Certification of facts
Incontrovertible proof that a fact occurred, observed personally by the public notary through their own senses and recorded in a ruling stating the date and time.
There are circumstances in which you need incontrovertible proof that a fact occurred: that a person is alive, that they were in a particular place, that they did or did not attend a meeting set by a formal demand. The public notary observes these facts personally, through their own senses, and records them in a ruling stating the fact certified and the date and time of the observation.
What facts a public notary can certify
The law allows a public notary to certify that a person is alive or in a particular place, and that the person in a photograph is the same as the person requesting the certification.
A public notary also certifies that a person, following a formal demand or notice, did or did not attend on a particular day, at a particular time and in a particular place, together with their statement. At the date and time stated in the demand, the person's name is called three times, at intervals of five minutes, and the outcome (attendance and statement, refusal to make a statement, or non-attendance) is recorded in the ruling.
You may also go to a public notary to certify the results of raffles, prize draws, competitions and promotional lotteries organised by authorised entities, to certify websites, software or other products, and for any other facts that are not within the exclusive competence of other bodies.
Minutes and decisions of collective bodies
On request, a public notary certifies the minutes or decisions of the collective bodies of any form of association. The notary establishes the identity and capacity of the signatories and records in the ruling the date and place of the meeting and the fact that the minutes or decision were signed.
A certification ruling does not attest the legality of the decision or of the minutes, but only the facts recorded: who signed, when and where. The legality of the decision remains subject to the means of challenge laid down by law.
How the procedure works
You attend with your identity document, and the public notary identifies you and personally observes the fact you ask to have certified. Where the fact has to be observed somewhere other than the premises of the notarial office (the presence of a person in a particular place, an auction, a product), the notary travels there, within the limits of their territorial district. The certification ruling is drawn up in the number of copies you request, plus one for the office archive.
What it costs
The minimum fee for certifying facts is 75 lei. For certifying the attendance or non-attendance of a person following a formal demand or notice, the minimum fee is 250 lei, and for certifying the decisions of general meetings and the minutes of governing bodies, 450 lei.
The minimum fees are set by order of the Minister of Justice. The notary may set a higher fee, depending on the complexity of the work, but never below the statutory minimum.
For full details and worked examples, see the Fees and charges section →
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