AMERICAN CITIZEN SERVICES
Legal Assistance
Notary Services
A U.S. consular officer may perform notary services similar
to those performed by a notary public in the United States. Such services
include, but are not limited to, acknowledging signatures on documents for use
in the U.S., authenticating documents and copies thereof, and taking depositions.
Fees are charged in accordance
with the Code of Federal Regulations and vary by the type of notary act to be
performed.
A consular officer cannot draft legal documents for private
persons nor act as an attorney or paralegal. He/she can, however, refer you to
publications where standard legal forms and documents can be found and can
provide a list of attorneys practicing law within the consular district.
More information on authentication of documents for use
abroad can be found at the
State Department’s website.
List of English speaking attorneys
List of official
translators.
Mutual Recognition of Documents between the U.S. and Spain
Both Spain and the U.S. are signatory to The Hague Convention Abolishing the
Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. The purpose of the
Convention was to abolish the requirement of diplomatic/consular legalization
for public documents originating in one country for use in another. The
Convention calls for the use of a single signature by a designated certifying
official. Under the Convention, the standard certification is called the
Apostille.
Obtaining the Apostille for U.S. documents to be used in Spain, you should send
the document to the Secretary of State of the U.S. State where the document was
issued. Consular officers in Convention countries are prohibited from placing a
certification over the Convention Apostille. Below please find the series of
steps to take in order to meet the Spanish requirements:
1. Obtain the original and official documents from the County Clerk’s office
where the document was issued (you may also request government issued documents
online via www.VitalCheck.com but please
note this is a privately owned company that is not part of the Government ).
2. Contact the corresponding authentication unit in each state and arrange for
the documents to be authenticated with the Hague Apostille either in person or
by mail. You may find contact information by state from
the
link provided.
3. Once you obtain the duly authenticated documents (with the Hague Apostille)
from the Secretary of State, you must have these documents translated in Spain
by a sworn translator (“traductor jurado”). An updated list of sworn translators
may be obtained from the ministry of Foreign Affairs at
www.mae.es
Obtaining the Apostille for Spanish documents to be used in the U.S. requires
the document be sent to one of a number of agencies, depending on the document
type. Additional information can be found by contacting the:
Spanish Ministry of Justice or telephone:
902 007 214.
*None of these requirements can be fulfilled at the Embassy
*You cannot obtain US stamps or Postal Money orders at the Embassy
Spanish Law
American citizens in Spain, whether they be tourists,
students, businessmen or residents, are subject to Spanish laws and to the
Spanish judicial/penal system in the event they are accused of violating Spanish
law.
The following rights are guaranteed by the Spanish
constitution:
Right to due process of law Right to an impartial judge Right to defense Right to counsel by an attorney Right to be informed of charges Right to a public and speedy trial Right to use all available means of evidence in one's defense Right not to testify against one's interest Right not to self-incrimination Right to be presumed innocent
List of
English speaking attorneys
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