Notarial Services         

The American Citizen Services Unit performs notarial services during normal working hours, with the exception of the last Friday of every month. Appointments for notarials can be made online here. Services include

• Taking of oaths
• Acknowledgment of signatures on documents for use in the United States, certification of true copies for Social Security and Internal Revenue Services purposes
• authentication of Royal Thai Government officials' signatures.

Notarial services are performed for any person regardless of nationality if the document will be used in the United States. 

In most cases the document will be ready the same day. Please be aware that the consular officer may refuse any notarial service when:

• The host country does not authorize the performance of the service,
• The document will be used in transactions that may be prohibited by U.S. law,
• The officer believes that the document will be used for a purpose that is unlawful, improper, or inimical to the best interests of the United States, or
• The officer does not understand the document, due to language or any other reason.

Consular officers are prohibited from giving legal advice or acting as witnesses. If you have any questions about the contents of the documents and the implications of your signing them, the American Citizens Unit can provide a list of Thai attorneys for you to consult, or you may wish to consult an attorney in the United States.

The fee for notarial services is $30 for the first notarial seal, and $20 for each additional seal. We accept cash (either Baht or Dollars) or credit cards.  We cannot accept personal checks.

Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is an acknowledgment made by a grantor to a consular officer. The named individual appears before the consul and acknowledges that the signature on the document is his/her own signature.

Witnesses

A notarizing officer may not act as an attesting witness to the execution of an instrument in connection with any private party matter, such as powers of attorney, wills, or contracts. If a document needs witnessing, the person requesting the notarial service must provide the witness(es).

Fastening pages

A written certificate attesting to the performance of a notarial act is attached to the notarized documents. Eyelet grommets are inserted in the upper left corner, perforating the document pages. This prevents anyone from separating the original document and the notarization. Should they be separated, the notarization will be invalid.

Translations (Foreign Language Documents)

A consular officer may provide notarial services to non-English speaking applicants. However, the officer must be able to understand the document in question. Translations of a foreign language text should be provided by the applicant. If the consul is not comfortable providing the service, s/he will decline and direct the person to a local notary or foreign consul who can communicate in the same language.

For the consular officer to notarize an affidavit of a translation, the translator must appear with photo identification.

Click here for a list of Translators

Academic Credentials
 
Foreign Academic Credentials for Use in the United States:

• U.S. consular officers generally are prohibited from authenticating or providing certified true copies of foreign academic credentials, transcripts, or degrees for use in the United States.
• The U.S. Departments of State and Education determined in 1983 that there is no statutory requirement for U.S. consuls to authenticate translations of foreign academic credentials. The U.S. Department of Education and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers agree that authentication in no way alleviates the problem of fraud as the information contained in the document is not confirmed, only the seal and signature are authenticated.

U.S. Credentials for Use Abroad:

Some foreign countries continue to require authentication of academic credentials. See Authentication of American Academic Credentials for Use Abroad on the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet page for guidance about how to obtain such records. 

Authentication of Vital Records, Academic, Commercial or Other Credentials Issued in the U.S.

U.S. Consular officers are not empowered to authenticate public documents issued in the United States.  Such documents include vital records (birth, marriage, death and divorce), as well as academic, commercial, or other credentials.  Consular Officers do not have access to the records of the issuing office or the seal of the custodian of these records. 

Public documents issued in the United States may be authenticated by the designated official in the U.S. state or other jurisdiction where the public document was issued.  For documents issued in the United States, please refer to the respective state’s authentication office for more information.  The National Association of Secretaries of State website contains contact information for each state’s authentication authorities and can be found at: http://www.nass.org Home page>Issues>Business Services>Notary Services>Choose a state for the state Notary Public website.  The document may then be authenticated for use abroad by the U.S. Department of State Authentication Office.

U.S Consular Officers in Thailand may authenticate Thai public documents for use in the United States if the documents bear the seal of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Thailand is not a party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents.

When a certification or authentication of a true copy of a document issued outside of Thailand is required, please contact the embassy or consulate of the country where the document was issued. 

Procedures for Authentication and Legalizing Official Documents Issued In the United States

Official documents requiring authentication will need to be certified first by the entity that issued them, then by the state in which that entity is located, and then by the federal government (the U.S. State Department).  Once the document has been authenticated by the U.S. State Department, the foreign embassy in the United States of the country requesting the document will perform a final authentication.  Following is a brief outline of what will be required (though the actual requirements will vary greatly from state to state).

To authenticate and legalize official documents issued in the United States, please follow the steps below.

Step 1:  Obtain the Document

If you do not already have the document, contact the custodian of records where the document was originally issued to obtain a copy.  In some cases you may be required to obtain a new sealed copy for the purposes of authentication, even if you already possess a copy.  Please check with your respective state.

Academic Records:  Contact the respective academic institution directly for information on what it will need to certify the document’s authenticity.  Some academic institutions require the submission of the original diploma; others issue a true copy themselves.  Most academic transcripts issued to the student, for example, cannot be used for official purposes; a new sealed copy must be obtained.

Step 2:  Contact the State Authentication Office

Authentication procedures vary from state to state.  We strongly encourage patrons to contact their respective state’s authentication office for more information.  Refer to the National Association of Secretaries of State website to locate the state specific Authentication Authorities at: http://www.usa.gov/ Home Page > A-Z Index> S> State Agencies by Topic> State Government Home Pages.

* In some cases, the Clerk of Court is required to certify that the Notary's term has not expired in the county where the Notary Public is commissioned.

Step 3:  Obtain Signature and Seal from State Secretary of State (State Authentication Office)

The document must then be signed and sealed by the Secretary of State in the state where the Notary is located, certifying to the Notary’s current status.  For contact information, visit the State Department’s list of State Authentication Authorities at: http://www.nass.org  Homepage> Issues> Business Services> Notary Services> Choose a State to get to the state Notary Public Website. 

Step 4:  Obtain U.S. Department of State Authentication

Forward all documents to the U.S. Department of State at the following address:

Department of State Documents Authentication Office
518 23rd ST. N.W., SA-1, Columbia Plaza
Washington, D.C.  20520

TEL:  (202) 647-5002 or 1-800-688-9889, FAX:  (202) 663-3636
The Department of State Documents Authentication Office charges a fee of $7.00.

Step 5:  Obtain Embassy/Consulate Authentication of Foreign Government

Once the documents have been authenticated by the U.S. Department of State, bring the documents to the foreign embassy in the United States of the country requesting the documents, where they will do the final authentication.

Contact information for the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington D.C. can be found at: http://www.thaiembdc.org/index.htm

Step 6: Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Legalization Division

Once the document is in Thailand, submit the document to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Legalization Division to make the document legal for use in Thailand.  Once the put their stamp and seal on the document it can now be used in Thailand officially.  The phone number for the Legalization Division is (+66) 2-981-7171.

Further Questions:  U.S. Embassy – Bangkok, American Citizen Services at (66) 2-205-4049 or U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of American Citizen Services at (202) 647-5225, or (202) 647-5226.

DISCLAIMER:  THE INFORMATION IN THIS CIRCULAR IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY.  THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE MAKES NO WARRANTY REGARDING THE ACCURACY OF THIS INFORMATION.  WHILE SOME OF THE INFORMATION IS ABOUT LEGAL ISSUES, IT IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.  QUESTIONS INVOLVING INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN LAWS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO FOREIGN ATTORNEYS.