What is the difference between an attorney's approval and an approval end verification provided by an Israeli notary?

A document approved and/or verified by an Israeli notary is equivalent to a "public certificate". In other words, this is a document that will receive status as an official certificate on behalf of the State of Israel. A document certified by an Israeli notary constitutes sufficient evidence in a legal proceeding and is subject to the "presumption of correctness".

The notary acts as a representative of the state in a position similar to that of a judge and/or an official of a competent authority. For example, the notary is authorized to confirm the signature of a will and to verify prenuptial agreements as if it had been done before a judge. The work of the notary is guided by the principles of clearly identifying the signing party, their legal competence as well as their free will and full understanding of the document in question.

To illustrate the range of authorities of the notary, below are several examples in accordance with Section 7 of the Notary Law -

1. Document signature verification.  

2. Confirmation of the correctness of a copy of a document.

3. Confirmation of the correctness of a document translation.

4. Parents’ consent to the departure of their minor child from the country.

5.Verification of a prenuptial agreement between spouses concluded

before marriage.

General power of attorney and power of attorney for real estate transactions

According to section 20(a) of the Israeli Notaries Law –

A general power of attorney and a power of attorney to carry out transactions in real estate that require registration in the land registry, will not be valid unless they were drafted and signed before an Israeli notary.

As part of representing our clients in a variety of transactions in Israel, our office provides notary services for drafting and verifying general powers of attorney and powers of attorney for real estate transactions.