Notarials

Notarial services are available for all nationalities by appointment

Overview

Notarial services are for documents for use in the United States and are by appointment only.

Please schedule an appointment for a notarial service online. We encourage you to check out our Tips for Visiting the Embassy.

Normally the document to be notarized is for use within the United States, although there may be exceptions. If you have multiple documents to be notarized, you should only make one appointment. You will pay $50 USD, at the Embassy or Consulate on your day of appointment, for each notary seal required.

On the day of your appointment, you must:

Hand signing document

Bring the complete, unsigned documents to be notarized. Even if there are pages that do not require signature or seals, you must present the entire packet.
Present a valid government-issued ID such as a passport or driver’s license. The name on the documents must be the same as the name on your ID.
Pay $50 USD per notary seal.
Be of sound mind and understand the document you want notarized. Consular staff are not permitted to explain contents to you.
If your notary service requires a witness, you must arrange for your own witnesses. Consular staff cannot witness your documents.

Examples of Notarial Services Performed At No Charge:

DS-3053: To notarize a DS-3053 Statement of Consent: Issuance of a U.S. Passport To a Minor Under Age 16 (PDF, 345K), please review the instructions listed on the form, the information fields that must be completed, and bring your original, valid, government-issued photo ID as well as a photocopy of both sides. As the U.S. Department of State requires that this form be notarized, this service is performed free of charge.
Power of Attorney (in conjunction with U.S. passport applications): When both parents are unable to be personally present to apply for a minor’s U.S. passport, and they wish to designate a third party to do so, they may sign a power of attorney (POA) before a notary public. This POA must contain specific data fields; see a sample. Note that photocopies of both sides of each parents’ original, valid, government-issued photo ID must be included with the POA. As the U.S. Department of State requires that this form be notarized, this service is performed free of charge.
At the Direct Request of a U.S. Municipal, State or Federal Entity
At the Direct Request of a Foreign Government

Apostilles

Apostille for documents issued in the United States

U.S. embassies do NOT have the authority to affix Apostille to documents issued in the United States or in other countries. Please do not schedule an appointment for this service. For information on how to obtain Apostille on state-issued or federal-issued documents, please see State Department’s page on Apostille Requirements.

Apostille on BiH-issued documents for use in the United States

Scales, Seal, Pen In order to use a public document (e.g. birth or marriage certificate, divorce decree, notarized documents) issued in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in the United States, the document has to be certified by an apostille under the 1961 Hague Convention, to which BiH and the United States are both parties.

In BiH, Apostille is issued by municipal courts. There is a fee for the certification. Check with the local court for current information on fees.

Check with the institution in the United States where you plan to submit the document to determine whether translation is required and whether the translation requires an apostille. Lists of certified translators for English are available from municipal courts and from the websites of the Ministry of Justice for the Federation of BiH and for Republika Srpska.