Citizen Services
Notarizing your signature on a document for use in the United States
If you are currently in Colombia and have been requested to sign a document in front of a U.S. notary for purposes of using the document in the United States, the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá and the U.S. Consular Agency in Barranquilla can assist. Notary services are available regardless of your nationality.
Notary services at the Embassy are available from 8:30 a.m. to noon, Monday through Thursday, except U.S. and Colombian holidays. Please click here for directions to the Embassy. Notary services at the U.S. Consular Agency in Barranquilla are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to noon; no appointment is necessary.
The cost for notary services is $30 for the first signature and $20 for each additional one. The fee may be paid in cash, in dollars or pesos. Checks are not accepted. At the Embassy only, you may pay with MasterCard, Visa, or American Express. Your document(s) will be prepared and notarized while you wait.
Please be aware that the Embassy cannot notarize your signature on a document that will be used anywhere other than in the United States. Documents to be used in Colombia should be signed in front of a local Colombian notary. A Spanish-language directory of Colombian notaries is available from the Colombian government’s Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro. (https://supernotariado.gov.co).
U.S. consular officials also cannot authenticate U.S. or Colombian public documents, such as birth, marriage, or death certificates. Please see our information on apostilles for instructions on how to authenticate a Colombian public document for use in the United States, or a public document from the United States for use in Colombia.
Notary services also available through Colombian notaries and Colombian Foreign Ministry
For those who would prefer not to travel to the U.S. Embassy or Consular Agency for notary services, another option is available. Documents may instead be signed in front of a Colombian notary, and then taken to the Colombian Foreign Ministry in Bogotá for an apostille. Once the apostille is issued, the document may then be used in the United States. Some courier services in Colombia may be willing to deliver your document to the Foreign Ministry on your behalf, avoiding the need for you to personally travel to the Foreign Ministry in Bogotá. You should contact those services directly for further information.
The cost of this option can be significantly lower than fees charged at the Embassy or Consular Agency. Be aware, however, that some Colombian notaries may be unwilling to notarize documents that are not printed in Spanish. Also note that some parties in the United States may be unfamiliar with the apostille process and may therefore be reluctant to accept your signature if it has been authenticated in this way.