Notarial and documentary services guide for Lebanon
Documents, certificates, letters and notes available at British consulates in Lebanon.
Introduction
The British Embassy Beirut can provide a range of notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Lebanon.
Where local notaries can provide services, the British consulate will not provide them. In many cases local notaries or lawyers can provide services more conveniently, quickly and cheaply.
You must make an appointment for each service that requires your personal attendance. Use the links after each service to make an 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 Lebanon, the UK or a third country. Refunds of consular fees are not given for certificates or notarial services that are not accepted by the requesting authority.
Services we provide in Lebanon:
Consular staff in Lebanon can:
- administer an oath or affirmation
- witness a signature
- make a certified copy of a British passport
- prepare a document in English
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 Beirut
What to bring to your appointment
See the individual services below for details of supporting documents to bring. Make sure you have the payment for any fees. See the full list of consular fees.
Payment
We accept and encourage payment by international credit or debit card on the day of the appointment. If you need to apply for an Emergency Travel document please check our ETD Online service.
Administer an oath or affirmation
This service is for people who need to administer an oath, affirmation or Statutory Declaration (Affidavit, Affirmation of Marital Status). 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 or affirmation that you will swear or affirm
- the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
- proof of identity
Book an appointment to administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit at the British Embassy Beirut
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 witness signatures on wills or Power of Attorney documents.
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
- the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
- proof of identity
Book an appointment to witness a signature at the British Embassy Beirut
Make a certified copy of a document
This service is for customers who need certified photocopies of British passports only.
What you will need to bring with you:
- the British passport that you need a certified copy of (in person)
- the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
Book an appointment to make a certified copy at the British Embassy Beirut
Make a certified copy of UK educational documents
The British Council can provide a certified copy of UK educational documents to be used in Lebanon (only those that have been issued in the UK by a recognised institution and are listed on the Legalisation Office website.
Various informative notes and letters
This service is for customers who require a stamped version of one of our standard information note letters. You can download it free of charge to present to relevant authorities, such as Schengen missions.
- recognition or Validity of Marriage for Schengen visas
- certificate of good conduct in the UK
- change of name in the UK
- divorce certificate (E-Versions)
- electoral Roll
- nationality – Conformation of British Nationality
- nationality – Holder of British passport
- recognition or Validity of Marriage
- visa recommendation Letters
- overview about the Lebanese marriage Law
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.
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
Services provided by other authorities
- legalisation of a UK documents for use in Lebanon
Please note the British Embassy Beirut is no longer able to legalise documents. We have stopped legalising signatures of Non-represented Commonwealth countries. Please see the information note. Legalisation Information Note .
- to legalise a UK public document you should now contact the FCDO legalisation office (LO) in the UK. Customers can apply online. After the FCDO has legalised your document it should then be stamped by the Lebanese Embassy in London and finally the Lebanese MFA. Adding the British Embassy stamp at the end of this process adds no value and simply causes the customer extra expense. Please see the information note
- legalizing UK documents/certificates: Legalisation Office
- provide copies of British birth, death & marriage certificates: General Register Office
- renew British driving licences or provide certificates regarding British driving licences: DVLA
- provide good conduct certificates: Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly the Criminal Records Bureau)
- certificates confirming British nationality: UK Border Agency If you cannot find what you are looking for, please refer to the list of services which may be provided elsewhere.
Disclaimer
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office holds and uses data for purposes notified to the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998 (which may be viewed at https://ico.org.uk/. Such personal data may be disclosed to other UK government departments and public authorities.
Last updated 2 November 2017 + show all updates
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First published.
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Various informative notes and letters
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uploading attachement