Judicial Assistance

At the Department of State, we are aware that Americans traveling or living abroad may require judicial assistance. We’ve put together information that we hope will be of use to you, should you want to check a process or procedure – or wish to find an attorney. The laws and procedures governing service of process and obtaining evidence vary widely from country to country and if we receive information from foreign governments concerning these topics, we include that information in the country specific judicial assistance information pages at the link below. If such information is not available from an official source in a foreign government, we advise private litigants and their attorneys to contact local attorneys in the foreign country for counsel on how to serve process or obtain evidence. The Department of State is not in a position to give permission or approve of attempts by private litigants and their attorneys in the United States to serve process on persons overseas or to obtain evidence in other countries and has no authority to govern such conduct. Failure to abide by foreign law or procedure can result in challenges to service of process or evidence in U.S. judicial proceedings. Persons seeking to serve process or take evidence in a foreign country in a manner that is not consistent with local law or procedure may also be subject to any civil or criminal penalties that the local law provides for.

DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION IN THIS SITE RELATING TO THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN COUNTRIES IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND MAY NOT BE TOTALLY ACCURATE IN A PARTICULAR CASE. QUESTIONS INVOLVING INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN LAWS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO FOREIGN COUNSEL.

Judicial Assistance and Notarial Fees

The fees that the Department of State charges for certain consular services have increased, effective June 13, 2010. The current schedule of fees is available online at 22 CFR 22. Notices on fee increases are published in the Federal Register. Both are available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov. See Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 123, Monday, June 28, 2010, pages 36533-36535.

This is an official U.S. Government source. Inclusion of non-U.S. Government links does not imply endorsement of contents.

Country-Specific Information
Criminal Matters
Enforcement of Judgments
Family Law and Child Protection Issues
Foreign Attorney Information (Including List of Attorneys)
Notarial and Authentication Services
Obtaining Evidence Abroad
Other Useful Links
Property, Tourist, Trade and Commercial Complaints, Foreign Claims
Service of Process Abroad
Travel Abroad for Judicial Assistance Purposes