A Bill of Exchange is a written order, addressed to a ‘drawee’, and sent by a ‘drawer’. The bill orders the receiving party, the ‘drawee’, to pay a certain amount of money to the sender of the bill, the ‘drawer’. Protesting a bill of exchange with the help of a Notary Public, is called a ‘Notarial Protest’. This happens in the instance that the bill was presented, and payment was refused or could not be obtained. A Notary Public will issue a notarial protest as a formal written statement that attests to the bill having been duly presented to the drawee, and that the payment was not obtained by the drawer.

If a Bill of Exchange has a drawer, or drawee, located outside of the United Kingdom, it will be classified as a foreign bill of exchange. In this instance, upon non-payment or rejection of the bill, the bill must be ‘protested’ with the help of a Notary Public.

A protest must contain a copy of the bill which is being protested