Getting a Document Notarized in Israel for Use in the US

A topic that comes up every once in a while is whether a US attorney can notarize documents here in Israel. There are many US licensed attorneys living and practicing in Israel and it would certainly be convenient if US (or foreign) citizens could get their documents notarized for use in the US in front of one of them. I have seen posts by a US lawyer advertising his notarial services here in Israel and claiming that he is authorized by NY State to notarize documents in Israel. He is not.

In the United States, each state authorizes notaries to certify signatures and administer oaths. I am not familiar with any state that allows a notary public to certify a signature outside of the state where the notary is licensed. However, a notary from state A may notarize documents for use in state B only if the documents were signed in front of the notary while in state A. If the case was otherwise, any notary public from any state could notarize documents in any other state, which is not the case.

For example the Illinois Notary Handbook states:

GEOGRAPHICAL JURISDICTION

A notary public has jurisdiction to act as such throughout the State of Illinois (Sec. 3-105). In the certificates a notary is called upon to complete, there will be a heading such as “State of Illinois, County of ___________________”. The name of the county where the signer personally appeared before the notary public should be inserted on the certificate.

In New York, the Notary Public License Law states:

§135. Powers and duties; in general; of notaries public who are attorneys at law. Every notary public duly qualified is hereby authorized and empowered within and throughout the State to administer oaths and affirmations, to take affidavits and depositions, to receive and certify acknowledgments or proof of deeds, mortgages and powers of attorney and other instruments in writing...

But even more explicitly, the Department of State's webpage on Notarial and Authentication Services of U.S. Consular Officers Abroad addresses this question:

CAN A NOTARY PUBLIC FROM THE UNITED STATES PERFORM THAT FUNCTION ABROAD? No. The commission of a notary public is limited to the jurisdiction within the particular state in the U.S. for which the commission was issued. For additional information about notaries in the United States contact the National Notary Association, a Non-Profit Educational Organization, 8236 Remmet Avenue, P.O. Box 7184, Canoga Park, CA 91304-7184, tel: 818-713-4000.

Thus a person in Israel who needs something notarized by a US notary must make an appointment at the US consulate in Jerusalem or the embassy in Tel Aviv. Another option is to get the document notarized by an Israeli attorney and then get an apostille which is the authentication certification provided for under the Hague Convention Abolishing the Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, a multilateral treaty to which the United States and Israel are parties. From the embassy website:

As an alternative, individuals requiring document notarization for use in the United States may also use Israeli notaries as follows:

Both Israel and the United States are parties to the Hague Convention abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents (October 5, 1961). The Convention calls for the use of a single signature by a designated certifying official in lieu of the chain certificate and abolishes the need for diplomatic or consular authentication. Under the Convention, the standard certification is called an apostille.

To use the Apostille, the document(s) must first be notarized by an Israeli notary. Those wishing to use a local notary for this service must contact them individually to see if they perform notaries. The notarized document must then be authenticated by the Magistrate's Court (Beith Mishpat Hashalom). Courthouses that offer this service are in Tel Aviv (03-6926211), Haifa (04-869-8000) and Jerusalem at the Ministry of Justice (02-6708511). There is no fee for the authentication.

Documents affixed with the apostille and the clerk's verification of the notary's signature using the above method, are just as acceptable in the United States as those notarized by the U.S. Embassy.

Note, however, that the above discussion pertains to documents that you need to get notarized. Official documents you receive from the Israeli government may only require an apostille without notarization. See the Ministry of Foreign Affairs page to see which documents need only an apostille.

You can get an apostille for other documents by following this procedure:

If you need to issue an apostille on your Israeli documents for use outside of Israel, the procedure is as follows:

Go to an Israeli notary public with an original photo ID (i.e. passport or Teudat Zehut) and the document requiring notarization. Ask them to fill out an authorization of signature form to attach to the document that requires notarization. Each document requiring notarization needs an authorization of signature form. This includes copies of the same document. The charge is 177 NIS per document, notarization of photo ID’s costs 71 NIS. All notaries have to charge the same price for this service.

Once you have the documents notarized they will need an apostille sticker and stamp. Apostille services are offered in Magistrate Courts. In Jerusalem, the Beit Mishpat Hashalom provides apostille services. They are located in Migrash Harusim, room 229a. Public reception hours are 8:30am-13:00pm. During July and August the hours are from 9am-12:00pm.