Information For Travelers
Notarial Service
The U.S. Embassy in
Notarial services provided by the Embassy are primarily for the benefit of American citizens and legal permanent residents (i.e., “Green Card” holders). Foreign nationals may also have documents notarized, but only if the documents will be used in the
What you will need to bring along…
For us to notarize your documents, you must
-Have government-issued photo ID – your passport is your best option
-Understand your document. We are not allowed to explain the contents to you.
-Complete the document with the appropriate names, places, and dates before you arrive (but don’t sign it, you’ll sign it at the Embassy in front of a consular officer).
-Pay the appropriate fee. We accept only cash payments in US dollars or Francs CFA. We cannot accept checks or credit cards for consular services.
-If your document requires the presence of witnesses in addition to the notarization, you must supply these witnesses. Our staff cannot act as witnesses.
-We only provide notary services for American citizens, legal permanent residents, their spouses or dependents, or when the documents to be notarized will be used in the
Types of Notarials
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney allows you to designate someone to take legal actions on your behalf. A common example of this is empowering someone else to buy or sell property in the
Fee: $30.00 for the first power of attorney, $20.00 for each additional copy
Affidavit
An affidavit is a sworn statement. Affadavits may be used in many different situations for many different purposes. You can write out any statement you may wish to make. Please remember not to sign the form before you come to the office. You will need to sign it in front of the consular officer.
We cannot advise you about the specific language needed in your affidavit, so please consult a lawyer or other advisor for that type of assistance before coming to have the document notarized.
Fee: $30.00 for the first affidavit, $20.00 for each additional copy.
Corporate Affidavits and Acknowledgements
Often customers include a title, or “corporate identity,” when signing these types of documents. Examples of corporate identities would be “president,” “managing director,” or “representative.” If you wish to sign with a corporate identity, please be prepared to present adequate documentation to prove that identity to the notarial officer. Business cards and letterhead will not be accepted as proof of corporate identity.
Alternatively, you may wish to alter the language of your document to include language such as “who acknowledged himself to be the (TITLE) of (CORPORATION NAME).” or be prepared to cross out references to corporate identities within the document to be notarized.
Acknowledgement of Execution
An Acknowledgement of Execution is a notary which verifies that a particular person signed a given document. It is often used for legal agreements, business documents, etc. It is also used when more than two signatures are required on the document but all of the parties who must sign are not present. We can notarize (or acknowledge) only the signatures of those who are present to sign in front of us or appear in front of us and verify that they have signed the document.
Fee for acknowledgement: $ 30.00 for the first document, $20.00 for each additional copy.
Certification of True Copies of Documents
Occasionally, we get requests to certify true copies of educational transcripts or diplomas, bank statements, court documents, or other such official records. Unfortunately, our offices cannot ordinarily provide certified true copies of documents. Such requests should usually be addressed to the office which issued the document in question. For example, certified true copies of academic records should be requested from the registrar of the institution that originally issued them. For more information on this subject, please consult travel.state.gov