[OSM-talk] Public notary (Map feature POI proposal)

[Serge Wroclawski]

On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 12:42 PM, Pieren <pieren3 at gmail.com> wrote:
> I suggested some time ago to use a new general key for such things
> (when it's not really an amenity, a shop or a leisure like for
> lawyers, architects, designers, etc) : office=notary

Ah, Pieren touches on an issue which is unspoken in this issue... What
does a Notary Public mean?

In the US, a Notary Public is someone who simply stamps documents.
It's not hard to become one, they're licensed out and there's a
nominal annual fee, and usually places which offer notary services
charge somewhere between $1 and $5 for the service.

I believe Pieren is French, and in France, a Notary is something more
akin to a lawyer- they're a person one hires to write up contracts and
other legal work. They're not attorneys but they have legal training
and officially they're part of the Judiciary. Their services are
required when you make legally binding documents (contracts, some tax
forms, house sales, etc.).

Yet the same English word "notary".

This should be clarified before adding it to the map.

- Serge