england-and-wales identification
Lawyer tells me I can&#39;t get certified copies from Post Office
<p>I'm remortgaging and doing a transfer of equity of my main home. My lender's solicitor has asked me to give certified copies of my photo ID and proof of address. I asked them if I could do it at the Post Office, and they said no, it has to be a solicitor, accountant, bank manager or financial advisor. Can they really specify who I get my certified copy from? Doing it with a solicitor will be 4 times more expensive than doing it at the Post Office.</p>

<p>Your lawyer may be misinformed as the Post Office offers a <a href="https://www.postoffice.co.uk/identity/document-certification" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Document Certification Service</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you’ve been asked to provide photocopies of documents to someone, our Document Certification service will for a fee certify and confirm that these are a ‘true likeness’ of the original.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Fees, as per the link, start at £12:75 for 1-3 copies.</p>

<p>Jurisdiction: <a href="/questions/tagged/england-and-wales" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;england-and-wales&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;england-and-wales&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="england-and-wales-container">england-and-wales</a></p>
<p>Unlike with formal procedures such as oaths, affirmations, and statutory declarations, there are no rules which govern certified copies. Accordingly, it is up to the person requiring the certified copy to decide what that means and who should do it.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Can they really specify who I get my certified copy from?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yes. As a general rule of contract law, a party can require anything they want unless there is a law which states that they cannot. You are free to negotiate and/or not enter into the contract if you do not like the terms.</p>
<p>It's possible that the contract is worded in such a way that they are obliged to complete the mortgage without being able to require the copies to be certified in a specific way. You'd have to examine the contract to determine whether that is the case. In practice it's not going to be worth pursuing legal action to save yourself a few tens of £s on certified copies.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Doing it with a solicitor will be 4 times more expensive than doing it
at the Post Office.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The maximum a solicitor can charge for an oath is £5, pursuant the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1993/2297/made" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Commissioners for Oaths (Fees) Order 1993</a>. While there is no statutory maximum fee for a certified copy, in my experience many solicitors will charge the same (i.e. £5 per page) as the work is very similar. If you phone around you can probably find one which is cheaper than what you've been quoted.</p>
