Embassy of the United States

VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE: Effective September 1, 2011, it will be mandatory to use the new appointment system to request U.S. citizen’s services at the Consulate, such as applications for legal services. To schedule an appointment click here.

Information about Notarial Services

U.S. Consular Officers are authorized by law to perform limited notarial services abroad in connection with certain documents to be presented in the United States.

Consular Officers can only perform notarial services in connection with documents to be used outside of the United States if

1. The notarial act will be recognized in the country where it will be used;
2. the applicant would suffer loss or be seriously inconvenienced if the act were not performed;
3. the notarial certificate will be used for a well defined purpose; and
4. there is no apparent irregularity. 

In some cases such documents will require additional authentication by the Department of State in Washington, DC. 

Prerequisites for U.S. Notarial Services

In order to receive a U.S. notarial service from the Consular Section, the requestor must satisfy the following requirements:

1. Provide satisfactory and valid identification;
2. bring witnesses if the document to be notarized so requires as Embassy staff can not serve as witnesses;
3. completely fill in all blank spaces on the document;
4. demonstrate the he/she understands the document to be signed and is signing it voluntarily and without coercion;
5. show that the transaction is not suspicious or potentially illegal or irregular;
6. notarization of documents with more than one signee requires that both signees be present; and
7. as required under U.S. law, acknowledgments of documents by more than one person must be completed seperately.

Limitations on Notarial Services

Further, U.S. law precludes the provision of notarial services in certain cases. Among others, consular officers may not provide notarial services in connection with:

1. Documents issued by U.S. officials, including birth, marriage and death certificates (such documents for use in Paraguay should be authenticated in the U.S. by the Paraguayan consul);
2. Copies of documents;
3. academic credentials, transcripts or degrees;
4. seals and signatures of Paraguayan officials other than those designated by the Ministry of Foreign Relations Legalization Department;
5. seals and signatures of U.S. officials stationed in third countries. This authentication may be performed by the Department of State's Authentication Office, 518 23rd Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520, telephone (202) 647-5002; and
6. statements beyond the consular officer's knowledge, e.g. that a document conforms to foreign law or that a person is the spouse of another.