Guidance

Notarial and documentary services guide for Colombia

Documents, certificates, letters and notes available at the British consulate in Colombia.

Overview

The British Embassy in Colombia can provide a range of notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Colombia. Where local notaries can provide services, the Consular Section 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. The appointment will require your personal attendance. Use the links after each service to make an appointment. Before booking, please make sure you have selected the correct service.

It is your responsibility to ensure the document requested will be accepted by the relevant authority (local notaries, local town hall, registry office, tax authorities, immigration office or another authority either in Colombia, the UK or a third country).

Services we provide in Colombia

Consular staff in Colombia can:

If you can’t find the service you are looking for on this page, see other services provided by the British embassy in Colombia

Consular staff in Colombia can no longer:

What to bring to your appointment

All customers must book an appointment in advance. Each type of appointment will require a number of supporting documents. See the individual services below for details of supporting documents to bring.

All appointments will require the customer to bring: (i) Proof of identity (passport or other photo ID), (ii) proof of address (utility bill, lease contract, etc.), and (iii) funds for payment of relevant fees.

We accept payment by Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard, or cash in the local currency on the day of the appointment.

See the full list of consular fees

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.

To get married in Colombia most local notaries will accept an affirmation or affidavit of marital status. The Consular Section of the British Embassy in Bogota can administer an affirmation or affidavit though some notaries require them to be legalised by local authorities instead. The document may need to be less than three months old on the date of intended marriage.

You will need to book an appointment at the Consular Section and you will need:

  • Proof of identity
  • Proof of address
  • Funds for payment
  • The Consular Section will provide a template to complete on the date of the appointment

For further information and to find out whether you need to book an appointment, please see getting married abroad.

If you need any other oath, affirmation or affidavit (other than to get married in Colombia), the Consular Section will not draft documents for you. First check with the Consular Section what format they need and then have the document drawn up or checked by a professional. Please contact the Consular Section before making an appointment.

For this type of appointment you will need:

  1. Proof of identity
  2. Proof of address
  3. Funds for payment
  4. The drafted oath, affirmation or affidavit, as agreed with the Consular Section

Book an appointment to administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit at the British Embassy in Bogota

Make a certified copy of a document

This service is for customers who need certified photocopies of British passports and British driving licenses (both the plastic card and paper document are required).

For this type of appointment, you will need:

  • proof of identity
  • proof of address
  • funds for payment
  • the document that you need a certified copy of

Book an appointment to make a certified copy at the British Embassy in Bogota

In Colombia, for certified copies of UK educational documents (only those that have been issued in the UK by a recognised institution and are listed on the Legalisation Office website) please contact the British Council.

Prepare a document in the local language

This service is for customers who require a signed and stamped version of one of our standard letters.

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.

For this type of appointment you will need:

  • proof of identity
  • proof of address
  • funds for payment
  • original written evidence to support your request for a letter from the consulate

Book an appointment to prepare a document in another language at the British Embassy in Bogota.

Services provided elsewhere

We no longer witness life certificates for British nationals claiming a British abroad. Please refer to the list of people working in a recognised profession who can do this for you.

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 / consulate 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 / consulate 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.

Updates to this page

Published 8 January 2014
Last updated 27 June 2024 + show all updates
  1. 'Administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit' section reorganised.

  2. The 'Make a certified copy of a document' section has been updated.

  3. Marriage services

  4. First published.

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