Russian Notarial Terms

A person in California who deals with Russian property, inheritance or courts will need notarised papers. This glossary covers 20 notarial terms, including zaverenie, apostil, protokol and tarif. The rules come from the Fundamentals of Legislation on Notaries and from the Hague Convention of 1961, to which both Russia and the USA are parties.

Attorney Elena Petrova prepares notarial documents for clients abroad and checks that Russian offices will accept them.

Notaries and Their Offices

Notarius — a private notary with state authority. In Russia the notary checks the legality of a deal, not only the signature.
Notarialnaya palata — the regional chamber of notaries.
Konsulskoe deystvie — a notarial act performed by a Russian consular officer abroad.
ENOT — the unified notarial information system that records every act and power of attorney.

Certifying Signatures, Copies and Translations

Svidetelstvovanie podlinnosti podpisi — certification that a signature is genuine, without review of the text.
Zaverenie kopii — certification that a copy matches the original.
Zaverenie perevoda — certification of a translator's signature on a translation.
Udostoverenie sdelki — notarisation of a whole deal, with the notary liable for its legality.

Powers of Attorney

Doverennost — a power of attorney. Generalnaya covers broad powers; spetsialnaya covers a set task, such as selling one flat.
Pravo peredoveriya — the right to delegate powers to another person, only if written in the document.
Otmena doverennosti — revocation, entered in a public register on the notariat website.

Legalisation for Use in Russia

Apostil — the Hague apostille. A document signed before a California notary is apostilled by the California Secretary of State.
Konsulskaya legalizatsiya — consular legalisation for countries outside the Hague system. It is not needed between the USA and Russia.
Notarialny perevod — a translation into Russian certified by a Russian notary, usually required after the apostille.

Document signed in California	Route to Russia	Common mistake
Power of attorney	Notary, apostille, translation in Russia	Name spelled unlike the passport
Consent to a deal by a spouse	Notary, apostille, translation	Missing property details
Inheritance application	Consular act or notary and apostille	Filed after the deadline
Copy of a US certificate	Apostille on the original, then translation	Apostille placed on a plain copy

Securing Evidence

Obespechenie dokazatelstv — securing evidence before a dispute starts.
Protokol osmotra — a notarial record of a website, messages or emails. Courts treat it as strong proof.

Inheritance and Deposit Services

Nasledstvennoe delo — the inheritance file opened by the notary at the deceased's last residence.
Svidetelstvo o prave na nasledstvo — the certificate of inheritance, usually issued after the six-month acceptance period.
Depozit notariusa — a notary's deposit account for paying under a deal.

Tarif: What Notarial Acts Cost

Tarif is the fee for a notarial act. It has two parts: a state tariff set by the Tax Code or by law, and a fee for legal and technical services set by the regional chamber. Ask the notary for the total before the visit.

Elena Petrova drafts powers of attorney in two languages and checks every step before you sign.

The main channel of communication with the attorney is email: attorneypetrova1@gmail.com.