Public Notaries Act 1801

The Public Notaries Act 1801 was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that banned people from acting as public notaries without lawful authority from a court. 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]". It did not, however, apply to public notaries who worked within religious organisations. It required notaries to serve as an apprentice for seven years prior to appointment, and provided detailed penalties for dishonesty with regard to appointments and qualifications for the position. Several sections of the Act were eventually repealed or overridden by the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, the Legal Services Act 2007 and the Statute Law Revision Act 1872.