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Notarials
Notarial services are available for all nationalities by appointment
NOTARIALS AND OTHER DOCUMENT SERVICES (scroll down to view all services)

Make a Notarial Appointment Using our Online Appointment System.

Appointments for Notary services are scheduled on Tuesday and Friday mornings 9:00-11:00 am

Schedule U.S. Citizens Services appointments

Notarials

Hand signing document

The U.S. Embassy in Eswatini offers routine notary services for documents to be used in the United States.

All notary services are by appointment only and must be made on our appointment system: ACS Appointment System 

We can notarize only the signatures of those who are present to sign in front of a Notarizing Officer. Individuals needing notary services must appear in person at their scheduled appointment time and present the following:

  • Complete, unsigned documents to be notarized. Each document is different; please look over your documents carefully to ensure you know where a notary is required (this should be stated to you by the entity accepting your documents). Even if there are pages that do not require signature or seals, you must present the entire packet.  The Consular staff is not able to tell you where notary signatures are required.
  • The document must be in English.
  • Government-issued photo identification such as a valid passport.
  • If you are signing on behalf of a corporation, LLC, etc., you are required to provide proof that you are authorized to sign on behalf of the organization.
  • Pay the appropriate fees. You will pay $50 USD or local equivalent, at the Embassy on the day of appointment, for each notary seal required. Fees must be paid in U.S. Dollars, South African Rand, or Swazi Emalangeni in cash at the time the service is provided.  We accept U.S.-based credit cards only.  We do not accept debit cards.  You may pay via pay.gov.
  • If a witness is required, you must arrange for your own witnesses and they should appear at the Embassy with you. Consular staff cannot witness your documents.
  • Be of sound mind, understand the document you want notarized, and sign of your own free will. Consular staff is not permitted to explain contents of the documents to you.

Prior to your appointment, you should review your documents to understand what is needed.  Consular officers cannot provide legal advice and may not be familiar with your particular document.  If you have questions or do not understand the document(s), please direct your questions to an attorney or the agency/individual which issued the document.    

Do not sign the document until requested to do so by the notarizing officer.

Depending on the nature of the document, the notarizing officer will either take an acknowledgement that your signature was done freely and with an understanding of the document’s contents or administer an oath whereby you swear or affirm the contents of a document are true.  (Note: Notarizing officers do not certify that the contents of submitted documents are true.  A notarizing officer only certifies that you have signed and sworn or affirmed under oath that the contents are true.)  Notarizing officers are prohibited from offering legal advice regarding the form or content of documents to be notarized.  The embassy staff cannot complete the form or statement for you.  You should clearly understand the document and the requirements set by your financial institution, government agency, or attorney.  

Refusal of Notary Services

Notarial services may be refused under the following conditions:

  • It is prohibited by treaty or foreign law
  • It is prohibited by U.S. law
  • The notarizing officer believes the document will be used for a purpose patently unlawful, improper or inimical to the best interests of the United States
  • The document is blank
  • The individual does not appear to be capable of understanding the nature or language of the instrument
  • The individual is unable to comprehend the significance of the act and/or is acting under duress
  • The document is incorrect
  • The individual has invalid, inadequate or insufficient proof of identification
  • The proof of a corporate title or position is lacking or inadequate, and/or the service is a medallion signature guarantee (only financial institutions can provide a signature guarantee/medallion guarantee service)

 

Apostilles

An apostille is an authentication that certifies the genuineness of the signature and/or seal or the position of a foreign official who has previously executed, issued, or certified a document so that a document executed or issued in one jurisdiction may be recognized in another jurisdiction.
Both the United States and Eswatini are parties to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Hague Apostille Convention).  This Convention eliminates the requirement for most diplomatic and consular authentication of public documents originating in one country party to the Convention that a requester intends to use in another country party to the Convention.  Instead documents receive an Apostille.
The U.S. Embassy does not provide apostille services.

For documents issued in the U.S. for use in Eswatini (or other signatory country):

A full list of the competent authorities who may place an apostille on a U.S. issued document is located: https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=353.  Once you have the Apostille issued on your document, in most cases there are no other steps to take and your document should be accepted in Eswatini.

For documents issued in Eswatini for use in the U.S. (or other signatory country):

The competent authority in Eswatini who may issue apostilles is:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
PO Box 518
MBABANE
Eswatini
+268-2404-2661
Once you have the Apostille issued on your document, in most cases there are no other steps to take and your document should be accepted in the United States.

Authentications

Both the United States and Eswatini are parties to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Hague Apostille Convention).  This Convention eliminates the requirement for most diplomatic and consular authentication of public documents originating in one country party to the Convention that a requester intends to use in another country party to the Convention.  Instead documents receive an Apostille.  The U.S. Embassy does not provide apostille services. 
If you have an Eswatini- or U.S.-issued document for use in a non-signatory country, you may need to go through the full Authentication process.  This is a lengthy process.

Documents issued in the U.S.:

The document will first need to be authenticated by the issuing authority (i.e. county clerk), then by the next level authority (i.e. Secretary of State for the state that your document was issued in), then the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications, then the U.S. Embassy in Eswatini will put the final authentication on the document.  Please note that the Embassy is not able to authenticate any educational documents.  The Embassy is not able to assist you in going through this process.

For documents issued in Eswatini for use in non-signatory countries:

Please contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Eswatini to learn what steps need to be taken for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to authenticate the document.  Once the MFA authenticates the document, you may need to ask the Embassy of the country where the document will be used to put a final authentication on the document.  The U.S. Embassy is not involved in this process.

Affidavit to Marry

Some countries require this type of a document as proof of your legal ability to enter into a marriage contract.
The Embassy cannot attest to your marital status. However, you may write a statement confirming that you can marry, and a U.S. consular officer can then notarize your signature on the document.  The Embassy will not make any statement to your ability to marry.
More information on marriage  abroad is found:  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/while-abroad/marriage-abroad.html

Certification of True Copies

The U.S. Embassy is able to certify true copies of the following documents only:
  • Documents for use with Social Security applications or USCIS immigration services
We are not able to certify a true copy of any other document.
However, you may write a statement that you confirm that the document you are referring to is authentic, real, etc.  The Embassy will notarize your signature on this document, but will not make any statements to the authenticity or validity of the document. You will need to bring the original document and a copy.  Please confirm with the party accepting your documents if this will suffice.   See additional information under Notarials.

Useful Information

Notarial Services of U.S. Consular Officers Abroad

U.S. Birth Certificate Apostilles

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