Notarial and documentary services in North Macedonia
Documents, certificates, letters and notes available in North Macedonia by local notaries or lawyers.
Overview
The British consulate can provide a range of notarial and documentary services for British nationals in North Macedonia.
Where local notaries can provide services, the British consulate will not provide them. In many cases local notaries or lawyers can provide services more cheaply, quickly and conveniently.
All notarial services are provided by the British Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria. Some services may be available by post. To make an appointment for a service send us an enquiry using our contact form and list the service which you require, your name and telephone number. The consular team in Sofia will advise you whether they can provide the service and how.
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 North Macedonia, the UK or a third country.
Services we provide in North Macedonia
Consular staff can:
- make a certified copy of a document
- unite documents
- prepare a document in English or the local language
- provide information about legalising 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 can’t find the service you are looking for on this page, see other services provided by the British embassy in North Macedonia.
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.
We accept ID cards of North Macedonia, utility bills and bank statements (received by post, not printed off websites) as proof of your address.
Make a certified copy of a document
This service is for customers who need certified photocopies of British passports, Home Office registration/naturalisation certificates, UK educational documents (only those that have been issued in the UK by a recognised institution and are listed on the Legalisation Office website), British driving licences (both the plastic card and paper document are required) and British divorce decrees.
This service can be provided remotely.
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 and payment options
- proof of identity and address – see what we will accept as proof
To make an appointment for a service please e-mail consular.skopje@fcdo.gov.uk
Unite documents
This service joins documents together using ribbon and a seal and is usually only needed for legal reasons.
What you will need to bring with you:
- the documents to be united
- the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
- proof of identity and address – see what we will accept as proof
This service is offered only in combination with making a certified copy of a document if your document is more than one page long.
Prepare a document in English or the local language
This service is for customers who require a signed and stamped version of one of our information notes.
In a limited number of cases consular staff can write a statement of fact (‘preparing a certificate’) to help British nationals with various local authorities. The wording must be cleared with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London, which means these documents will take longer to prepare.
We can only provide this service if we have proof that the wording/content you require is correct and unambiguous. This service is provided at the discretion of consular staff and we can refuse to provide it. Please contact the consulate before making an appointment.
We can prepare these documents in English or in the local language.
What you will need to bring with you:
- original written evidence to support your request for a letter from the Consulate
- the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
- proof of identity and address – see what we will accept as proof This service can be provided remotely.
Legalise a document
This service is for customers who require confirmation that the signature, seal or stamp on a document is genuine. It does not certify the authenticity of a document or give approval of its content. UK public documents can be legalised by the Legalisation Office.
Download information notes
We have produced the following information notes (also known as standard letters) that you can download free of charge to present to local authorities:
If you need an officially stamped/sealed version this attracts an additional fee. Please see Prepare a document in English or the local language.
Services provided elsewhere
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.
Local authorities will sometimes ask for certified copies of documents issued by Educational Institutions in the UK (such as diplomas, degrees etc). We are not able to provide this service, but the British Council in Skopje might be able assist.
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/consulate will be accepted