Canadians

(604) 484-3681 Special telephone number for residents of British Columbia rings in Bellingham office. (604) 484-3681 Washington cell phone number: (360) 510-6530 ProfessionalNotary@yahoo.com Open 7 days a week including most holidays. SPECIAL SERVICE FOR CANADIANS: Picking up documents from your workplace. If you need to have a copy of something notarized, I may be able to drive to your workplace in the lower mainland. (An example of this would be notarizing a copy of a passport.) As notaries are only permitted to notarize while physically in their own countries, I would be accepting your papers, notarizing them in my office in Bellingham, and then sending them back to you or an address of your choosing. Travel fees for this service depend on the distance I must travel and start at $75. Please call me for a more thorough explanation and total fee quote. US documents can be quite different from those used in Canada. Your calls or emails for more information are very welcome.

DOCUMENTS FREQUENTLY NOTARIZED Powers of Attorney, Apostilles ~ Hague Convention, Deeds, W-7 form papers, Certified Copies, Affidavits, Government forms, Timeshares, Condominiums, School transcripts, Diplomas, Thesis, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pension papers, Corporate documents, Bylaws, Minutes, Financial reports, Allonge, Loan packages, Manuscripts, Documents written in other languages, more. Apostilles and Hague Convention Many countries worldwide require a notarized document to have attached a US consular seal called an Apostille (related to the Hague Convention). An Apostille lets the foreign government know that the notarization has been authenticated by the Secretary of State's office in Olympia, Washington. Many Canadians find it cheaper and easier to travel to Washington to have their documents notarized and given an Apostille certificate instead of getting a consular seal from Canada. The US process is cheaper, quicker, and more widely accepted due to treaties made at the Hague Conventions. We can notarize your documents and help you get Apostilles for them If your document is written in a language other than English, please add the English translation of the title only near the top of the first page. Do not sign the document before the appointment: the notary must watch you sign. US REAL ESTATE Professional Notary has received special training and certification on properly notarizing your documents for purchase, sale, or lease of houses, condominiums, timeshares, land, business property, and campsites. In Canada, notaries are permitted to create real estate documents and complete related forms. In the US, notaries are only permitted to notarize your signature on the documents. Professional Notary is certified to explain your real estate documents and answer any questions you have about your real estate paperwork. The papers are usually created by a title insurance company or an attorney. US notaries are not permitted to give you blank forms or help you complete them. We are allowed to tell you where to get the forms. Please see the subpages on this website entitled "Real Estate" and "Wills, Powers" for webaddresses for free and low cost forms provided by government agencies and US businesses. US Notaries are not permitted to give legal advice. We are not "Notarios Publicos."

OFFICE LOCATION & DIRECTIONS All notarizations are by appointment only. Please call in advance to schedule service so you are not disappointed to find the notary away from the office on a mobile assignment. You are welcome to come to our office in Bellingham, WA. Or you may request that we travel to meet you in Blaine, Ferndale, Lynden, or Sumas. If you are going to be more than 10 minutes late, please call Laura's cell phone or she will assume you are not coming and will leave the office. We apologize for making this stipulation but sometimes people will see the border lineup, return home, and not call to cancel the appointment. Cell (360) 510-6530. Links to websites with border wait times are below. Office address: 2050 Fraser Street, Bellingham, Washington, USA Directions from Peace Arch or Truck Crossing: Drive south on I-5 to Bellingham. Take the Lakeway exit, number 253. Turn left (east) at the end of the exit onto Lakeway. Drive less than 1/2 mile. Turn left (north) onto Puget at the signal light. Drive north on Puget for a few blocks until come to end. Turn right (north) onto Fraser. Drive around a curve and then turn right into the first driveway. Park near the white iron fence surrounding a pool. Free parking. Notarizations are done in the conference room of the leasing office for a large apartment complex called Regency Park. Walk into the front door of the building next to the pool. Laura will be looking for you. She has red hair. This is all easier than it sounds. The directions are detailed to be helpful. If you get lost, please call Laura's cell phone (360) 510-6530 The office is wheelchair accessible and has public restrooms. For directions to the office from other border crossings consult http://maps.Yahoo.ca Mapquest and Google maps are not reliable for this area. Directions from the Aldergrove / Lynden border crossing: Once pass the border, continue straight south approximately 20km. Join the freeway and follow the instructions above. If the weather is warm and you are crossing the border during a time slot which frequently has long delays (like Friday evening or Saturday morning), I strongly suggest you use another border crossing. Long backups mean you cannot use your air conditioning. On both sides of this crossing dairy farms scent the air strongly. When driving, I tune into a newsradio station AM1130 to hear about border wait times. Directions from Huntington crossing: Once you cross the border, follow the signs for highway 9 South. You will be in farmland so watch for signs to continue on highway 9 (there are a few left turns near Nooksack). Turn right (west) onto the Mount Baker Highway #542. This becomes Sunset Drive as you reach Bellingham. Turn left (south) onto Woburn. This intersection has a signal light and a huge apartment complex on the SW corner. The street signs can be confusing. Woburn Street changes its name to Hannegan at this intersection. If you spot a sign with either name, turn left. Drive about 2.5km. Turn right on Fraser. It is an easy street to miss. It is the first street after Iowa (signal light). Drive 1.5 blocks then turn left into the driveway of the large apartment complex "Regency Park." Park near the white iron fence surrounding a pool. Free parking. Laura will be waiting for you inside the building. NOTARY SERVICES IN THE US NEAR WHITE ROCK, ALDERGROVE, OR ABBOTSFORD Professional Notary is happy to minimize your travel time by meeting you in one of the little towns just south of the Canadian border including Blaine, Lynden, and Sumas. A travel fee will apply in addition to the Washington-regulated notarization seal fees. A quote for all fees will be given to you via telephone at the time you arrange the appointment. US notaries are not permitted to work in Canada just as Canadian notaries are not permitted to work in the US. CURRENT WAIT TIMES AT BORDER CROSSINGS To view current wait times at the border coming south into the US, see the websites below. Reports are updated several times each hour. Click on the camera icons on the map to select which picture to view. The first website listed has the most accurate times. http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/ATIS/index.htm http://apps.cbp.gov/bwt/index.asp http://www.borderlineups.com/ Going north to Canada The wait times on the website below are usually wrong. But you can see photos of several places to get an idea of how long the wait might be. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/border/ CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT (604) 484-3681