Notarial Services

U.S. consular officers overseas provide notarial services in limited cases. A person wishing to have his or her signature notarized must appear at the Consular Section and sign the document in question in the presence of a consular officer. If the document's notarization also requires the signature to be witnessed by other persons, please bring witnesses with you. Consular employees are prohibited from serving as witnesses.

Certified copies of identification documents are made only in limited cases. Please contact the Consular Section for more information. The fee is $30 per notary public signature for one document notarization, and $20 for each additional notary signature on any additional documents connected to the same transaction. The fees may be paid in U.S. dollars or in Bulgarian Levs.

Bulgaria and the United States are parties to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, done at The Hague on October 5, 1961, (also called the Hague Legalization Convention). The procedures to be followed in the legalization of documents, are as follows:

1. Documents issued in the U.S.: To be recognized by the Bulgarian authorities, such documents should bear an apostille, attached by the State (not federal) Secretary of State or the Governor's Office of the particular state where the documents originate. In Bulgaria they must be officially translated by a translation company, and then the translation must be legalized by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

2. Documents issued in Bulgaria and meant to be used in the U.S.: In order to be recognized by the U.S. authorities, such documents should bear an apostille issued either by the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice (for all documents, originating from the Bulgarian court, from notary public and the prosecution), or by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (for all other documents - diplomas, birth, marriage and death certificates, bank documents, documents issued by other ministries, etc.) Translations of documents may be done either in the United States or Bulgaria.

3. Documents issued or legalized by other U.S. missions and meant to be used in Bulgaria: Such documents should bear an apostille attached by the Authentication Office in the Department of State, Washington, D.C. In Bulgaria they must be officially translated by a translation company, and then the translation must be legalized by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.