Once you have chosen your name and prepared your statutory declaration you need to swear it in front of someone who is authorised to notarise it.

Notarised copies

It is then a very good idea to get several notarised copies of your statutory declaration. That way, you will rarely have to use the original copy, which you can keep safely at home.

You will usually have to pay a small fee for each copy.

Who can notarise my statutory declaration?

There are two sets of people who can do this:

• clerks to magistrates courts
• solicitors

Clerks to magistrates courts

A magistrate’s clerk can notarise your statutory declaration for a fixed fee of under £10.

You can find your local magistrates court in your telephone book, or the Court Service website includes an list of addresses of all the magistrates courts

You may need to make an appointment.

Solicitors

To notarise a statutory declaration, a solicitor must be a registered “notary”. Nowadays, nearly all solicitors are notaries, and a quick phone call to any solicitor’s office will tell you who the notary is in that office, and how much they will charge.

Fees can vary widely, so it is advisable to shop around. In one town, a trans person recently obtained three quotes for swearing a statutory declaration : £5, £30 and £60!