Русско-англо-русский юридический словарь

The term notary public only refers to common-law notaries and should not be confused with civil-law notaries. With the exceptions of Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Quebec (whose private law is based on civil law), and British Columbia (whose notarial tradition stems from scrivener notary practice), a notary public in the rest of the United States and most of Canada has powers that are far more limited than those of civil-law or other common-law notaries, both of whom are qualified lawyers admitted to the bar: such notaries may be referred to as notaries-at-law or lawyer notaries. (Wikipedia)