U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs


International Judicial Assistance, Notarial Services
and Authentication of Documents



SPECIAL NOTICE: Change in the Service of Process Function

Effective June 1, 2003, the U.S. Department of Justice is delegating the service of process function to a private contractor, Process Forwarding International of Seattle, Washington. The contractor will be handling requests under the multilateral Hague and Inter-American Service Conventions, and requests from countries not party to either treaty. This procedural change does not imply the formal designation of a new central authority for either the Hague Service Convention or the Inter-American Convention on Letters Rogatory and Additional Protocol, but simply reflects the outsourcing of certain activities conducted by the central authority, which formally remains in the U.S. Department of Justice. Contact: Process Forwarding International, 910 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA98104 USA, telephone: (206) 521-2979; fax: 206-224- 3410; e-mail: info@hagueservice.net; website: http://www.hagueservice.net. Process Forwarding International will be the only private process server company authorized to act on behalf of the United States under the Hague Service Convention and Inter-American Convention to receive requests for service, proceed to serve the documents, and complete the certificate of service. For the Inter-American Convention, Process Forwarding International will also have the exclusive authority to act on behalf of the United States in transmitting outgoing requests for service of process abroad. The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs materials about the Hague and Inter-American Service Conventions, and country-specific flyers are being updated accordingly.


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.

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

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


COUNTRY-SPECIFIC INFORMATION

GENERAL INFORMATION

SERVICE OF PROCESS ABROAD

Treaties on Service of Documents

Hague Convention of the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra-Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters

Inter-American (Service) Convention on Letters Rogatory and Additional Protocol

OBTAINING EVIDENCE ABROAD

Treaties on Obtaining Evidence Abroad

Hague Convention on Obtaining Evidence Abroad in Civil and Commercial Matters

ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS

TRAVEL ABROAD FOR JUDICIAL ASSISTANCE PURPOSES

NOTARIAL AND AUTHENTICATION SERVICES

Treaties on Authentication/Legalization of Documents

Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirements for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents

CRIMINAL MATTERS

FAMILY LAW AND CHILD PROTECTION ISSUES

Child Protection Services

Child Support Enforcement

Marriage and Divorce

Trafficking in Women and Children

Child Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation

Child Labor

U.S. Embassies Abroad - Lists of Attorneys

OTHER LINKS

DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR SPECIFIC TREATY LINKS

TREATY DATABASES

U.S. Department of State

U.S. House and Senate

International Organizations

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS

FOREIGN LAW LINKS

NOTARIAL AND AUTHENTICATIONS LINKS

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