Types of Notarials

Types of Notarials

· Affidavit

An Affidavit is a sworn statement, made by you. Write out the statement you wish to make, but do not sign the form.

· Authentication

We cannot authenticate U.S. documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, death certificates, etc.

· Acknowledgement

An Acknowledgement of Execution is used for legal agreements, deeds, powers of attorney, bills of sale, business documents, corporate acknowledgements, etc. for use in the United States.

For us to notarize your documents, you must bring:

- Identification: valid passport or other form of identity issued by a government agency — a U.S. driver's license is acceptable (for identification purposes, we do not accept student ID or a French drivers' licenses);

- Document to be notarized: understand your document, as we are not allowed to explain the contents to you. Have the document filled in the with the appropriate names, places and dates, but don't sign it; for a document to be legally notarized, it must be  signed at the Embassy in front of the consular official;

- Witnesses: Consular Officers and staff may NOT be witnesses for Notarial purposes.

a.    If your document requires the presence of a witness, or witnesses, you must bring a person or persons with you depending on the specific requirements of the document(s) to be signed. For example, if the document says “witness,” you may bring in one witness; if the document has three separate “witness” signature lines, then you can bring in a maximum of three witnesses. In this case, the witnesses do not need a separate appointment.

b.    For all other cases, every person entering the Consular Section must have an appointment. You do not have to bring a witness if the document to be signed does not call for signatures other than the applicant’s.

c.    Citizen Services’ applicants, over age 18, who are available in the Consular Section waiting room, may serve as witnesses.

Please note: if you require notarization on translated documents the person who translated the document must be present at the notarization.

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