Notarial Services

Consistent with U.S. law and Department of State policy, U.S. Consular Officers may provide specific notarial services for any person regardless of nationality so long as the document being notarized is required for use within the jurisdiction of the United States and authorized by relevant U.S. law. For documents to be used in Singapore please consult a local notary public (listed in the telephone directory; the Embassy also maintains a list of notaries public registered with the Embassy and the Singaporean authorities). For documents to be used in another jurisdiction, such as Malaysia or Thailand, you may wish to consult with the corresponding authorities in that jurisdiction or the local representative.

Prerequisites for U.S. Notarial Services

In order to receive notarial services from the Consular Section, the requestor must satisfy the following requirements:

• Present a current U.S. or other Government-issued document with name, photograph and signature, such as a passport, as proof of identity. Please be sure to bring identification that matches the name on the document. For example, we cannot notarize the signature "Jane Lee" if Ms. Lee can only present identification showing the name "Lee Huey-Pei";
• Completely fill in all blank spaces on the document, do not sign until requested to do so by a Consular Officer;
• Demonstrate that s/he understands the document to be signed and is signing voluntarily;
• Show that the transaction is not suspicious, potentially illegal, or irregular;
• As required under U.S. law, acknowledgements of documents by more than one person must be completed separately; and
• The officer providing the notarial service must not have a disqualifying interest.

Please note: If you wish to have your signature witnessed as well as notarized, you will need to provide your own witnesses. ACS employees are NOT allowed to act as witnesses for notarizations.

Limitations on Notarial Services
Further, U.S. law precludes the provision of notarial services in certain cases. Among others, consular officers may not provide notarial services in connection with:

• Authentication of U.S. documents such as birth, residency, marriage, divorce, and death certificates. Such documents must be authenticated in the U.S. for use overseas; for additional details, please consult the Department of State’s Office of Authentication, or 1-800-688-9889. Please see below for information on procedures for authentication of documents to be presented in the U.S.
• Copies of documents including certified true copies unless for use solely by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or the U.S. Social Security Administration;
• Academic credentials, transcripts or degrees; and
• Statements beyond the consular officer's knowledge, e.g. that a document satisfies specific legal requirements or that a person is the spouse of another or the employee of a certain business or corporation.

Hours:
U.S. citizens are welcome to come either from 8:30 am to 12:00 noon or from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday, except local and U.S. holidays. Non-U.S. citizens may come for notarial services only from 8:30 am to 12:00 noon, Monday through Friday, except local and U.S. holidays.

Fees:
The current fee for a notarial seal is US$30.00.  Each additional notarial seal provided at the same time in connection with the same transaction is US$20.00.  Fees are payable either in U.S. or equivalent Singapore dollars.  Travelers’ checks and credit cards (Visa, American Express, Diner's Club and Discover) are accepted.  However, personal checks and Singapore NET cards are not accepted.

Authentication or Legalization
Authentication or legalization is the procedure by which the authority of persons who issue or execute documents in one country may be recognized by another country.  For information on authentication of Singaporean documents, please directly contact the Singapore Academy of Law at 3 St. Andrew’s Road, Third Level, City Hall Building, Singapore 178958, tel 6332-4388 or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Tanglin, Singapore 248163, tel. 6379-8000.  It is also possible to have documents notarized by a local notary public for use in the United States if the notary public's signature is authenticated.  The U.S. Embassy maintains a list of notaries public registered with the Singapore Government and the Embassy whose signatures and seals we may authenticate.  This list is available from the American Citizen Services Unit of the Consular Section, tels. 6476-9251/9038 or fax 6476-9232.