Document Certification
Appointments for specific consular services are mandatory and must be scheduled by phone, WhatsApp/SMS at +1 202 706 0209, and/or by email at consular.washington@mfa.rs.
CERTIFICATION OF SIGNATURES ON POWERS OF ATTORNEY OR STATEMENTS
The certification of signatures on private documents written in Serbian (such as powers of attorney, consents, or statements) intended for use in the Republic of Serbia is performed at the Embassy based on a valid identification document (a Serbian passport or ID card, or a U.S. passport).
You must schedule an appointment and appear in person at the Embassy. Please bring a printed, unsigned power of attorney/consent/statement with you.
For additional information in the following cases, please contact the Embassy:
if the person granting the power of attorney or making an inheritance statement is unable to read and sign the document;
if the person granting the power of attorney or making an inheritance statement does not speak Serbian.
The consular fee must be paid in cash.
The fee schedule for consular services is available on the page: Consular Services Fee Schedule | Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in the United States of America.
CERTIFICATION OF INHERITANCE STATEMENTS
An inheritance statement is a declaration by which you accept, transfer, or renounce your share of inheritance from a deceased person’s estate in the Republic of Serbia. The probate/inheritance proceedings are conducted before a public notary or a court in the Republic of Serbia.
For individuals who are unable to come to the Embassy in person due to distance, it is recommended that they prepare their inheritance statement in the form of an authorization for giving an inheritance statement. Through this authorization, you will authorize a person in the Republic of Serbia to declare your wishes before a public notary or court.
POWER OF ATTORNEY IN THE FORM OF A NOTARIAL DEED
Diplomatic and consular missions may certify signatures on powers of attorney or statements.
The scope and form of a power of attorney are defined by the Law on General Administrative Procedure. A signature may be certified on any statement that does not promote racial or religious intolerance and does not insult the state, state authorities, or their representatives.
Diplomatic and consular missions cannot certify signatures on contracts. Real estate purchase and sale agreements may only be certified in the Republic of Serbia before the competent public notary. A power of attorney authorizing another person to conclude a real estate transaction agreement in the Republic of Serbia may be signed and certified at a diplomatic or consular mission.
A power of attorney related to real estate in Serbia, in the form of a notarial deed, may be prepared at the Embassy. The personal presence of the person granting the power of attorney is required. The person must be identified using a valid Serbian identification document (passport or ID card) or a U.S. passport.
The person granting the power of attorney must submit a draft power of attorney prepared by a qualified person in Serbia (an attorney). The power of attorney must be written in Serbian using the Cyrillic alphabet. The power of attorney is signed at the Embassy.
The procedure for issuing a power of attorney in the form of a notarial deed may take more than 30 minutes. The Embassy recommends scheduling an appointment for this type of service by email or phone.
The Embassy also recommends that, one or two days before your appointment, you send the draft authorization or statement in Word format, along with a copy of your identification document, by email to consular.washington@mfa.rs.
CERTIFICATION OF DOCUMENT COPIES
The Embassy may certify copies of documents. In such cases, you must present the original document and a copy of the same document for review.
For additional information, please contact the Consular Section of the Embassy by email at consular.washington@mfa.rs.