Document Certification in Nepal — Notary Public Kathmandu

True-copy certification (Nepali: nakkal pramanit) is the notarial act of attesting that a photocopy is a faithful copy of the original document held in front of the notary. It's the cheapest, fastest and most-requested notarial act we perform — visa centres, embassies, foreign universities, banks, employers and government offices routinely demand certified copies of citizenship, passport, marksheets and other personal records, and a notary's certification is what makes those copies legally trustworthy.

Quick answer: If a foreign embassy, university, bank or visa centre has asked you for a "certified copy" or "true copy" of your passport / citizenship / marksheet / certificate, what they need is a photocopy that has been physically compared to the original by a Notary Public, then signed, stamped "True Copy of the Original" and registered. That's what we do — Rule 19 procedure, Rule 20 fee, same day.

What true-copy certification actually is — and why it requires the original

Of the three notarial functions listed in Sec. 19 of the Notary Public Act 2063 (2006), the third — "to attest the copy of any original paper" — is what governs true-copy certification. The procedure itself is set out in Rule 19 of the Notary Public Rules 2063: the notary must have the original document physically in front of them, compare it page by page against the photocopy, and only then attest the photocopy with the official seal under Rule 16 and write a numbered entry in the verification register under Sec. 23.

This "must see the original" rule is non-negotiable. It is the core difference between certification and any other documentary attestation — the notary is staking their licence on the assertion that "yes, I personally saw the original, and this photocopy matches it." A photocopy certified by someone who never saw the original is a fraud, and any foreign authority that later checks the register entry can verify the act was performed correctly.

Practically: this means certification cannot be done remotely from scanned documents alone. The original must reach our desk, either because you walked in with it, or because you couriered it to us along with photocopies you want certified.

Documents we certify every day

How the certification act runs at our desk

1. You bring (or courier) the original. Citizenship, passport, marksheet — whatever needs certifying. We need to physically inspect each original.
2. We make or check the photocopies. Either we copy your originals on our office machine, or you bring photocopies you've already made. We then compare each photocopy against its original line by line — names, dates, document numbers, signatures, photographs.
3. The notary signs and stamps each photocopy. The "Verified" / "True Copy of the Original" seal under Rule 16 goes on every certified page; the notary's signature, date, and licence number sit alongside.
4. Register entry. Each certification act gets a numbered entry in the verification register under Rule 21 — applicant details, page count, document type, fee. The register is retained for 5 years per Sec. 23 of the Act.
5. Originals returned, certified copies handed over. Walk-in clients leave with their originals plus certified copies in 30–60 minutes for a typical batch (citizenship + passport + a few marksheets).

Why certified copies get rejected at visa centres — and how we avoid it

Certified copy fees — what the law caps

True-copy certification is the cheapest notarial act in Nepal by statute. Rule 20 of the Notary Public Rules 2063 caps the verification-of-copy fee at a statutory ceiling — applied per certified page, not per document. A typical visa application bundle (citizenship 2 sides + passport 1 page + 4 mark-sheet pages + 1 birth certificate = 8 pages) sits at the lower end of the schedule. The same statutory cap applies to every licensed notary in the country, so the cost is identical with us as with any other notary on the Council's register. WhatsApp the document list and we'll quote the current applicable fee before you arrive.

Walk-in or fully online — which works for certification

Certification vs Notarisation vs Translation — what's different

Many visa applications need all three — for example, a UK study visa application can need: certified copy of citizenship + notarised single-status affidavit + notarised English translation of the marksheet. We handle all three in one visit.

The legalisation chain — certified copies used abroad

Important: Nepal is not a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, so there is no apostille route for a Nepali-issued certified copy. The consular chain above is the alternative — see our explainer on the alternative-to-apostille route.

Internal links — services that often go with certification

• Legal documents notarization — the parent service.
• Affidavits and sworn statements — often needed alongside certified copies for visa bundles.
• Document translation — when the source is Nepali and the destination wants English (or vice versa).
• Document legalisation — for certified copies leaving Nepal.
• Powers of Attorney — when a relative is presenting your certified copies on your behalf.

Our notary office in Kathmandu

Send your documents now — reply within 15 minutes

Working hours promise: WhatsApp the list of documents you need certified — for example, "citizenship + passport + 4 marksheets for UK student visa." We respond inside 15 minutes with the page count, the Rule 20 total, the freshness window the destination needs, and any additional documents the embassy is likely to ask for. Walk-in clients with originals in hand are usually out the door in 30–60 minutes; couriered originals from out-of-valley are turned around the same day. Visa appointment tomorrow morning? Say so up front — message us on WhatsApp now.