Guidance

USA: notarial and documentary services guide

Documents, certificate, letters, and notes available from the British embassy and consulates in the USA.

The British embassy and certain consulates in the United States can provide a limited range of notarial and document services for British nationals.

In the USA, local notaries, lawyers, accountants and international banks are located in all major cities and can offer notarial services conveniently, quickly and affordably. Where local notaries can deliver these services, the British embassy and consulates do not offer them.

We recommend that you check with the relevant authority (e.g. courts, bank, city hall, registry, tax authorities etc) to explain this to them. The British embassy and consulates cannot contact them for you.

Overview

You must make an appointment for each service that requires your personal attendance. Use the links after each service to make an appointment. A member of staff will contact you to confirm your appointment.

Before making an appointment, 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 the USA, the UK or a third country.

Services we provide in the USA

Consular staff in the USA can:

  • make a certified copy of a British passport for US IRS ITIN purposes

  • issue a no objection statement for US J1 visa

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, please check the services offered at our other locations in the USA.

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.

British Passports for US IRS ITIN purposes

A certified copy of British passports for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Individual Tax Payer Identification Number purposes (ITIN) should be obtained through IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centres.

If you are unable to secure this service from the IRS, you will need to obtain a letter from them confirming they are unable to certify a copy of your passport at a specified location.

You can get a certified copy of your British passport for ITIN purposes from our Consulates, for a fee, when supported by written confirmation from the IRS. We do not accept written confirmation from a third party, such as a company preparing taxes on your behalf.

What you will need to bring with you:

  • written confirmation from the IRS that they cannot verify your passport

  • the correct fee – see our list of fees

  • the applicant’s British passport

No objection statement for US J1 visa

This service is for J1 Exchange visa holders who need a status of no objection in order to seek a waiver of the 2 year home residency requirement as specified in Section 212(e) of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act. We can provide a statement of no objection to the US Department of State to fulfil this requirement for British passport holders only. Residents, or former residents, of the UK who do not hold a British passport should contact the Embassy of the country who issued their passport.

What you need to provide

  • a copy of the applicant’s case file number and third party barcode page from the US Department of State

  • a copy of the applicant’s British passport photograph page

  • a copy of the applicant’s certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status (Form DS2019 /IAP-66).

  • a completed application form for a no objection statement from the Embassy.

  • a completed credit card authorisation form for the correct fee (Fee 2(i)) - see our list of fees

  ⚠️ This service is available by mail only:

 

British Consular Services (Attn: J1)
British Embassy
3100 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington DC 20008

Confirmation that your application has been processed and forwarded to the US Department of State will be sent to you within 14 business days of receiving your application.

Services we do not provide

Administering an oath, affirmation or affidavit, witnessing a signature, or certifying copies of documents.

The British embassy and consulates do not offer these services as local notaries and lawyers may provide them instead. Please contact a local notary or lawyer for these services.

Life certificates for British pensions

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.

UK police certificates

A certificate showing whether or not you have a criminal history in the United Kingdom is available from the Association of Chief Police Officers

Births, deaths and marriages

Registration

Find out how to register an overseas birth or death in the UK, and documents required for couples marrying or entering into civil partnerships abroad.

Copies of certificates

Copies of British birth, death, and marriage certificates are available from the General Register Offices in the United Kingdom.

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.

Published 10 May 2013
Last updated 2 February 2022 + show all updates
  1. Updated guidance on documents, certificate, letters, and notes available from the British embassy and consulates in the USA.

  2. Change in confirmation of processing J1 Visa Application to 14 business days.

  3. The option to make an appointment on-line has been added. We've also updated instructions from obtaining certified copies of British passports for US IRS ITIN purposes.

  4. Updated to include new consular appointment process and contact information for British Embassy Washington and British consulates general across the United States.

  5. updated information to include links to the appointment booking system for all notarial appts.

  6. First published.