Public Services
Notaries
Types of Services: Consular officers at the U.S. Embassy are authorized to perform certain notarial services, including taking acknowledgements of signatures on documents for use in the United States (such as deeds, powers of attorney, and bills of sale) and taking affidavits. The fee for notarial services is $30 or 9 Kuwaiti dinars for the first page and $20 or 6 dinars for every additional page.
Consular officers may only authenticate documents already bearing the stamp and seal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait or the stamp and seal of the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.
Therefore, American citizens planning to reside in Kuwait with their family members (wife, children) should have their U.S. documents (marriage certificate, children’s birth certificates, divorce decrees, custody orders, degrees) authenticated by the Department of State before coming to Kuwait.
The fee for this service is $30 or 9 KD.
Kuwaiti documents that do not bear the Ministry’s seal should be taken first to the Ministry’s Consular Department in Shuwaikh. American documents should be authenticated at the state level in the United States and then sent to the Department of State in Washington, D.C. Information on how to do this is available at the Embassy and on the Internet. Please go to http://travel.state.gov/law/info/judicial/judicial_701.html
The Consular Section does not certify true copies, except in the case of applications for taxpayer identification numbers. In this case, the fee for a certified true copy is is $30 or 9 Kuwaiti dinars for the first page and $20 or 6 KD for every additional page.
Translations: The Consular Section is not permitted to translate documents or to certify to the correctness of translations. However, consular officers are authorized to administer an oath to the translator executing an affidavit as to the correctness of a translation. They also may take an acknowledgment of the preparation of the translation, or certify that the seal and signature of a local translator affixed to a translation is the same seal and signature on file at the Embassy.
For a list of translators whose seals and signatures are on file at the Embassy, please visit the Embassy's list of translators. The fee for certifying the seal and signature of a local translator is $30 or 9 KD.
Please bring the following items when you come to the Embassy:
• The document to be notarized;
• Two pieces of photo identification; and
The appropriate fee for the service in cash only, please. Personal checks or credit cards are not accepted.