U.S. Embassy in Guatemala

Notarial Services 

Our notarial services include:

• Taking acknowledgments of signatures on documents to be used in the U. S. (Documents should be signed before the U. S. Consul)
• Executing affidavits and protests of negotiable papers.
• Taking depositions.
• DS-3053- Absent parent authorization for passport
• Passport Certified Copy for Guatemalan immigration (5 certified copies max per applicant)
  • Requirements: Passport to be certified, one photocopy (if you don’t bring the photocopy, we can make one for you at the embassy, with a cost of $1 per page), and Fee payment (to pay at U.S. Embassy – see instructions below).
  • Affidavit of eligibility to marry
  • Documents for the sale/purchase/transfer of a property
  • Authenticate documents for Social Security benefits (only if referred by the FBU office in Costa Rica)

  • Power of attorney – for legal matters only (Under the COVID-19 restrictions, we are not able to accept requests for the notarization of a POA for minors traveling alone.)

Requirements

• Document to be notarized (either for use in the United States or to be signed by U.S. citizens).
• Personal appearance of the person requesting the notarial services.
• Official Photo Identification (Passport, DPI, driver’s license).
• If witnesses are required, you should bring them
• Fee payment (to pay at U.S. Embassy).
  • Effective July 13, 2021 there is a $50.00 fee for each notarial service and a $50.00 fee for each authentication service provided by a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad.
  • It can be paid in cash, (in Quetzales or U.S. dollars), or with a credit card.
  • We do not accept checks or torn, marked, or stained dollar bills.

  • If you are paying with cash, please bring exact change.

During the notarization process the officer will:

• Confirm your identity
• Establish that you understand the nature, language, and consequences of the document to be notarized; and are not acting under duress.
• Conduct an oath or affirmation that the contents are true to the best of your knowledge.

Authentication of Documents

The United States and Guatemala are both parties to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents (Hague Apostille Convention). This Convention eliminates the requirement for diplomatic and consular authentication of public documents originating in one country party to the Convention that a requester intends to use in another country.  This authentication is called APOSTILLE. In Guatemala, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepares apostille for Guatemalan documents that are to be used abroad.

The section of the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs which performs this service is the Departamento de Auténticas de la Dirección General de Asuntos Jurídicos, located at the following address:

MINEX also offers electronic apostille services: https://apostilla.minex.gob.gt/

U.S. consular officers do not have the authority to authenticate U.S. or Guatemalan public documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, court decrees, school transcripts nor signatures of attorneys and certified translators.

If you need U.S. federal documents apostilled to use in Guatemala you need to contact the Office of Authentication in the Department of State:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/records-and-authentications/authenticate-your-document/office-of-authentications.html

If you need U.S. state documents apostilled to use in Guatemala you need to contact the Secretary of State’s Office of the state in which the document was issued (Birth Certificates, Marriage Licenses, Divorce Decrees, school documents, and notarized documents).

Please take note that we will only accept a maximum of 5 documents to notarize per appointment.

Most of the documents will be ready within the same day.