You are using an unsupported browser. This web site is designed for the current versions of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari.
The Office of the Federal Register publishes documents on behalf of Federal agencies but does not have any authority over their programs. We recommend you directly contact the agency associated with the content in question.
If you have comments or suggestions on how to improve the www.ecfr.gov website or have questions about using www.ecfr.gov, please choose the 'Website Feedback' button below.
If you would like to comment on the current content, please use the 'Content Feedback' button below for instructions on contacting the issuing agency
Enhanced content is provided to the user to provide additional context.
This content is from the eCFR and is authoritative but unofficial.
Navigate by entering citations or phrases (eg: 1 CFR 1.1 49 CFR 172.101 Organization and Purpose 1/1.1 Regulation Y FAR).
Choosing an item from citations and headings will bring you directly to the content. Choosing an item from full text search results will bring you to those results. Pressing enter in the search box will also bring you to search results.
Background and more details are available in the Search & Navigation guide.
22 U.S.C. 2651a, 2656, 4215 and 4221.
22 FR 10858, Dec. 27, 1957, unless otherwise noted.
This content is from the eCFR and may include recent changes applied to the CFR. The official, published CFR, is updated annually and available below under "Published Edition". You can learn more about the process here.
Subscribe to: 22 CFR Part 92 - Copying, Recording, Translating and Procuring Documents
No changes found for this content after 1/03/2017.
View the most recent official publication:
These links go to the official, published CFR, which is updated annually. As a result, it may not include the most recent changes applied to the CFR. Learn more.
Information and documentation can be found in our developer resources.
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the official legal print publication containing the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) is a continuously updated online version of the CFR. It is not an official legal edition of the CFR.
Learn more about the eCFR, its status, and the editorial process.
(a) Consular authority. The consular officer is authorized to have documents, or abstracts therefrom, copied at a Foreign Service post, if he deems it advisable and it is practicable to do so. This service frequently is necessary in connection with the performance of certain notarial acts, such as the certification of copies of documents.
(b) Fees. The charges for making copies of documents are as prescribed by the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter), under the caption “Copying and Recording,” unless the service is Performed for official use, which comes under the caption Exemption for Federal Agencies and Corporations of the same Tariff.
(a) Consular authority. Consular officers may, at their discretion, accept for recording in the Miscellaneous Record Book of the office concerned unofficial documents such as deeds, leases, agreements, wills, and so on. The object of this service is primarily to afford United States citizens and interests the means of preserving, in official custody, records of their business and other transactions where other suitable facilities are not available locally for making such records. The recording of unofficial documents is not a notarial service, strictly speaking; however, the certifying of copies of documents thus recorded is a notarial service.
(b) Recording procedure. Generally, before accepting a document for recording the consular officer should require satisfactory proof of its genuineness. The document should be copied, word for word, in the Miscellaneous Record Book. At the close of the record a statement that it is a true copy of the original should be entered and signed by the consular officer who copies or compares the record. In the margin of the first page where the document is recorded, the consular officer should note the following data:
(1) By whom the document is presented for recording;
(2) On whose behalf the service is requested;
(3) Date and hour of presentation for recording;
(4) How the authenticity of the document was proved (where appropriate); and
(5) The name of the person by whom recorded (in his proper signature) and the name of the consular officer with whom compared (in his proper signature).
(c) Certificate of recording. Ordinarily, a certificate of recording need not be issued. The original document may simply be endorsed: “Recorded at (name and location of consular office) this __________ day of __________________, 19____, in (here insert appropriate reference to volume of Miscellaneous Record Book)”. Below the endorsement should appear the notation regarding the service number, the Tariff item number, and the amount of the fee collected. When a certificate of recording is requested, the consular officer may issue it, if he sees fit to do so. The certificate may be either entered on the document, if space permits, or appended to the document as a separate sheet in the manner prescribed in § 92.17.
(d) Fees. The fee for recording unofficial documents at a Foreign Service post is as prescribed under the caption “Copying and Recording” of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter). For purposes of assessment of fees, the issuance of certificates of recording, when requested, shall be regarded as part of the consular service of recording unofficial documents, and no separate fee shall be charged for the certificate.
Officers of the Foreign Service are not authorized to translate documents or to certify to the correctness of translations. (However, see § 92.56 with regard to interpreting and translating services which may be performed in connection with depositions.) They are authorized to administer to a translator an oath as to the correctness of a translation; to take an acknowledgment of the preparation of a translation; and to authenticate the seal and signature of a local official affixed to a translation. Separate fees should be charged for each of these services, as indicated under the caption “Notarial Services and Authentications” of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter).
(a) Nature of services. When requested to do so by United States citizens or by persons acting in behalf of United States citizens, a consular officer should endeavor to obtain from foreign officials copies of birth, death, and marriage certificates, or copies of other public records such as divorce decrees, probated wills, and so on. The interest of the party requesting the document should be clearly indicated, and there should be good reason for asking for the consular officer's assistance. Persons requesting documents for use in the preparation of family trees or in the compilation of genealogical studies should be referred to a local attorney or to a genealogical research bureau if one is available.
(b) Payment of expenses involved —
(1) Official funds not to be used. The use of official funds to pay for copies of or extracts from foreign public records obtained at the request of private persons is prohibited.
(2) Payment of costs by Federal Government. In instances of requests emanating from departments or agencies of the Federal Government for copies of or extracts from foreign public records, the Department will issue to Foreign Service posts concerned appropriate instructions with respect to the payment of whatever local costs may be entailed if the documents cannot be obtained gratis from the local authorities.
(3) Payment of costs by State or municipal governments. Should State, county, municipal or other authorities in the United States besides the Federal Government request the consular officer to obtain foreign documents, and express willingness to supply documents gratis in analogous circumstances, the consular officer may endeavor on that basis to obtain the desired foreign documents gratis. Otherwise, such authorities should be informed that they must pay the charges of the foreign officials, as well as any fees which it may be necessary for the consular officer to collect under the provisions of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter).
(4) Payment of costs by private persons. Before a consular officer endeavors to obtain a copy of a foreign public document in behalf of a private person, the person requesting the document should be required to make a deposit of funds in an amount sufficient to defray any charges which may be made by the foreign authorities, as well as the Foreign Service fee for authenticating the document, should authentication be desired.
Individuals who inquire as to means of obtaining copies of or extracts from American birth, death, marriage, or divorce records may be advised generally to direct their inquires to the Vital Statistics Office at the place where the record is kept, which is usually in the capital city of the State or Territory. Legal directories and other published works of references at the post may be of assistance in providing exact addresses, information about fees, etc. An inquirer who is not an American citizen may write directly to the diplomatic or appropriate consular representative of his own country for any needed assistance in obtaining a desired document.