Notarize documents from abroad: embassy, local notary, or a U.S. video call

Three ways to notarize from outside the United States

Start with the U.S. office that will receive the document: the county recorder, the bank, the court, the agency, or the lawyer. Ask which of the three it accepts. That answer usually picks the route for you.

Route 1: a U.S. embassy or consulate

U.S. embassies and consulates perform notarial services. The State Department’s consular notarial page says:

• The fee is $50 for each consular seal placed on a document. You pay on the day of the appointment, using the forms of payment that post accepts.
• You need an appointment, booked through the local embassy or consulate. Appointments are open to all nationalities.
• You must appear in person. The page says they do not offer remote or virtual services.
• Do not sign the document before the appointment.
• You may need to bring someone to witness your signature in front of the consular officer.

Count seals before you book. A document with three signature blocks that each need a certificate can mean three seals.

Consular officers are a recognized officer for U.S. purposes. Florida Statutes § 92.50(3), for example, lists a U.S. minister, consul general, chargé d’affaires, or consul resident in a foreign country among the officers who can take an oath or acknowledgment there. A document notarized at the embassy is also a federal signature, so if it later needs an apostille, it goes to the U.S. Department of State. That path is on US Department of State apostille.

One U.S. form names the embassy directly. For a child’s passport, the State Department says a parent abroad who cannot attend signs Form DS-3053 before a notary, and that in some countries the form must be notarized at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

Route 2: a local notary in a Hague country

The same consular page says you can get your document notarized by a local notary in destinations that are part of the Hague Convention. That can be faster than waiting for an embassy slot.

Two cautions. First, a notary in another country works under that country’s law. The certificate may be in another language and look nothing like a U.S. acknowledgment. Second, the U.S. office has to accept it. Many will want an apostille from that country’s competent authority on top of the local notarization. The apostille is what lets a U.S. office trust the foreign notary’s signature. How apostilles work is on how to get an apostille.

Some U.S. statutes name foreign notaries directly. Florida § 92.50(3) lists a notary public of the foreign country among the officers who can take an oath or acknowledgment there. That is Florida’s rule. Other states and agencies have their own. Ask the receiving office before you rely on it.

If the local notary’s certificate is not in English, you will probably need a translation. A translator’s statement can itself be notarized. See notarized translation.

Route 3: a U.S. remote online notary from abroad

A U.S. notary with a remote commission can meet you on video while you are overseas, if the notary’s state allows a signer outside the United States. The notary’s state rules, not yours, decide this.

New York spells it out. The Department of State’s notary FAQ says an electronic notary must be in New York, but the person using the service can be anywhere. If the signer is outside the United States, the notary must confirm, through the signer’s statement during the recorded act, that the matter has a connection to U.S. jurisdiction. The notary keeps an audio-visual recording for at least 10 years. An electronic notary may charge up to $25 per electronic act.

Other states set their own conditions, and some notaries cannot do video sessions at all. A California notary cannot perform remote online notarization. A Texas notary needs a separate Online Notary Public commission. A Florida notary must register as an Online Notary Public. A Virginia notary must register as an electronic notary. The difference between those registrations is on electronic notary vs remote online notary.

Practical points for a call from abroad:

• Have a current government photo ID ready, such as your U.S. passport. Ask the company before you start whether your ID will work with its ID check.
• Check the time difference. The two companies we cite print 24/7 availability. See 24 hour notary.
• Ask how you get the result. An electronic document can be downloaded. If the receiving office wants a printed, ink-signed original, a video session may not meet that.
• If the document is going to a third country, not the United States, the destination country decides whether it accepts a U.S. remote notarization. The Texas Secretary of State accepts online notarizations for its apostille but warns that some countries may not accept them.

When you may not need a notary at all

Some U.S. federal matters accept a declaration under penalty of perjury instead of a notarized affidavit. 28 U.S.C. § 1746 gives the wording for a declaration signed outside the United States: “I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on (date).” Then your signature. It does not apply to depositions, oaths of office, or an oath that must be taken before a specified official other than a notary. Ask the receiving office whether a declaration is acceptable before you book an embassy appointment. The difference is explained in notarized affidavit.

Pick a route in four questions

1. Will the U.S. office accept a declaration instead of a notarization? If yes, you may be done.
2. Will it accept a remote online notarization? If yes, a U.S. video notary is usually the fastest.
3. Will it accept a foreign notary with an apostille, and are you in a Hague Convention country? If yes, a local notary may be quicker than the embassy.
4. Otherwise, book the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate, count your seals, and bring a witness if the document needs one.

What a notarization costs inside the United States, for comparison, is on how much does a notary cost. The buttons below are U.S. video notaries, ordered by grade.