[contact american citizen service section]

JUDICIAL ASSISTANCE AND NOTARIALS

For all judicial assistance matters (including taking evidence abroad, divorce, child support enforcement, service of legal documents, Hague Convention agreements, etc.), please link to the State Department's Judicial Assistance home page.

Notarial services are provided to American citizens as well as Israeli citizens Monday - Friday, at the hours designated at the left, for documents to be used in the United States. Services provided include: affidavits, acknowledgments and the certification of true copies. there is a fee of $30 for the first copy and $20 for additional signatures of the consular officer. Please bring your passport or Israeli ID for identification purposes.

Notarial services are also available at the U.S. Consular Agency in Haifa Sunday-Thursday by appointment (Telephone: 04-853 1470).

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.

What's an apostille?
Where do I get one in the US?

To use the Apostille, the document(s) must first be notarized by an Israeli notary. Those wishing to use a local lawyer for this service must contact them individually to see if they perform notaries. An informal survey taken by the Embassy puts the average fee for oaths/notaries at around 115 NIS, or $30. 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 (02-708548). There is no fee for the authentication.

Documents affixing of the apostille, upon the clerk's verification of the notary's signature using this method are just as acceptable in the United States as those notarized by the U.S. Embassy.