The Office
What a Notary Public does in Ghana
Who appoints a notary, what a notary is authorised to do, and what notarisation does — and does not — mean for your document.
A public office, created by statute
In Ghana, the office of notary public is governed by the Notaries Public Act, 1960 (Act 26). Under section 1, the Chief Justice may appoint as a notary public any person the Chief Justice considers fit and proper to discharge the duties of that office. Before acting, the person must be sworn in before the Chief Justice or a Justice of the Supreme Court or High Court (section 2).
A newly appointed notary is enrolled on the Roll of Notaries Public, which is kept by the Judicial Secretary, and receives a certificate of enrolment (section 3). A person whose name is not on the Roll is not entitled to perform the functions of a notary public, and anyone who purports to act as a notary without authority commits an offence (sections 3(3) and 5).
In practice, only lawyers are appointed. When swearing in new notaries, the Judicial Service has described the practice as appointing only lawyers of high moral character and proven integrity with not less than ten years' standing at the Bar.
An officer of the Courts
Section 4 of Act 26 makes every notary public an officer of the Courts. The Supreme Court may, for reasonable cause, suspend a notary or order the notary's name to be struck off the Roll. This is one reason institutions at home and abroad attach weight to a notarial act: the notary is personally accountable for it.
What a notary does
The work of a notary public is broader than oath-taking. Common notarial acts include:
- Witnessing and attesting signatures on agreements, deeds, consents and other documents.
- Administering oaths and affirmations and taking affidavits. The Oaths Act, 1972 (NRCD 6) lists a notary public among the persons who may administer lawful oaths and take affirmations and affidavits.
- Taking statutory declarations. Section 4 of the Statutory Declarations Act, 1971 (Act 389) authorises a notary public to take and receive a statutory declaration from a person voluntarily making it, and to certify and sign it.
- Certifying copies of documents as true copies of an original that the notary has examined.
- Notarising documents for use outside Ghana, which is usually the first step in the legalisation process for documents going abroad.
What notarisation does not do
Notarisation confirms matters such as who signed a document, that they signed it before the notary, and when and where it was done. It does not, by itself, make a document legally valid if it is otherwise defective, and it is not a guarantee that every statement in the document is true. Responsibility for the truth of a declaration or affidavit rests with the person who makes it.
A note on legal advice. Notarising a document is different from advising on it. If you need advice on whether a document achieves what you want, that is a separate legal engagement and should be agreed as such.
Notaries outside Ghana and District Magistrates
Act 26 also provides that Ghana's ambassadors, diplomatic agents and officers in foreign countries may do any notarial act that a notary public may do in Ghana (section 10). District Magistrates may exercise the functions of a notary public, but in a town where a notary public is available their functions are limited to certain matters, including the authentication of instruments, the certification of copies and the attestation of instruments (section 11).
Sources
This article is general information about the law and practice in Ghana as at October 2026. It is not legal advice. For advice on a particular matter, please consult a lawyer.