How to Prepare for a Notary Public Appointment

Learn what ID to bring, document signing rules, payment options, and requirements at Althouse Notary Corp.

How to Prepare for a Notary Public Appointment

Whether you are completing a real estate transaction, organizing a Power of Attorney, or getting a Child Travel Consent Letter authenticated, visiting a Notary Public in Nanaimo, BC keeps your legal affairs in order. Arriving unprepared can result in delayed transactions or missed appointments.
Here is a quick guide on how to prepare for your appointment, featuring rules from local practices like Althouse Notary Corp.

What Does a Notary Public Do in Nanaimo, BC?

A Notary Public is a government-appointed official tasked with preventing fraud by verifying identities, witnessing signatures, and authenticating legal documents.

In British Columbia, BC Notaries undergo specialized legal education to provide non-contentious legal services. They assist with land transfers, statutory declarations, affidavits, certified true copies, and international documents.

1. The ID Requirement: Bring Two Pieces of Valid Identification

The most crucial step when visiting a BC notary is identity verification. Under provincial practice standards, you must present two pieces of valid, unexpired identification. Both pieces of ID must display your full legal name exactly as it appears on your documents.

  • Primary ID (Must be government-issued with photo and signature):
    • BC Driver’s Licence or BC Identification Card (BCID)
    • Canadian or Foreign Passport
    • Permanent Resident (PR) Card or Canadian Citizenship Card
    • Photo BC Services Card
  • Secondary ID (Confirms legal name):
    • Non-photo BC Services Card / BC CareCard
    • Social Insurance Number (SIN) Card or Service Canada confirmation letter
    • Birth Certificate
    • Major Credit Card or Debit Card (must have your printed name and signature on the back)

A Social Insurance Number (SIN) is only required if your document specifically involves financial or tax verification. A Service Canada letter or tax document (like a T4) works if you do not have a physical card.

2. Document Rules: Fill Everything Out, But Do Not Sign

Avoid these common document preparation mistakes before heading into your appointment:

Complete all forms in advance: Fill out background information, names, and addresses beforehand. Notaries verify your identity and witness execution; they do not complete your application forms for you.

Do not sign or date the document: Your signature must be witnessed live by the notary. Pre-signed documents cannot be accepted and will need to be re-printed.

Bring physical originals for Certified True Copies: If you need a certified true copy of a passport, birth certificate, or degree, you must bring the physical original document alongside your photocopies.

Child Travel Consent Letters: If you are obtaining a travel letter for a minor, download the standard form directly from the Government of Canada Child Travel Consent page ahead of time. The consenting parent must bring two pieces of ID.

3. Booking, Payment, and Services in Nanaimo

Office policies vary between local practices:

Appointments Required: Notarizations typically take 10 to 15 minutes (or up to 30+ minutes for multi-document packages). Book ahead to ensure a notary is available.
Accepted Payment Methods: Check accepted payment forms when booking. For instance, Althouse Notary Corp. in Nanaimo accepts Cash, Cheque, or E-transfer.
Out of Scope Services: BC Notaries handle non-contentious legal work. They do not notarize separation agreements (which require a family law lawyer or mediator).

Contact Althouse Notary Corp. in Nanaimo, BC

Need a document notarized, authenticated, or certified? Contact Althouse Notary Corp. in Nanaimo to schedule your appointment and get your legal paperwork finalized smoothly.

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Please fill out the form with as much detail as possible and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Or you can give us a call at our office! We look forward to hearing from you.

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Call: 1-250-754-1363

TERMS OF SERVICE

When you sign-in with us, you are giving  your permission and consent to send you email and/or SMS text messages. By checking the Terms and Conditions box and by signing in you automatically confirm that you accept all terms in this agreement.

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SERVICE

We provide a service that currently allows you to receive requests for feedback, company information, promotional information, company alerts, coupons, discounts and other notifications to your email address and/or cellular phone or device. You understand and agree that the Service is provided “AS-IS” and that we assume no responsibility for the timeliness, deletion, mis-delivery or failure to store any user communications or personalization settings.

You are responsible for obtaining access to the Service and that access may involve third party fees (such as SMS text messages, Internet service provider or cellular airtime charges). You are responsible for those fees, including those fees associated with the display or delivery of each SMS text message sent to you by us. In addition, you must provide and are responsible for all equipment necessary to access the Service and receive the SMS text messages. We do not charge any fees for delivery of email or SMS. This is a free service provided by us. However, please check with your internet service provider and cellular carrier for any charges that may incur as a result from receiving email and SMS text messages that we deliver upon your opt-in and registration with our email and SMS services. You can cancel at any time. Just text “STOP” to null. After you send the SMS message “STOP” to us, we will send you an SMS message to confirm that you have been unsubscribed. After this, you will no longer receive SMS messages from us.

YOUR REGISTRATION OBLIGATIONS

In consideration of your use of the Service, you agree to:

  1. provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the Service’s registration form (such information being the “Registration Data”) and
  2. maintain and promptly update the Registration Data to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or we have reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, we have the right to suspend or terminate your account/profile and refuse any and all current or future use of the Service (or any portion thereof).
 

Althouse Notary Corp
2133 Bowen Rd, Nanaimo, BC V9S 1H8
+1 +12507541363
steele@althouse.ca

PRIVACY POLICY

PRIVACY POLICY

The Personal Information Protection Act (”PIPA”) regulates the way organizations in British Columbia use, keep, secure, disclose and collect personal information. “Personal

Information” means all information about an identifiable individual. Our office recognizes the importance of privacy and recognizes the sensitivity of personal information received in
the course of our Notary practice.

We recognize our professional obligation to maintain the confidentiality of our clients’ information, and we recognize our obligations concerning the personal information of all
individuals that we collect, use or disclose in our practice. This policy has been developed with those obligations in mind.

Why do we need personal information?

To give legal and notarial advice to clients, we need access to all relevant facts and information relating to the transaction.

his information will necessarily include personal information about our clients and about individuals other than our clients.

What do we do with the information?

When we can, we collect personal information directly from the person to whom the information pertains. If necessary we will collect personal information from other sources.

By retaining our office for advice or representation, our client consents to our collection, use or disclosure of the client’s personal information in order to properly advise and
represent the client.

It is our policy to collect personal information about individuals other than clients in accordance with the provisions of PIPA. The Act provides that an individual has consented to
our collection, use or disclosure of personal information about that individual if, at the time the consent is deemed given, the purpose is considered obvious to a reasonable person. In
those circumstances, we will collect, use or disclose personal information without obtaining a written or verbal consent to do so.

The Act also permits our office to collect, use or disclose personal information about an individual in some circumstances without the individual’s consent. Those include (but are not limited to) circumstances in which:

• the collection, use or disclosure is clearly in the interests ofthe individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way;

• it is reasonable to expect that the collection or use of personal information with the consent of the individual would compromise the availability or accuracy of the information, and the collection or use of the information is necessary for an investigation or proceeding;

• it is reasonable to expect that the disclosure ofpersonal information with the consent of the individual would compromise an investigation or proceeding, and the disclosure of the information is necessary for an investigation or proceeding:

• the personal information is available to the public from certain other sources;

• the collection, use or disclosure of personal information is required or authorized by law.

When we collect, use or disclose personal information, we will make reasonable efforts to ensure that is accurate and complete.

How will we keep personal information secure?

We recognize our professional and legal obligation to protect the confidential information of our clients and other individuals we have collected within our practice. We have, therefore, made arrangements to secure against the unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, disposal or destruction of personal information. Personal information
includes paper and electronic information.

Under what circumstances will we release personal information?

The Act permits individuals to submit written requests to our office to provide them with:

• their personal information in my custody or control;

• information about how we use their personal information under our control;

• the names of the individuals and organizations to whom we have disclosed their personal information under our control.

We will respond to requests in the time allowed by the Act and as authorized by you pursuant to various documents in our file.

We will make a reasonable effort to assist applicants and to respond as accurately and completely as reasonably possible.

All requests may be subject to any fees and disbursements the law permits our office to charge.

An individual does not have an absolute ability to access his or her personal information under our control. The Act provides that we must not disclose personal information when:

• disclosure could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety or physical or mental health of someone else;

• disclosure can reasonably be expected to cause the person who made the request immediate or grave harm as to their safety or physical or mental health;

• disclosure would reveal personal information about someone else;

• disclosure would reveal the identity of an individual who has provided personal information about someone else and the person providing the personal information does not consent to disclosure of his or her identity.

The Act further provides that I am not required lo disclose personal information when:

• disclosure of the personal information would reveal confidential commercial information that, if disclosed, could in the opinion of a reasonable person, harm the competitive position of an organization;

• the personal information was collected or created by a mediator or arbitrator in the conduct of a mediation or arbitration for which he or she was appointed to
act:

  • under a collective agreement,
  • under an enactment, or
  • by a court.

Requests for Correction of Personal Information

The law allows individuals to ask our office to correct errors or omissions in their personal information that is in our custody or control. The request must be in writing and we will:

• correct the information and, if it is reasonable to do so, send correction notifications to other organizations to whom we disclosed the incorrect information; or

• decide not to correct the personal information, but annotate the personal information that a correction was requested but not made.

Steele Althouse
2133 Bowen Road
Nanaimo, B.C.
V9S 1H8
Phone: 250-754-1363
Fax: 250-754-1293

If you are dissatisfied with our handling of your personal information, you may contact us in writing, setting out the reasons for your concern. If you remain dissatisfied with
our response to your concerns. you may wish to contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner at:

P.O. Box 9038, Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9A4
Telephone (250) 387-5629
Fax (250) 387-1696

PRIVACY

The information provided during this registration is kept private and confidential, and will never be distributed, copied, sold, traded or posted in any way, shape or form. This is our guarantee.

INDEMNITY

You agree to indemnify and hold us, and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, co-branders or other partners, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of Content you receive, submit, reply, post, transmit or make available through the Service, your use of the Service, your connection to the Service, your violation of the TOS, or your violation of any rights of another.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

  1. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. ,. AND US, IT’S CUSTOMERS, EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
  2. MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (ii) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, AND (iv) ANY ERRORS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED.
  3. ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.
  4. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TOS.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT AND SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM:

  1. THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE;
  2. THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES RESULTING FROM ANY GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE;
  3. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA;
  4. STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICE; OR
  5. ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICE.

By registering and subscribing to our email and SMS service, by opt-in, online registration or by filling out a card, “you agree to these TERMS OF SERVICE” and you acknowledge and understand the above terms of service outlined and detailed for you today.

Althouse Notary Corp
2133 Bowen Rd, Nanaimo, BC V9S 1H8
+1 +12507541363
steele@althouse.ca