U.S. Embassy in Bolivia

Overview

Services We Can Provide:

• Affidavit: An affidavit is a sworn statement, prepared by the affiant (you).  Affidavits are used in many different situations for many different purposes.  We cannot prepare affidavits, and we cannot advise on the specific language needed in individual cases.  Please consult a lawyer or other advisor for that type of assistance before bringing affidavits to be executed.  Do not sign the affidavit before you come to the Embassy since you will be required to do so in front of a Consular Officer, whose role is to confirm the identity of the person making the statement.
• Power of Attorney: A power of attorney allows you to designate someone to take legal actions on your behalf.  A common example of this is empowering someone else to buy or sell property in the United States in your name while you are overseas.  We cannot advise you on the specific language or content of a power of attorney, so you may wish to consult a lawyer or other appropriate advisor before coming to see us to have your power of attorney notarized.
• Acknowledgement of Signature: An Acknowledgement of Signature or Acknowledgement of Execution is a notarial service which verifies that a particular person signed a given document.  It is often used for legal agreements, business documents, etc.  It is also used when more than two signatures are required on the document but all of the parties who must sign are not present.  We can notarize (or acknowledge) only the signatures of those who are present to sign in front of us or appear in front of us and verify that they have signed the document.
• Authentication of documents sealed and signed by the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  This service is only provided at the Embassy in La Paz.

Requirements:

• A valid government-issued photo ID.
• If the document which you will need to have notarized has blank spaces, be sure to complete them with the correct data before you come to your appointment. Do not sign the document before you come to the Embassy since you will be required to do so in front of a Consular Officer/Agent.
• Make sure you understand your document.  We are not allowed to explain its contents to you nor translate the document for your understanding
• Please mark the pages where you and the notary need to sign. The Consular staff cannot advise you in any way on what is required of you for your documents so come to the appointment fully prepared.
• Pay the appropriate fee: $50 per seal.  All fees are payable in U.S. Dollars or the equivalent in Bolivianos at the Embassy’s exchange rate.  A combination of U.S. dollars and Bolivianos will not be accepted.
• If your document requires the presence of witnesses in addition to the notarization, you are responsible for providing these witnesses. Consular staff cannot act as witnesses.  Please make sure to include the names of your witnesses on your appointment.

Please be aware that the Consular Officer/Agent may refuse any notarial service when:

• The host country does not authorize the performance of the service.
• The document will be used in transactions that may be prohibited by U.S. law.
• The Consular Officer/Agent believes that the document will be used for a purpose that is unlawful, improper, or inimical to the best interests of the United States.
• The Consular Officer/Agent does not understand the document, due to language or any other reason.
• The Consular Officer/Agent believes the customer does not understand the document to be notarized, due to language or any other reason.

Due to government regulations, we cannot provide the following services:

• We are not able to provide certification of foreign passports for use with an individual tax ID number per the Internal Revenue Service’s interim rule.
• U.S. Apostille: The Embassy cannot offer any apostille services.
• Authentication/Notarization/Legalization of public documents issued in the United States: Such documents include vital records (birth, marriage, death, and divorce), as well as academic, commercial, or other credentials.  Consular officers do not have access to the records of the issuing office or the seal of the custodian of these records.
• Certification of True Copies of Documents: The Embassy cannot provide certified true copies of educational transcripts or diplomas, bank statements, court documents, or other such official records.  Such requests should usually be addressed to the office which issued the document in question.  For example, certified true copies of academic records should be requested from the registrar of the institution that originally issued them.
• Certification of True Copies of Non-U.S. Documents
• Signature (or “Medallion”) Guarantees: Consular officers are not authorized to provide signature guarantee/medallion guarantee services.  A Medallion Signature Guarantee is not a notarial service, but rather a special procedure related to securities, which can only be performed by an authorized representative of a financial institution participating in a medallion program approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In order to provide more effective customer service, the American Citizens Services unit and the Consular Agency have an appointment system for all non-emergency services, including notarial services. We ask that you make an appointment before your visit.  Our system allows you to plan your visit in advance, ensures shorter wait times, and allows more efficient handling of individual cases. Only customers with appointments will be admitted into the Consular Section for all non-emergency matters.