Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
be notified to
English answer:
notify something to someone
English term
Spain
BSc, MA, DipTrans
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, Hungarian to English, English, and 1 more.
notify to
I often read the term "notify to" and I was wondering if it sounds as strange to you as it does to me.
For instance: "The change in the number of study subjects must be notified to the competent authorities." OR "The event was notified to the government."
I am inclined to use the passive in these instances or find another workaround rather than using "notify to" because it sounds unidiomatic to me. Is it an accepted use in legal terminology or is it simply wrong?
Thank you for your input and happy new year.
| 4 +8 | notify (sth) to (so) |
Sheila Wilson
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| 4 +1 | reported to |
Arabic & More
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Jan 9, 2011 11:09: Sheila Wilson Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (2): Tony M, Sharon Toh, MITI MCIL
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Responses
Spain
20 years producing 100% natural English
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: English, French to English
notify (sth) to (so)
My Oxford gives two usages:
The first is the one you suggested - you notify someone of/about something = inform
The other is also OK - you notify something to someone = report
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Note added at 12 mins (2010-12-30 13:38:36 GMT)
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It's not just legal terminology but it is official/formal rather than normal spoken English.
BTW I don't think you can notify someone to someone else - with a person you have to use "report":
The criminal must be reported to the police
The crime must by notified/reported to the police
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Constantinos Faridis (X)
20 mins
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Thanks
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The Misha
: This is a perfect example of legal speak, and it is widely enough used to be legitimate, whatever we may personally think of it.
35 mins
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Thanks. Yes, I think I'd probably phrase things differently but that doesn't make this an error.
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Lisa Miles
38 mins
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Thanks
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Tony M
: Perfectly correct, normal usage; not specifically 'legalese', just more likely to be encountered in 'official'-type documents, of course. Cf. diseases (etc.) that are 'notifiable'.
3 hrs
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Thanks. Yes, I remember that Colorado beetle sightings had to be notified to the Min of Ag in the UK
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Sharon Toh, MITI MCIL
: Yes. perfectly alright.
5 hrs
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Thanks
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Pham Huu Phuoc
13 hrs
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Thanks
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British Diana
: My Oxford also gives two usages and the examples given are in the passive, see Discussion
17 hrs
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Thanks Diana
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Alexandra Taggart
: to notify to, to inform, to supply information - I cannot see anything unusual.
3 days 6 hrs
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Thanks Alexandra
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Jordan
Professional Writer and Translator
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
Works in: Arabic to English, English to Arabic, English
reported to
The competent authorities must be notified of the change in the number of study subjects.
Perhaps "noted to" could also work:
The change in the number of study subjects must be noted to the competent authorities.
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Note added at 43 mins (2010-12-30 14:09:10 GMT)
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Looking around on the Internet, I see many official government websites using "notify to" in the same context you have provided above. Perhaps it is a regional thing and is not used everywhere in the world.
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Tina Vonhof (X)
: Absolutely: 'the change must be reported to' and 'the government should be notified of'.
2 hrs
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Thank you, Tina. The phrase still sounds strange to me but it seems that it is actually okay in this context.
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Tony M
: 'notify to' is perfectly correct, normal EN.
3 hrs
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Thank you, Tony. I'd never heard this phrase before today, but after checking into it I am now convinced that it is okay in this context.
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Discussion
The examples in the Oxford Dictionary are both in the passive : "You will be notified of our decision" and "Births and deaths are required by law to be notified to the Registrar". I have yet to be convinced that a sentence like " The new father notified his child's birth to the Registrar" or " Yesterday I notified the sighting of Colorado beetles to the Min of Agriculture" would sound good.
The authorities must be notified of the changes...
The government was notified of the event...
Or with a modal verb as Tony suggests
The fire brigade must be notified (OF that fact).
It is possible that contemporary usage is different, but I find it awkward. If the Asker lives in U.K. he will have more opportunities to hear it if it is a new idiom and not only an AE one.
The latter usage lends itself perhaps slightly better to a passive construction: "sthg must be notifed to s/o", but of course can't be used intransitively. "s/o must be notified of sthg", while perfectly possible and certainly frequently used, is perhaps a tad more awkward. And of course, if the transitive is required with only the direct object, then no preposition is needed at all: "In the event of fire, the fire-brigade must be notified [...of that fact]"!
Thanks for the clarification.