Embassy of the United States

The American Citizen Services Unit performs notarial services and you can schedule an appointment by visiting the Department of State Travel Appointment site.

Notarial services provided by the Embassy are primarily for the benefit of American citizens and legal permanent residents.  Foreign nationals may also have documents notarized, but only if the documents will be used in the United States.

What you'll need to bring...

For us to notarize your documents, you must:

• Have government-issued photo ID;
• 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 an Officer);
• Pay the USD 50 payable in dollars or the equivalent in Kenyan Shillings, USD or international credit card (VISA, MasterCard, Dinners, American Express, and Discover).
• 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 can only provide notary services for American citizens, legal permanent residents, their spouses and dependents, or when the documents to be notarized will be used in the United States.  

Please be aware that the consular officer may refuse any notary service when:

• The host country does not authorize the performance of the service,
• The document will be used in transactions that may be prohibited by U.S. law,
• The officer believes that the document will be used for a purpose that is unlawful, improper, or inimical to the best interests of the United States, or
• The officer does not understand the document, due to language or any other reason.  

The notarial services performed include taking of oaths, acknowledgment of signatures and certification of true copies for Social Security and Internal Revenue Services purposes. 

If you have any questions about the contents of the documents and the implications of your signing them, the ACS Unit can provide a list of Kenyan attorneys for you to consult, or you may wish to consult an attorney in the United States. 

Affidavit

An affidavit is a sworn statement. Affidavits may be used in many different situations for many different purposes. We will furnish you with a blank affidavit form for you to write out almost any statement you may wish to make. You will need to sign it in front of a Consul.

For specific types of affidavits that we typically provide, please see below.

Fee: $50 for each affidavit.

Affidavit that you are legally free to marry

Kenyan requires all foreigners who marry in Kenya, whether they are marrying other foreigners or Kenyan nationals, to first prepare a sworn Affidavit of Marriage notarized by their own country's embassy, affirming that they are legally free to marry.

The Affidavit is available at the embassy.

Fee: $50 for the affidavit of marriage.

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 U.S. in your name while you are overseas. We cannot advise you on the specific language or content of a power of attorney, so you may wish to consult a lawyer or other appropriate advisor before coming to see us to have your power of attorney notarized.

The Power of Attorney form will be provided at the embassy or you may use one supplied to you by your attorney, bank, or company.

Please fill out the form before you come to our offices, but do not sign it in advance. You will sign in the presence of a Consul.

Fee: $50 for each Power of Attorney.

Acknowledgement of Signature

An Acknowledgement of Signature or 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: $50 for each document or seal.

Certification of True Copies of Documents

We often 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, please consult the Department of State Travel site. 

Signature (or "Medallion") Guarantees

Medallion signature guarantees are often required by U.S. banks or mutual fund companies. Unfortunately, we cannot legally perform a signature guarantee. 

A Medallion Signature Guarantee is not a notarial service, but rather a special procedure related to securities, which can only be performed by an authorized representative of a financial institution participating in a medallion program approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). U.S. consular officers are not authorized to provide a signature guarantee/medallion guarantee service.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may be contacted directly via the internet website, via phone at 1-800-SEC-0330 (investor assistance and complaints), via fax at 202-942-7040, or by mail at Mail Stop 11-2, 450 Fifth Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549.