For current information on the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong, please check our COVID-19 webpage. Detailed information for visitors traveling to or through Hong Kong is available here.
For these services, please make an appointment here: Appointment System. We encourage you to keep checking the online appointment system if you do not immediately find an open slot. You must be on time for your appointment. Individuals who arrive more than 15 minutes before their scheduled appointment time will not be permitted entry until their scheduled appointment time. Those excessively late will be denied entrance to the Consulate and asked to schedule a new appointment.
For us to notarize your documents, you must:
- Make an appointment and arrive at your designated appointment time. All notarial services are provided by appointment only.
- Bring your government-issued photo ID. A passport or Hong Kong ID card is best.
- Bring documents with the appropriate names, places, dates, initials, etc. already filled in. Please don’t sign them; you’ll sign at the Consulate in front of the consular officer.
- Familiarize yourself with your documents and know where notarizations are required.
- Be able to explain to a consular officer what the documents are and for what purpose they will be used.
- Bring the notarial fee of $50 USD or $400 HKD per notarial signature/stamp.
The U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau can notarize documents for any U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Non-U.S. citizens or residents may only use our notarial services if the document being notarized is for use in the United States.
Payment options are as follows:
- U.S. or local currency cash
- Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express or Diners Club. All credit card transactions are in U.S. dollars, as if the transaction occurred in the United States.
Please note that the Consulate cannot accept Hong Kong currency in denominations larger than $500 bills. Please also note that US $100 banknote series 1990 and also series 1914-1990 are no longer accepted.
Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney allows you to empower someone to act in your place, for example, to take some action on real estate in the U.S. on your behalf while you are in Hong Kong.
The preparation of legal forms is typically the task of an attorney. Examples of legal forms are available on-line (PDF 8.54 KB), but please keep in mind that the forms and their purposes can vary widely from one jurisdiction to another. We cannot advise you on the specific language needed in your Power of Attorney; please consult a lawyer or other advisor for assistance before coming to see us to notarize the document.
Affidavits
An Affidavit is a sworn statement made by an individual. Please write out the statement you wish to attest or swear to, but do not sign the form until instructed to do so by the Consular Officer.
The preparation of legal forms is typically the task of an attorney. Examples of legal forms are available on-line (PDF 7.55 KB), but please keep in mind that the forms and their purposes can vary widely from one jurisdiction to another. We cannot advise you on the specific language needed in your sworn statement; please consult a lawyer or other advisor for assistance before coming to see us to notarize the document.
Medallion Signature Guarantee
Unfortunately we cannot perform a Medallion Signature Guarantee, which is a special type of signature acknowledgement sometimes required for the exchange of securities. The Consulate does not have a list of Medallion Program member institutions. Please contact your financial institution for guidance on this matter.
A Medallion Signature Guarantee can only be obtained from a participant in one of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved programs, such as a commercial bank, brokerage firm, credit union or savings and loans institutions that are members of the Medallion Stamp Program. For more information on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Medallion Program, please visit “Signature Guarantees: Preventing the Unauthorized Transfer of Securities” web page.
Notarial Alternatives
The United States, Hong Kong and Macau are all parties to the Hague Convention. Therefore, documents notarized in Hong Kong or Macau can be recognized in the United States if they are properly authenticated. A list of attorneys in Hong Kong and Macau who provide notarial services is available on our “Legal Assistance” web page, those in Hong Kong under “Notary Matters” and those in Macau under “List of Attorneys/Law Firms in Macau.”
After having your documents notarized at a law firm in Hong Kong or Macau, please take your documents to the Hong Kong High Court or to the Chief Executive of the Secretary for Administration and Justice in Macau for an apostille, an attachment that will make the document recognized for use in the United States. See under the “Authentication” tab for additional information.
Please note that the Consulate cannot assume responsibility for the professional ability or integrity of the law firms or persons whose names appear on the above Legal Assistance (Notary Matters) list. They are arranged alphabetically; the order in which they appear has no other significance.
Limitations
Please note that the Consulate cannot authenticate or provide copies of documents such as birth, marriage, divorce or death certificates, U.S. driver’s licenses, academic transcripts, diplomas or the like.
Authentication
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. It is 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 United States, Hong Kong, and Macau are parties to the Hague Convention which abolishes the requirement of diplomatic and consular legalization for public documents originating in one Convention member and intended for use in another. Because of the Convention, consular officers are prohibited from authenticating documents in Hong Kong or Macau for use in the United States.
For information on authenticating U.S. documents for use in either Hong Kong or Macau, please contact the State Department’s Office of Authentication. That website also maintains information on other members to this Hague Convention and their designated Central Authorities.
For information on authenticating Macau documents for use in the United States, please contact the Chief Executive of the Secretary for Administration and Justice or the Director of Justice Affairs, Department of the Macau Special Administrative Region.
For information on authenticating Hong Kong documents for use in the United States, please contact the Hong Kong High Court general hotline at Tel: 2825-4226, Monday through Friday, 8:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and see their apostille service page for additional information.
Remote Notarial Service
For information concerning remote notarial and authentication services, we direct you to the following recently updated Department of State webpage. Please note that remote notarial services may only be provided in accordance with the laws and regulations of the U.S. state that commissioned the notary public and the laws of the state or country where the document is notarized.
Last modified: April 23, 2024
