Please note: The Department of State and staff in the consular section are not responsible for preparing documents which need to be notarized. The bearer of a document is responsible for understanding the contents of the document, indicating where they need appropriate signatures, and if required, arranging for witnesses.
Notary functions performed by consular officers abroad do not differ much from those performed by a notary public in the United States. The requirements that the person appear, establish his/her identity, show that he/she is not acting under duress, and that he/she understands the nature, language, and consequences of the documents are the same.
Notary services provided at U.S. Consulates and Embassies abroad can be performed for any individual, regardless of nationality, as long as the document being notarized is intended for use in the United States.
The American Citizen Services (ACS) unit provides notary services, Tuesday through Thursday 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (except on American and Tajik holidays), by appointment only. Click here to schedule an appointment.
Notary Services Require:
- Picture identification with signature, your passport, a government issued picture identification card or naturalization certificate may be presented;
- Witnesses, if your document requires witness signatures. Consular staff and Embassy employees cannot act as witnesses;
- Notary fee, $50 USD for each notary seal.
Services Provided Include:
Affidavits statements made under oath and sworn to before an official authorized to administer oaths. Affidavits are usually drawn by attorneys or are set out in established forms; for example, the marriage affidavits that are presented to the ZAGS office to register a marriage in Tajikistan.
Note: The Embassy takes no responsibility for the content of affidavits; however, persons who knowingly make false statements in an affidavit sworn before a U.S. consular officer may be subject to perjury charges under U.S. law.
Acknowledgment of signatures on documents which attest to the identity of the person executing the document. Examples of common documents are deeds, powers of attorney, and wills.
Certified True Copies, consular officers cannot certify true copies of civil documents including marriage certificates, divorce decrees, birth certificates, death certificates, academic credentials, etc. You must obtain certified copies of these documents from the official custodian of the public record.
Consular officers are only able to provide certified true copies of the biographic page of U.S. passports, not the passport pages.
Note: Several U.S. states impose restrictions on the use of certifications of true copies of other types of documents, while other states do not permit them at all. Certification of true copy laws also often change, if you have questions please visit the individual states’ Secretary of State website.
Authentications, consular officers abroad are not permitted to authenticate seals and signatures of notaries public and other officials in the U.S. They may, however, certify the Seal of the U.S. Department of State if this is requested in particular cases by the national authorities of the host country.
If you have a document that was notarized in the U.S. and you need to present the document to authorities overseas contact the Department of State, Authentications Office.
The Department of State, Authentications Office is responsible for signing and issuing certificates under the Seal of the U.S. Department of State and providing authentication services to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals on documents that will be used overseas.
Only when the document has been authenticated by the Department of State, Authentications Office and the Seal of the U.S. Department of State has been embossed on the document can a consular office be of assistance. To reiterate, consular officers can only authenticate the embossed Seal of the U.S. Department of State.
Various Tajik officials sometimes advise people to go to the U.S. Embassy to get an official Embassy “stamp” on documents for use in Tajikistan. The U.S. Embassy is not empowered under U.S., Tajik, or international law to perform this function. Therefore, the U.S. Embassy cannot legally accommodate such requests.
