Guidance

Notarial and documentary services guide for Montenegro

Documents, certificates, letters and notes available at the British Embassy Podgorica.

The British Embassy Podgorica temporarily suspends notarial services due to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until further notice.

Overview

The British Embassy Podgorica can provide a range of notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Montenegro.

Where local notaries can provide services, the British Embassy Podgorica 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 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 Montenegro, the UK or a third country.

Services we provide in Montenegro

Consular staff in Montenegro can:

  • administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit
  • witness a signature
  • make a certified copy of a document
  • unite documents
  • prepare a document in English or the local language
  • convert a civil partnership to marriage

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 Montenegro.

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 credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and Maestro) in GBP or cash in the local currency on the day of the appointment.

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 identity cards as proof of identity.

We accept following documents as proof of your address:

  • registration certificate
  • utility bill (not one printed off the Internet)
  • bank/credit card statement (not one printed off the internet)
  • police report if residence permit has been lost/stolen/damaged

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 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:

Book an appointment to administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit in British Embassy Podgorica

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.

Please do not sign the document before your appointment.

What you will need to bring with you:

Book an appointment to witness a signature in British Embassy Podgorica

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.

We are not able to provide certified photocopies of:

  • any foreign documents including ID documents, passports and driving licences
  • British marriage, birth and death certificates: you should apply to the General Register Office for copies of these documents
  • UK driving licences. Contact the DVLA for information on the services they can provide regarding UK driving licences.

What you will need to bring with you:

Book an appointment to make a certified copy in British Embassy Podgorica

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:

Book an appointment to unite documents in British Embassy Podgorica

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 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 and 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. Please ensure you select the correct service and note the difference in fees.

Informative note - Change of name in the UK

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Informative note - Validity of a foreign marriage in the UK

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Letter - Driving licences

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Letter - Military service

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Letter of no objection to adoption overseas

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

What you will need to bring with you:

Book an appointment to prepare a document in English in British Embassy Podgorica

Book an appointment to prepare a document in another language in British Embassy Podgorica

Convert a civil partnership to marriage

This service is for couples who wish to convert an existing civil partnership into marriage. For information on getting married or entering into a civil partnership, see getting married abroad. You do not need to have formed your civil partnership in Montenegro, but you must have been living here for 28 days. We can only convert civil partnerships formed between two British nationals.

It is our duty to notify you that this kind of marriage cannot have legal consequences in Montenegro, be introduced in any legal action, annulled, derogated, divorced or discontinued because of death, while separation, division or inheritance, of goods and assets, would not be possible in accordance with the Montenegrin Family Law. Read what you need to know about converting a civil partnership and then book your appointment using the link/links below.

What you will need to bring with you:

  • your passport
  • your partner’s passport
  • your original civil partnership certificate
  • proof of residence, such as an employer’s letter, bank statement, utility bills, immigration stamps or hotel bills
  • the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options

Book an appointment to convert a civil partnership to marriage at British Embassy Podgorica

Other services we provide

Receiving a notice of an intended marriage

Issuing a certificate of no impediment to an intended marriage

Contact the local authorities in the country where you want to get married or enter into a civil partnership to find out what you need to do. Your marriage or civil partnership should be recognised in the UK if you follow the correct process according to local law. You might be asked to get certain documents from the UK government if you’re a British national. Use this tool to find out which documents you can get and how to apply for them.

Administering and oath of British Citizenship under the British Nationality Act

Certificates of British Citizenship are sent direct to the British Embassy Podgorica. You will be contacted by consular staff when the certificate has arrived to arrange a date for administering the oath of citizenship.

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.

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.

Visit the Legalisation Office website for information on how to get official confirmation that your UK public documentation is genuine, so it can be accepted by foreign authorities. The UK does not require any documents to be legalised for use within the UK.

Data protection

The FCDO 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.

Published 3 March 2015
Last updated 25 March 2020 + show all updates
  1. Information from British Embassy Podgorica on temporary suspension of notarial services due to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, until further notice.

  2. Updated August 2018

  3. Updated content as advised by Consular Directorate (FCO)

  4. First published.

  5. Removal of service provided in Podgorica: declaration of existence.

  6. Removing references to services provided in Montenegro (registering a birth, issuing a certified copy of an entry in the Consular Register of Births, registering a death, issuing a certified copy of an entry in the Consular Register of Deaths).