Dominican Republic: notarial and documentary services guide
Documents, certificates, letters and notes available at British Embassy in the Dominican Republic.
Overview
The British Embassy can provide a range of notarial and documentary services for British nationals in the Dominican Republic.
Where local notaries can provide services, the British Embassy will not provide them. In many cases local notaries or lawyers can provide services more cheaply, quickly and conveniently.
You must make an appointment for each service that requires your personal attendance. Use the links after each service to make a reservation. A member of staff will contact you to confirm your appointment.
Before booking, make sure you have selected the correct service and that the document will be accepted by the relevant authority. This could be the local town hall, registry office, tax authorities, immigration office or another authority either in the Dominican Republic, the UK or a third country.
Services we provide in the Dominican Republic
Consular staff in the Dominican Republic can:
- administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit
- witness a signature
- make a certified copy of a document
For information about documents relating to marriage, such as a certificate of no impediment (CNI) and affirmations or affidavits of marital status, see getting married abroad.
If you cannot find the service you are looking for on this page, please visit our services section at the British Embassy Santo Domingo.
What to bring to your appointment
See the individual services below for details of supporting documents to bring. Make sure you have acceptable proof of address and identity, and payment for any fees. See the full list of consular fees.
Payment
We accept payment by Visa or MasterCard.
Proof of address and identity
For all appointments for notarial services, you will need to bring acceptable proof of your identity and address. We accept passports or national identity cards as proof of identity.
Administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit
This service is for people who need to swear an oath, make an affirmation or make an affidavit in front of a consular officer.
You may need to make an affirmation or affidavit of marital status in order to get married in the Dominican Republic. See getting married abroad to find out what you need to do.
The Embassy will not draft documents for you. First, check with the Embassy what format they need and then have the document drawn up or checked by a professional.
What you will need to bring with you:
- the oath, affirmation or affidavit that you will swear or affirm
- the correct fee – see the list of fees
- proof of identity/address
Make an appointment to administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit at the British Embassy Santo Domingo.
Witness a signature
This service is for customers who need to sign a document and have their signature witnessed by a consular officer. The document must be prepared before your appointment, as we will not draft documents for you. We do not handle wills or probate, or witness deed polls.
Do not sign the document before your appointment.
What you will need to bring with you:
- the document that you will sign before a witness
- the correct fee – see the list of fees
- proof of identity/address
Make an appointment to witness a signature at the British Embassy Santo Domingo.
Make a certified copy of a document
This service is for customers who need certified photocopies of British passports in exceptional circumstances.
What you will need to bring with you:
- the document that you need a certified copy of
- the correct fee – see the list of fees
- proof of identity/address
Make an appointment to make a certified copy at the British Embassy Santo Domingo.
This service does not verify or authenticate your documents. You will be provided with a photocopy of your document with a confirmation that it is a true copy of the original. It is your responsibility to check that a certified copy will be accepted by the requesting authority.
Services provided elsewhere
Life certificates for British pensions
We no longer witness life certificates for British nationals claiming a British pension abroad. Please refer to the list of people working in a recognised profession who can do this for you.
Legalisation of UK documents
You can get certain official UK documents ‘legalised’ by asking the Legalisation Office to confirm that the signature, stamp or seal is from a UK public official.
The Legalisation Office will check the document, including whether the signature, stamp or seal is genuine. They will legalise the document by attaching a stamped official certificate (Hague Apostille) to it.
Births deaths and marriages
Registration: Find out how to register an overseas birth or death, and what processes you may need to follow if you want to get married abroad.
Copies of certificates: Copies of British birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates are available from the relevant General Register Office or National Records Scotland in the United Kingdom.
UK police certificates
A certificate showing whether you have a criminal history in the United Kingdom is available on request from ACRO Criminal Records Office.
Data protection
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office holds and uses data for purposes notified to the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998. Such personal data may be disclosed to other UK government departments and public authorities.
Disclaimer
This information is provided as a general guide and is based upon information provided to the Embassy by the relevant authorities and may be subject to change at any time with little or no notice. Accordingly, the FCDO and the British Embassy will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information. For all notarial and legalisation services it is the responsibility of the customer to ascertain the precise requirements of the person requesting the notarial or legalisation service and to satisfy themselves that the service provided by the embassy will be accepted.
Last updated 16 February 2023 + show all updates
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Important guidance added to the "Making a certified copy of a document" section
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Notice stating that the British Embassy Santo Domingo is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been removed. The embassy has now resumed in-person appointments.
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Update to sections: 'Witness a signature' and 'Make a certified copy of a document'. Added section 'Services provided elsewhere'.
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Informing temporal suspension of notarial services due to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until further notice.
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First published.