Guidance

Guatemala: notarial and documentary services

Documents, certificates, letters and notes available at the British Consulate in Guatemala.

Overview

The British consulate can provide a range of notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Guatemala.

Where local notaries can provide services, the British consulate will not provide them. In many cases local notaries or lawyers in Guatemala or Honduras 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. A member of staff will contact you to confirm 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 another authority either in Guatemala or Honduras, the UK or a third country.

Services we provide in Guatemala

Some services are not available directly in Honduras – please call us for advice.

Consular staff in Guatemala can:

  • administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit
  • witness a signature
  • make a certified copy of a document
  • unite documents 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 the services provided by the British embassy in Guatemala.

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 cash in the local currency on the day of the appointment. We also accept payment by debit or credit card. The cards we accept are Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards. If paying by credit card the payment authorisation slip must be completed Credit and Debit Card Slip (MS Word Document, 66 KB)

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. We accept official documents, including utility bills, as proof of your address.

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
  • the correct fee – see the list of fees
  • proof of identity/address

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

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:

  • the document that you will sign before a witness
  • the correct fee – see the list of consular fees
  • proof of identity/address

Book an appointment to witness a signature in the British Embassy Guatemala

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.

What you will need to bring with you:

  • the document that you need a certified copy of
  • the correct fee – see the list of fees
  • proof of identity/address

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

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
  • the correct fee – see the list of fees
  • proof of identity/address

Book an appointment to unite documents in the British Embassy Guatemala

Other services we provide

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. If you still cannot find what you are looking for you can contact the embassy.

Contact

The telephone number for the British consulate in Guatemala City is 00 502 2380 7300.

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 17 April 2013
Last updated 14 April 2015 + show all updates
  1. Credit and Debit slip note attached

  2. Updates on Services

  3. First published.