Embassy of the United States

Notary Services are by appointment only.

If you reside in England or Wales and require notary services or have a question concerning these services, please contact the U.S. Embassy in London by clicking on this link.

If you reside in Northern Ireland and require notary services or have a question concerning these services, please contact the U.S. Consulate General in Belfast, by clicking on this link.

If you reside in Scotland and require notary services or have a question concerning these services, please contact the U.S. Consulate General in Edinburgh, by clicking on this link.

Preperation for a notary appointment:

Please Note: Due to government regulations, we cannot provide the following services:

• We do not legalize or authenticate British public documents such as UK birth, death, marriage, divorce, or court documents, nor do we legalize or authenticate the signatures of UK notaries public. Please refer to: www.fco.gov.uk/legalisation
• Notarization/legalization/authentication of U.S. State-issued documents
• W-7 Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs), which are handled by the Embassy's IRS office.  For more information, please see http://london.usembassy.gov/irs/index.html
• Medallion Signature Guarantees
• Notarization/legalization/authentication of U.S. academic credentials.  Contact the issuing educational institution, or the U.S./UK Educational Advisory Service for information.
• Form I-864 (Affidavit of Support), which no longer requires notarization.
• Certified copies ("true copies") of original, non-U.S. documents.  Please see "Obtaining Certified Copies of Original non-U.S. Documents for more information.

Preparation for a notary appointment (please read the following instructions carefully):

• Please read your document(s) through carefully and make sure you understand what you will be signing before appearing before the notary.  Consular staff may not explain your document(s) to you.
• Know exactly where you are suppose to sign. It is your responsibility to read all the documents and know where you are suppose to sign.  Consular staff may not advise you in any way.
• Mark every page where the notary needs to sign, with a highlighter or removable tab.  All pages should be attached, in order, with a staple or paper clip.
• Complete the document(s) to be notarized with the appropriate names, places and dates.  DO NOT sign your document as you must take an oath or make an affirmation before a Consular Officer before signing your document(s).
• Bring your passport as an identify document.  If your passport is unavailable, please provide a current form of ID.
• If the name in your passport (or other ID document) differs from the name on the documents you wish to have notarized, please bring evidence of a name change in the form of government documents such as marriage certificates, passports or drivers licenses showing both former and current names.
• Bring the entire document(s), even if only one page is to be notarized.
• If your document requires witnesses in addition to the notary's, you are responsible for providing the witness(es).  Consular staff may not serve as witnesses.  Witnesses cannot be a spouse or relatives.  Each witness will need a passport/valid form of ID and must make an appointment in order to enter the Embassy or Consulate. 
• The standard fee is $50.00 per notarization  (i.e. If a document is 10 pages long but only three pages require a seal and signature, the total charge is $150.00.
• Payment may be made by: 
  • Credit card - Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or Diners Club;
  • Debit card - Visa or Mastercard only ;
  • International Money Order** to the exact U.S. dollar amount made payable to the "United States Disbursing Officer;"
  • Cashier's check** (banker's draft/bankers check) in the exact U.S. dollars amount from a bank in the United States.  The check should be made payable to the "United States Disbursing Officer." or
  •  Cash, if applying for the service in person in London or Belfast.  Cash payments are accepted in U.S. dollars or British pounds sterling.

**Money Orders and cashier's checks (Banker's Drafts) must have been issued within the last five months. 

IMPORTANT:  Please follow the above instructions very carefully. If you come to your appointment unprepared, we may not be able to help you and you will need to schedule a new appointment.  If you are unable to book an appointment, you may have your documents notarized under the two-step British system.

Notarizing your documents under the British System:

Step 1: Sign your documents in front of a notary public.  For your nearest notary public, see http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/choosingandusing/findasolicitor.law  and http://www.thenotariessociety.org.uk/find-a-notary

Step 2:  Send the documents to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Legalisation Office, which will legalize the signature and stamp of the notary public by means of an apostille, or certificate.  For further information see www.fco.gov.uk/legalisation 

Documents notarized this way comply with the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, October 5, 1961, to which the United States became a party effective October 15, 1981, and should be accepted for use in the United States.