Notarios
Catemaco
Veracruz, México
Catemaco
Veracruz, México
Aside from dental visits, municipal licenses and highway police stops, the most painful visits in Mexico are
with Mexican notarios. They have absolutely no relationship with American notaries, who probably received
their rubber stamp titles via E-Mail.

In Mexico, a notario is next to god. After completing a law degree and further studies, plus time in an existing
notario's office, he, (very few women around), is appointed by a state governor to a specific district, for life.
Of course he has to be a Mexican by birth.

A notario is the gatekeeper to all public records in Mexico, including property titles, closings, testaments,
contracts, and power of attorneys. Supposedly he is impartial and neutral to all facts. His signature on a
document is equivalent to proof of authenticity of the facts visible to him. No more! No Less! In Spanish he is
considered to "dar fe" which really does not translate into English, but more or less translates into "testifying to
the truth"

In Spanish law, the forerunner of Mexican law, he was an absolute necessity for a population incapable of
reading. Current notarios, in my experience, still cleave to their then god like status.
Until 2009, Catemaco did not have a notario.
Instead, Veracruz State had a notary district, including Catemaco, San Andres Tuxtla, Santiago Tuxtla, and a
few other municipios. Now there are 14 notaries, with most practicing in San  Andrés Tuxtla, and one now
operating in Catemaco.

Although, I read that some states have fixed notarial fees, my personal experience has been unable to extract
an exact figure of fees from a notario, and that is after maybe 50 transactions. The answer always is
depending on "this or that". The actual notario fee is almost never divulged. And that fee can be VERY
surprising.

After a notario has affixed his signature to a document, supposedly that document is ready to be recorded in
the Civil Registy (registro civil). That is another story.

Disbarment of regular attorneys is much more frequent than disbarment of notarios. Nevertheless, although a
notario is supposedly impartial, and most Mexicans have faith" in their notaries, it would behoove any Gringo to
double check documents with another experienced attorney.
falta traducción
Fuente: VC Gobierno
borrador
Renunciado Oct 2010
Renunciado Oct 2010