Notarial and documentary services guide for Venezuela
Documents, certificates, letters and notes available at the British Embassy in Caracas.
Overview
The British consulate can provide a range of notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Venezuela. Where local notaries can provide services, the British consulate will not provide them. In many cases local notaries or lawyers can provide services more cheaply, quickly and conveniently.
You must make an appointment for each service that requires your personal attendance. Use the links after each service to make an appointment.
Before booking, make sure you have selected the correct service and that the document will be accepted by the relevant authority. This could be the local town hall, registry office, tax authorities, immigration office or another authority either in Venezuela, the UK or a third country.
Services we provide in Venezuela
Consular staff in Venezuela can:
- administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit
- make a certified copy of a British passport
- prepare a document in English or the local language
For information about documents relating to marriage, such as a certificate of no impediment (CNI) and affirmations or affidavits of marital status, see getting married abroad.
If you can’t find the service you are looking for on this page, see other services provided by the British Embassy in Venezuela.
What to bring to your appointment
See the individual services below for details of supporting documents to bring. Make sure you have acceptable proof of address and identity, and payment for any fees. See the full list of consular fees.
Payment
We accept payments by Visa or MasterCard credit and debit cards on the day of the appointment.
Proof of address and identity
For all appointments for notarial services you will need to bring acceptable proof of your identity and address. We accept passports or national identity cards as proof of identity. We accept RIF tax ID certificates (Registro de Información Fiscal in Spanish), utility bills, residence certificates (“constancia de residencia”) and lease contracts as proof of your address.
Administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit
This service is for people who need to swear an oath, make an affirmation or make an affidavit in front of a consular officer. The consulate will not draft documents for you. What you will need to bring with you:
- the oath, affirmation or affidavit that you will swear or affirm
- the correct fee – see the list of fees
- proof of identity and address
The consular team will contact you prior to confirming your appointment and will advise you on any other supporting documentation you will need to bring with you.
Book an appointment to administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit at the British Embassy Caracas
Make a certified copy of a British passport
This service is for customers who need certified photocopies of British passports.
What you will need to bring with you:
- the document that you need a certified copy of: British passport.
- the correct fee – see the list of fees
- proof of identity and address
Book an appointment to make a certified copy at the British Embassy Caracas
Prepare a document in English or the local language
This service is for customers who require a signed and stamped version of one of our standard letters. In a limited number of cases consular staff can write a statement of fact (‘preparing a certificate’) to help British nationals with various local authorities. The wording must be cleared with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London, which means these documents will take longer to prepare.
We can only provide this service if we have proof that the wording/content you require is correct and unambiguous. This service is provided at the discretion of consular staff and we can refuse to provide it.
We can prepare these documents in English or in the local language. Please ensure you select the correct service and note the difference in fees.
What you will need to bring with you:
- original written evidence to support your request for a letter from the consulate
- the correct fee – see the list of fees
- proof of identity and address
The consular team will contact you prior to confirming your appointment and will advise you on any other supporting documentation you will need to bring with you.
Book an appointment to prepare a document in English at the British Embassy Caracas
Book an appointment to prepare a document in another language at the British Embassy Caracas
Services provided elsewhere
We no longer witness life certificates for British nationals claiming a British pension abroad. Please refer to the list of people working in a recognised profession who can do this for you.
British Embassies overseas no longer handle applications for renunciation and naturalisation or registration as a British citizen. All applications are now handled by UK Visas and Immigration.
Data protection
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office holds and uses data for purposes notified to the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998. Such personal data may be disclosed to other UK government departments and public authorities.
Disclaimer
This information is provided as a general guide and is based upon information provided to the embassy / consulate by the relevant authorities and may be subject to change at any time with little or no notice. Accordingly the FCDO and the British Embassy will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information. For all notarial and legalisation services it is the responsibility of the customer to ascertain the precise requirements of the person requesting the notarial or legalisation service and to satisfy themselves that the service provided by the embassy/consulate will be accepted.
Updates to this page
Last updated 24 November 2023 + show all updates
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"witness a signature" and "unite documents" removed from list of available services. Notarial and documentary services guide for Venezuela reviewed and updated for November 2023.
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First published.