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Notarials
Notarial services are available for all nationalities by appointment

Appointment System

For non-emergency matters such as notary services, only customers with appointments will be admitted into the Consular Section. Please consult our Appointment System for American Citizen Services.

Overview

Hand signing documentNotarial services are for all nationalities and are by appointment only. Normally the document to be notarized is for use within the United States, although there may be exceptions. If you have multiple documents to be notarized, you should only make one appointment. You will pay $50 USD, at the Embassy or Consulate on your day of appointment, for each notary seal required.

On the day of your appointment, you must:

  • Bring the complete, unsigned documents to be notarized. Even if there are pages that do not require signature or seals, you must present the entire packet.
  • Present a valid government-issued ID such as a passport or driver’s license. The name on the documents must be the same as the name on your ID.
  • Pay $50 USD per notary seal.
  • Be of sound mind and understand the document you want notarized. Consular staff is not permitted to explain contents to you.
  • If your notary service requires a witness, you must arrange for your own witnesses. Consular staff cannot witness your documents.

Examples of Notarial Services Performed At No Charge

DS-3053: To notarize a DS-3053 Statement of Consent: Issuance of a U.S. Passport To a Minor Under Age 16 (PDF, 345K), please review the instructions listed on the form, the information fields that must be completed, and bring your original, valid, government-issued photo ID as well as a photocopy of both sides. As the U.S. Department of State requires that this form be notarized, this service is performed free of charge.Scales, Seal, Pen

Power of Attorney (in conjunction with U.S. passport applications): When both parents are unable to be personally present to apply for a minor’s U.S. passport, and they wish to designate a third party to do so, they may sign a power of attorney (POA) before a notary public. This POA must contain specific data fields; see a sample.  Note that photocopies of both sides of each parents’ original, valid, government-issued photo ID must be included with the POA. As the U.S. Department of State requires that this form be notarized, this service is performed free of charge.

At the Direct Request of a U.S. Municipal, State or Federal Entity

At the Direct Request of a Foreign Government

For documents originating in Hungary

Notary services are available to all U.S. citizens and foreign nationals for documents destined to be used in the United States.  Notary services are executed by consular officers and may include documents to be signed before them, statements made under oath, powers of attorney, affidavits and acknowledgements.  The American Citizen Services section provides these services by appointment.
To have a document notarized, you must come in person with the following documents:

  • A valid passport or identification card;
  • The document(s) to be notarized (please do not sign the documents until you are in front of a consular officer);
  • The fee of 50 USD (or HUF equivalent) for each seal payable in cash or by credit card (personal checks are not accepted);
  • If your document needs to be witnessed, please bring your witnesses with you or be prepared to ask other clients in the waiting room to be your witnesses.

The Consular Section does not provide signature guarantee service.  We are likewise unaware of any place in Budapest that provides signature guarantee service.  If you are requested to provide a signature guarantee, please ask the requestor to make an exception and accept a notarization from the U.S. Embassy in lieu of a signature guarantee.

Apostilles

Because Hungary and the United States are parties to the Hague Convention on the Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, there is an alternative procedure for the notarization of Hungarian-origin documents destined for use in the United States.  This alternative notarization procedure is called an Apostille, and is provided by the Hungarian Government.  This process legalizes Hungarian documents for use in the United States.

For more information about the Apostille process please contact the following authorities:

  • Hungarian National Notarial Chamber (provides Apostille for documents notarized by a Hungarian notary public and for translations of the same done by the National Translation Office -OFFI or any specialized translator) Magyar Országos Közjegyzői Kamara, 1087 Budapest, Strobl Alajos utca 3/B., Tel.:  +36-1-455-1680
  • Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (provides Apostille for documents issued by the Hungarian Tax Authority and other official documents)
    Külgazdasági és Külügyminisztérium, Consular Department
    1027 Budapest, Nagy Imre ter 4.,
    Tel:  +36-1-458-1000
  • Ministry of Justice (provides Apostille for documents issued by the Hungarian courts or by the Ministry of Justice)
    Igazságügyi Minisztérium
    1051 Budapest, Roosevelt tér 1-3.,
    Tel:  +36-1-441-1849

For documents originating in the United States

Sometimes documents originating in the United States require an Apostille issued by competent U.S. authorities for recognition in Hungary.  Documents legalized by Apostille need no authentication by U.S. Consular Officers.

List of State Authentication Authorities Issuing Apostille
(PDF 55KB)
If you have further questions please call ACS at 475-4164 between 8:00 am – 4:30 pm Monday-Friday.