Guidance

Ecuador: notarial and documentary services guide

Documents, certificates and letters available at the British Embassy Quito.

Overview

The British Embassy Quito can provide a range of notarial services for British nationals in Ecuador.

Where local notaries can provide services, the British Embassy Quito will not provide them. In many cases local notaries or lawyers can provide services cheaper, quicker and more conveniently.

You must make an appointment for each service that requires you to attend in person. Use the links after each service to make an appointment. You will receive an automated email confirming 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 other authority either in Ecuador, the UK or a third country.

Services we provide in Ecuador

Consular staff in Ecuador can:

  • administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit
  • administer a consular certificate of no impediment
  • witness a signature
  • make a certified copy of a British passport
  • unite documents

Marriage documents

If you want to get married or enter into a civil partnership in Ecuador, contact the relevant local authorities to find out about local marriage laws, including what documents you will need.

You might be asked to get certain documents from the UK government if you are a British national. See details of the services we provide in Ecuador below.

Please check what you need to bring with you and the additional information on getting married abroad and then make an appointment for the service you require.

Affirmation/affidavit of marital status for local civil partnership

This service is for customers who want to enter a civil partnership (“union de hecho”) in Ecuador (before a local notary or judge) and are required to present a statement sworn before a consular officer.

You will need to present your valid British passport and fill in this form: Affidavit for single status for civil union (PDF, 40.5 KB, 2 pages) This document has a validity of 3 months.

Book an appointment for an affirmation/affidavit for local civil partnership at the British Embassy Quito

Consular Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) for local marriage

This service is for British nationals (currently in Ecuador) who want to get married locally and are required to present a CNI to the local Ecuadorean civil registry office to prove they’re allowed to marry.

To get a consular CNI you must first post notice of your intended marriage in Ecuador, through the British Embassy in Quito. You’ll need to have been living in Ecuador for at least 3 full days before you can post notice.

The British Embassy will charge a fee and display your notice of marriage publicly for 7 days. If nobody has registered an objection to the marriage then a CNI can be issued. There is an additional fee for this.

You’ll need to provide supporting documents, including:

  • your original valid British passport
  • equivalent documents for your partner
  • the correct fee – see the list of fees

This document has a validity of 3 months.

Please read more information on the requirements and book an appointment on getting marriage abroad.

If you have obtained a CNI in the UK before travelling to Ecuador, it will need to be apostilled in the UK and translated into Spanish in order for the Ecuadorean Civil Registry Office to accept it.

If for any reason, the CNI issued in the UK has not been apostilled before your travel to Ecuador, you can apply directly for a CNI at the British Embassy in Quito, paying the corresponding fee.

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.

The consulate will not draft documents for you. First, check with the consulate 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
  • your original valid British passport
  • the correct fee – see the list of fees
  • if you need an affidavit for a local partnership in Ecuador, please see above ‘Marriage documents’

Book an appointment for an affirmation/affidavit at the British Embassy Quito

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. British Embassies no longer sign life certificates. Please request this service from someone else listed on the document (for example a local notary, solicitor or doctor)

Please 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
  • your original valid British passport
  • the correct fee – see the list of fees

Book an appointment to witness a signature at the British Embassy Quito

Make a certified copy of a document

This service is for customers who need certified photocopies of their British passports. We cannot certify any other type of document.

What you will need to bring with you:

  • your original valid British passport
  • the correct fee – see the list of fees

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

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
  • your original valid British passport
  • the correct fee – see the list of fees

Book an appointment to unite documents at the British Embassy Quito

Informative notes

The British Embassy does not issue certificates of name or change of name. Under UK law, parents may give their child any forename or surname and a person may change a surname or assume any forename.

For more details, please see the Change of Name informative document we have produced, which you can print if necessary.

Alternatively, you can submit a Freedom of Information Request to HM Passport Office, asking for confirmation that you were the holder of your previous passport(s). Please visit HM Passport Office for further information and contact details. British consulates cannot answer any queries on this subject.

The British Embassy Quito has produced an information note, which explains the recognition in English law of a marriage contracted outside the United Kingdom under foreign local law. You can print this Informative note: Validity of marriages.

Informative note: Registering a child with one or two surnames.

For children born in Ecuador with foreign parents, through Article 38 of the new “Ecuadorean Organic Law on Identity and Civil Data Management 2016”, the British Embassy Quito has agreed with the local Civil Registry Office that for children born to British parents in Ecuador this law will be applied upon the submission of the attached official document.

From 1 October 2013, we no longer provide notarial and documentary services to Commonwealth citizens in countries where they do not have any diplomatic representation, unless there is a clear UK connection to the document or service.

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.

The British Embassy Quito no longer handles applications for renunciation and naturalisation or registration as a British citizen. All applications are now handled by the UK Border Agency.

The British Embassy Quito no longer provides any legalisation service. The FCDO’s Legalisation Office is the only official body to legalise documents issued in the UK. Bear in mind that educational documents must be certified first by a UK public notary.

The Faculty Office shares a list of UK public notaries. Some may be able to receive university documents from people overseas by post/courier.

Visit the Legalisation Office for general information for legalising UK documents/certificates.

For other document services please follow:

Data protection

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office holds and uses data for purposes notified to the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 2018. 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 service and to satisfy themselves that the service provided by the embassy/consulate will be accepted.

Published 16 April 2013
Last updated 25 July 2023 + show all updates
  1. Updated with new information on signing of life certificates.

  2. Updated version

  3. Updated version

  4. Revised and updated May 2021

  5. Update

  6. updated version

  7. FCDO merger - updated version

  8. Updated version: August 2020

  9. updated version of page

  10. Updated version of services provided

  11. updated document February 2018

  12. updated version

  13. updated version

  14. Changes made to Notarial and Documentary Services

  15. First published.