The Public Notaries Act 1801[1] was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that banned people from acting as public notaries without lawful authority from a court.[2] From 1 August 1801, no person was permitted to be a public notary "unless such person shall have been duly sworn, admitted, and inrolled [sic]".[2] It did not, however, apply to public notaries who worked within religious organisations.[3] It required notaries to serve as an apprentice for seven years prior to appointment,[4] and provided detailed penalties for dishonesty with regard to appointments and qualifications for the position.[5] Several sections of the Act were eventually repealed or overridden by the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, the Legal Services Act 2007 and the Statute Law Revision Act 1872.[5]
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^The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by the Short Titles Act 1896, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
