Notarize a U.S. document from anywhere in the world

Three ways to get a U.S. document notarized abroad

Online, with a U.S. notary. Remote online notarization (RON) connects you with a notary commissioned in a U.S. state over a recorded video call. You upload the document, verify your identity, and sign on screen; the notary applies an electronic seal. It costs $25 per session here, runs 24/7, and needs no appointment.

At a U.S. embassy or consulate. Consular officers perform notarial services for $50 per seal under the State Department's fee schedule. Most posts require an appointment, offer limited slots during weekday business hours, and are only in the capital and a few large cities, so for many people the visit means travel and time off work.

With a local notary. A notary in the country you live in can notarize the document under that country's law. That is a foreign notarization, not a U.S. one: its certificate wording may not match what the U.S. recipient expects, and U.S. offices often ask for an apostille or other authentication from that country before they accept it.

Is online notarization legal when you're outside the U.S.?

Usually, yes. Under U.S. remote notarization laws, what matters is where the notary is: they must be physically in the state that commissioned them. Most state laws let the signer be anywhere.

States that follow the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts add conditions when the signer is outside the United States. The document generally has to relate to a matter before a U.S. court or government agency, to property located in the U.S., or to a transaction substantially connected with the United States, and the notarization must not be prohibited by the law of the country you are in. Most documents Americans abroad need notarized (powers of attorney, deeds, account forms, affidavits for U.S. courts) fall inside those conditions.

If you are unsure whether your document qualifies, ask the office that will receive it or an attorney. Notaron does not provide legal advice.

Verifying your identity from another country

You need an unexpired passport or other government-issued photo ID. You photograph it in the browser, it is checked for security features, and the notary compares it with your face on the video call. A U.S. passport works, and so do most foreign passports.

Most online notary platforms also require knowledge-based authentication: a short quiz built from U.S. credit records. Nobody without a U.S. Social Security number can pass it, which is why many Americans who have lived abroad for years, and most non-citizens, get turned away. If you don't have an SSN, tell us and we skip the quiz and match you with a Florida notary, who confirms your identity from your verified ID on camera. Same price, no extra step.

Apostille or legalization: using a U.S. document in another country

If the document is going to a U.S. bank, agency, court or county, the notarization is all you need. If it is going to an office in another country, that office will usually want proof that the U.S. notary is genuine.

For the more than 120 countries that are party to the Hague Apostille Convention, that proof is an apostille: a certificate issued by the Secretary of State of the notary's commissioning state. Most states apostille remotely notarized documents the same way as paper ones; some ask for a printed copy first.

For countries outside the Convention, the document needs legalization instead, which takes three steps: authentication by the notary's commissioning state, then by the U.S. Department of State, then legalization by that country's embassy or consulate in the United States. Each country page below says which route applies, and the lists further down sort every country we cover.

What documents can be notarized online from abroad?

Most documents that need a notary's acknowledgment or a sworn statement can be: powers of attorney, deeds and other real estate documents, affidavits and sworn statements, consent letters for a child's travel, USPS Form 1583 for a virtual mailbox, retirement and brokerage account forms, vehicle title paperwork, and business documents such as corporate resolutions.

A few documents need more care. Some states restrict remote notarization of wills and certain estate documents, some recipients still insist on wet ink, and some foreign governments require a document for their own use to be notarized at their consulate. When the receiving party has its own instructions, follow them.

Checklist before you start

1. 1Ask the receiving office whether it accepts a remote online notarization, and whether it needs an apostille.
2. 2Have the final document ready as a PDF or clear photos, unsigned — you sign during the session.
3. 3Use an unexpired passport or government photo ID that matches the name on the document.
4. 4Find a quiet, well-lit spot with a steady connection; the session is recorded on video.
5. 5If the document is going to another country, plan the apostille or legalization step after notarization.