Commissioners for oaths fees

[GrumpyMonkey]

Hello,

Can somebody confirm or correct me if I'm wrong. Statutory instrument 2297, 1993 that sets the price for services offered by commissioners for oaths, includes witnessing signing of statutory declarations.
Most of the solicitors I've contacted are not interested in witnessing or want to charge more than the prices set out in statutory instrument. Are these prices fixed by law?

[R0b]

Last time I checked the fee for signing/witnessing a statutory declaration is a fixed fee of £5 plus £2 for each exhibit. That is assuming all you need is the document to be witnessed and not drawn up or reviewed otherwise solicitors will be entitled to charge their hourly rate. Equally, if you don’t pay cash and instead want to pay by cheque or bank transfer, I would expect the firm to charge their hourly rate because they would probably have to open a file, carry out due diligence etc.

So to answer your question, yes they are fixed by law but subject to my above comments. I have always understood it that solicitors have an obligation/duty to witness a stat dec and should t be refused unless there are exceptional reasons i.e they are connected to the matter.

Having said that, you can go to the County Court and they will do it for free or the High Court or Court of Appeal (CoA in London) will do it for £10 - again, last time I checked a while ago but don’t think these fees have changed.

No VAT added by the way as it’s exempt or inclusive depending on you view it.

[GrumpyMonkey]

Thanks Rob. That's exactly what I thought. I already have the declarations printed out from DPS. All I need is the signature witnessing. I didn't know that the county court will do it for free. Even if they charge the standard fee its still less than half what the solicitors who will do it are asking.

[R0b]

If you're having issues with solicitors refusing or trying to charge a higher rate, consider going to the law society and/or reporting them because the fees are fixed and they cannot charge more unless it is out of scope. If you go the county court route, most courts generally require appointments so best to call ahead and check. You could try the magistrates' court too as the Commissioners for Oaths Act extends to Justices of the Peace or any other court officer i.e. a judge.

[GrumpyMonkey]

Hi Rob,

You're reading my mind. I already contacted the law society as it seemed to me that fee notice is very clear. Not mentioned any names to them yet, but it will be interesting if I actually get a response.

I have spoken to a couple of courts that I can get to easily. One will do it, I just have to make the appointment. The other one seems to have it's phone disconnected, the listed number comes back as unavailable.