
- The notary seals the document and closes the session.
Your presence and your signature are recorded in the session's audit trail alongside everything else that happened.
What you are attesting
That you saw this person sign this document on this date. Nothing more. You are not agreeing to what the document says, and you take on no obligation under it.
Questions people ask on the call
Do I need to read the document? No. You are witnessing the signature, not the contents. You may be shown the page being signed.
What if I have concerns about what I am seeing? Say so, during the session. If the signer appears to be under pressure, or does not seem to understand what they are signing, tell the notary. That is precisely why a witness is there.
Can I leave once I have signed? Ask the notary. They will usually confirm when you are no longer needed.
What if I have to drop off before I sign? Tell the notary if you can — though from now on the platform tells them anyway: before they close the session it names any witness who is not connected at that moment. The session is not blocked by it and nobody is in trouble — but the record states what actually happened, and "attended and had left before the signing" is one of the things it can say. That is different from never having attended, and it is better for everyone that the record is accurate rather than kind. If your camera or connection is the problem, say so in the chat before you go; a browser that will not show your camera is a common cause and often fixable.
Do I get a copy of the document? Sometimes, and only if the person booking chose it for you when they invited you. If they did, you are emailed the notarised document when the act finishes.
You are never sent the certificate. That goes to the notary, the person who booked the session and the people who signed the document. It is the notary's record of the act — the declaration, who appeared, the signing events and the full audit trail — and you attested to a signature rather than executing the deed, so it is not yours. If you need it, ask the person who booked the session.
If something goes wrong
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| This session has not been started yet | The notary has not opened the room. They have been told you are waiting — keep the page open and try again once they begin |
| Video room not yet created. Please try again in a moment | The room is still being set up. Wait a few seconds and try again |
| We could not open the session room for you | Something went wrong at our end, not yours. Your notary has been told and can send you a fresh link |
| You cannot get into the room, and see none of the above | Check your email for the join link. Ask the notary to resend if needed |
| Your camera or microphone will not work | Try a different browser or device. Chrome and Safari are the most reliable |
| You get disconnected | Rejoin with a fresh link from the notary |
| You cannot attend at all | Tell the person who invited you before the session, not during it |
If you cannot attend
A session that legally requires a witness cannot go ahead without one. Tell the person who invited you as early as you can — they may be able to move the booking or find another witness. Silence on the day costs them their booking fee.
Afterwards
Nothing is required of you. Your identity document is deleted once the session is over — see Your privacy.
What the certificate says about you
The notarial certificate names you as a witness, and where the record shows who you were attesting for, it says so — your line reads "(witness for <name>)".
That is deliberate. On a document signed by several people, "witnessed by" without a name attached does not tell a later reader anything useful: a witness attests one person's execution, not the document at large.
You are named as having witnessed a signature. Nothing on the certificate suggests you are a party to the document or that you agreed to its contents.