Notarial Services

All notarial service documents must be signed before a U.S. consular officer. Please click here to make an appointment.

The U.S. Embassy performs notarial service for documents to be used in the United States. These services include:

• Affidavit
  An affidavit is a sworn statement. Using our blank affidavit form, you can write out almost any statement you may wish to make. Please do not sign the form before you come to the Embassy. You will need to sign it in front of a Consular officer, whose role is to confirm the identity of the person making the statement.
  
  Affidavit to Obtain a Korean Driver’s License
  This is a service only available to U.S. citizens. According to the Korean Driver’s License Agency, if you are staying in Korea for more than 90 days and have registered as a foreigner, you can exchange your U.S. driver’s license for a Korean license with a confirmation issued by the U.S. Embassy. Please note that the U.S. Embassy cannot certify the authenticity of the U.S. license. However, if you have a valid, unexpired U.S. driver’s license, you may get a notarized affidavit. Please make an appointment to appear at the Embassy with your valid U.S. driver’s license, U.S. passport and fee. For more information on how to obtain a Korean driver’s license, please visit the Korean Driver’s license Agency’s website. For a sample affidavit, please click here.
• Power of Attorney
  A power of attorney allows you to designate someone to take legal actions on your behalf. A common example of this is empowering someone else to buy or sell property in the United States in your name while you are overseas. We cannot advise you on the specific language or content of a power of attorney, so you may wish to consult a lawyer or other appropriate advisor before coming to see us to have your power of attorney notarized.
  
  You can use our blank Power of Attorney form or you may use one supplied to you by your attorney, bank, or company. Please fill out the form before you come to our office, but please do not sign the form. You will need to sign it in front of a Consular Officer.
• Acknowledgement of Signature
  An Acknowledgement of Signature or Acknowledgement of Execution is a notarial service which verifies that a particular person signed a given document. It is often used for legal agreements, business documents, etc. It is also used when more than two signatures are required on the document but all of the parties who must sign are not present. We can notarize (or acknowledge) only the signatures of those who are present to sign in front of us or appear in front of us and verify that they have signed the document.

Preparation for a notary appointment:

• Bring a valid government-issued photo ID.
• Make sure you understand your document. We are not allowed to explain the contents to you.
• Please complete the document with the appropriate names, places, and dates before you arrive (but do not sign the form; you will sign it at the Embassy in front of a Consular officer).
• Please mark the pages where you and the notary need to sign. The Consular staff cannot advise you in any way on what is required of you for your documents so come to the appointment fully prepared.
• Pay the appropriate fee: $50 per each notary service. All fees are payable in U.S. dollars or Korean won at the Embassy’s exchange rate. A combination of U.S. dollars and Korean won will not be accepted. The Embassy also accepts payment by credit/debit card.
• If your document requires the presence of witnesses in addition to the notarization, you are responsible for providing these witnesses. Consular staff cannot act as witnesses.  

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.
• The officer does not understand the document, due to language or any other reason.
• The officer believes the customer does not understand the document to be notarized, due to language or any other reason.

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

• U.S. Apostille
  The Embassy cannot offer any apostille services. Please see this page for further information about apostilles.
• Authentication/Notarization/Legalization of 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.
• Certification of True Copies of Documents
  The Embassy cannot provide certified true copies of educational transcripts or diplomas, bank statements, court documents, or other such official records. Such requests should usually be addressed to the office which issued the document in question. For example, certified true copies of academic records should be requested from the registrar of the institution that originally issued them.
• Certification of True Copies of Non-U.S. Documents
  Korean documents, such as a Korean family census register, must be obtained from a Korean ward office. If an apostille is required, please contact the Korean Apostille Issuing Authority:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Annex I
Korean Re-Insurance Bldg. 4th Floor Consular Service Section
#80 Susongdong, Chongro-ku, Seoul, Korea
Tel: 02-3210-0404 (inquiries can only be handled in Korean)

• Signature (or “Medallion”) Guarantees
  Consular officers are not authorized to provide signature guarantee/medallion guarantee service. A Medallion Signature Guarantee is not a notarial service, but rather a special procedure related to securities, which can only be performed by an authorized representative of a financial institution participating in a medallion program approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

For American Citizen Services (ACS) general inquiries, please e-mail us at seoulinfo@state.gov.

If you are an American citizen facing an emergency, please call us at +82-(0)2-397-4114.

If you have access to DSN, please call 721-4114. For more information on how to contact us, please click here.

Updated: February 9, 2012