You can go to a notary at any U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By getting a notarization at an embassy or consulate, you're required to make a personal appearance, meaning the person requesting the notarization must appear in-person.
Signatures can be usually also notarized by a U.S. “Notary Public”, however in some cases an apostille is required as well. Please clarify beforehand with the German authority in question, to whom you need to submit the document, whether an apostille is additionally required.
In fact, the signer has the sole right to make changes to the document. Remember, if the notarization period is complete, then the public notary cannot modify a notarial certificate. In order to make changes, however, the signer has to appear in person in the presence of a notary public to initiate new notarization.
Failing to require signers to be present at the notarization is the number one claim of misconduct against Notaries.
Documents rejected for improper notarization have risen to 25 to 30 percent in the state of California.
Can a U.S. notary notarize a foreign document? Yes, but as before, the notarial certificate is required to be in English.
Missing or Incorrect Notary Seal States like California and Texas have specific requirements for the placement and design of the seal. Without a proper seal, legal and financial institutions may reject the document.
One of the most common mistakes that notaries make is not printing or signing their name exactly as it appears on their notary commission.
Write the name of the person swearing to the truthfulness of the contents of the documents. Sign your name exactly as it appears on file with the Secretary of State and affix the official notary seal so that all the required elements of the notary seal appear legibly.
Notarization under this system is a two-step process: Step 1: Have your documents signed in front of a German Notary Public. Step 2: Legalize your document by means of an apostille (the official term for the legalization certification).