My Fellow Americans...

Wow!  That is an outrageous scam.  I go to my bank here in the US instead of paying an independent notary $5.  The bank does it for free.  Sorry to here the US is ripping you off.

Howie the fee is the same worldwide. Here's the link with the info from Saigon:

http://hochiminh.usconsulate.gov/notarials.html

Oooh Budman1,

Love that little frame.  Your new and improved image, hey?

Thanks for the link.  I found the Hanoi one; and they seemed a little strick, by appointment only...

Now, is that $50 per signature, or per document?  On some of my documents, I will need to sign in a couple of places.

Howie

Shoot them a e-mail Howie. They respond faily quickly.

acshcmc@state.gov

You sure that it has to be notarized by American representatives? I have had important documents notarized at the local authorities and accepted in the States many times before. To be correct, it was not in Vietnam but in Europe, but it should not matter.

Anatta,

I am certain that they have to be notorized; my silly attorney told me so.  I had just told his secretary to look into reducing the number of signatures I must sign or a power of attorney pay.  But, President's Day is not helping the matter too much, my friend.

Howie

Howie
My question is not whether it needs to be notarized. I am sure it needs to be. The question is whether it has to be done by a US REP only, i.e., Can it be done by a local authority?

However, on googling about this, i found this link

http://travel.state.gov/law/judicial/judicial_2086.html

HOW DO YOU GET A DOCUMENT NOTARIZED OVERSEAS?  Consular officials at any U.S. embassy or consulate abroad can provide a service similar to the functions of a notary public in the United States. It is also possible to have a document notarized by a local foreign notary and then have the document authenticated by the appropriate foreign authority in a country party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents (which includes notarial documents).

Vietnam is not part of the Hague Convention so you cannot use the notary function from the Vietnamese government.

http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=co … cid=41#mem

As mentioned earlier, I did use the local foreign notary many times before for US documents but I was in countries part of the above-mentioned Hauge convention.

Notarisation costs do vary-certified true copy

UK London lawyer $120 per page . I don't think there is a fixed rate
Indonesia $20 per page. I should have negotiated
Malaysia RM4 per page. that's about $1.25 and a government fixed rate for Commissioner of Oaths, the Commonwealth equivalent of a Notary.

Anatta,

Despite Vietnam's current fascination with stamps, I long knew that they did not mean much in the international area.  But, I did not know about the Hague Convention.  Thanks, buddy.

My attorney obviously knew nothing about that because he also gave me the option of signing my documents in front of a Vietnamese judge.  Can't wait until I get a hold of him later...

Howie

tbarry wrote:

Notarisation costs do vary-certified true copy

UK London lawyer $120 per page . I don't think there is a fixed rate

Yep it varies a lot, I paid £80 last year when I had to get some paperwork notairased. I emailed a few before I was there to get the best price and location for what I needed.

Howie interesting point was the government don't care who signs it as long as they are on there official list of notary's. So may well be worth asking them if they have a list available?

I researched this extensively when I was getting married.

The Consulate is the only game in town for notarizations that are recognized in the US.  No one else can offer the service, since the title of Notary Public is granted at the state level and the person can only practice in that state.  I guess Uncle Sam, or more specifically the person at the Consulate that's a notary, has a waiver of some sort.