Legalization of US documents for Vietnam – Detailed guide & Service

We will guide you through every steps of legalizing US-issued documents for use in Vietnam, where you need to carry out them, how much you need to pay and how long you need to wait.

The United States of America is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, accordingly, its public documents are only subject to Apostille for use in other members of this Convention. However, Vietnam is not such a country, as such, all documents, papers issued in the U.S must be legalized if you want to use them in Vietnam.

👉 See What is Apostille and How different are Apostille and Legalization?

In this post, we will show you all details about consular legalization of the U.S documents, papers for use in Vietnam, consisting of:

• What is Vietnam consular legalization of the U.S documents?
• Where to legalize U.S-issued documents for Vietnam?
• How to legalize America’s documents for Vietnam?

1. What is Vietnam consular legalization of U.S Documents

Vietnam legalization of documents, papers issued in the United States of America is a process in which the Vietnam’s diplomatic mission in the U.S certify stamps, signatures and titles of the officials of U.S competent authority on the documents issued in the U.S, so that they can be legally used in Vietnam.

2. Where to legalize the U.S documents for Vietnam

To be used in Vietnam, the U.S documents and papers shall be authenticated/apostilled and then legalized in the United States of America according to the procedure as described below.

Note: The following documents issued to US Passport holders can be notarized by the U.S Embassy/Consulate General in Vietnam and then legalized by the Consular Department in Hanoi or the Department of External Relations in HCMC under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam for use in Vietnam:

• Affidavit of Single Status for marriage in Vietnam
• Affidavit of Change of Name
• Affidavit of Birth for lost birth certificates
• General Affidavit
• Power of Attorney
• Acknowledgement of signature for legal documents

You can check this notarization procedure here.

3. How to legalize U.S documents for use in Vietnam

In order to legalize any document issued in the United States of America, you need to follow 3 steps detailed below.

👉Step 1: Certification/Notarization

The authority you need to contact in this step may vary depending on your type of document as follows:

✔If your U.S documents are State and Local documents, such as:

• Birth Certificates
• Marriage Certificates
• Death Certificates
• Divorce Decrees
• Probate Wills
• Judgments

You will need to ensure that they are original or certified documents containing the raised and/or stamped seal of the court or department of vital records.

You then need to have them certified by the Secretary of State from the state in which the documents were issued.

✔If your documents are federally-issued documents, such as:

• Animal/Plant Certifications (issued by U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA)
• Animal Health certifications (issued by USDA)
• FBI – Background check (issued by U.S. Department of Justice, or DoJ)
• U.S. Federal Court Documents check (issued by DoJ)
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court check (issued by DoJ)
• Immigration Certifications (issued by U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
• Certificate of Foreign Governments (issued by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS)
• Certificate of Pharmaceutical/Export (issued by HHS)
• Trademark (Issued by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)
• Other documents issued by Environmental Protection Agency, Social Security Administration, or Office of Personnel Management

You need to ensure that

• Those documents must be executed by U.S. federal agencies
• Those documents must include a legible signature of the official’s name, printed name and title, and seal of the agency
• Those documents must be on agency letterhead

✔ If your documents were issued by the District of Columbia Superior Court and Court of Appeals, such as:

• Marriage Certificates (Issued in the District of Columbia)

You need to ensure that your documents have the original official signature and the raised seal of the court.

✔If your documents are of other types, such as:

• Affidavits
• Agreements
• Articles of Incorporation
• Bylaws
• Commercial Invoices
• Copy of a U.S. Passport (identification page only)
• Deeds of Assignment
• Diplomas
• Home Study
• Income Verification
• Powers-of-Attorney
• Single Status
• Transcripts
• Other business documents

You need to follow this procedure:

• You first need to have your document certified with a stamp or seal by a notary public;
• You then must have it certified by the clerk of court from the county in which the notary is commissioned;
• You, after that, need to have it certified by the Secretary of State from the state in which the document was executed.

For documents of this type, you should keep in mind that:

• Documents from the District of Columbia must be certified by the Government of the District of Columbia Notarial Section
• The document doesn’t have to be certified by the clerk of court from the county in which the notary is commissioned if the Secretary of State will certify directly to the notary.

👉Step 2: Get Certificate of Authentication

This step is also known as U.S Document authentication for use in Vietnam,

Please keep in mind that in this step, you will need to get a Certificate of Authentication, not an Apostille as Vietnam is not an Apostille country.

The authority you need to contact in this step is the Office of Authentications – U.S. Department of State:

• 44132 Mercure Circle, P.O. Box 1206, Sterling, VA  20166-1206

You may have 3 ways to submit your documents to this authority for a Certificate of Authentication:

✔By mail: This is the single way available in Covid time.

To submit your U.S Documents to the Office of Authentications for a Certificate of Authentication for use in Vietnam, you need to prepare:

• A completed Request of Authentications Service DS-4194 form – specify Vietnam as the document’s country of use in Section 4
• The document(s) requiring authentication services
• Fee which is US $20/document, payable by check or money order
• One self-addressed, prepaid envelope for return of your document (don’t include FedEx)

And then, you send your package to:

• Office of Authentications
• U.S. Department of State
• CA/PPT/S/TO/AUT
• 44132 Mercure Circle
• P.O. Box 1206
• Sterling, VA  20166-1206

You are recommended to use trackable mail from USPS. You’ll receive an update when your mail has reached our mail distribution center but not our physical office location.

✔By appointment: This is for urgent cases only, i.e the cases in which immediate family member (including parents, legal guardians, children, spouses, siblings, and grandparents) has died or is seriously ill or injured while abroad and you need to travel outside of the United States within 72 hours (3 business days).

In this case, you need to:

• Make an appointment via 202-485-8000;
• Prepare the following documents:
  • Proof of the life-or-death emergency such as a death certificate, a statement from a mortuary, or a signed letter from a hospital or medical professional.  Documents must be in English or translated in English by a professional translator.
  • Proof of international travel (itinerary, ticket, reservation) within 48 hours.
  • A completed Request of Authentications Service DS-4194 form – specify Vietnam as the document’s country of use in Section 4
  • The document(s) requiring authentication services
  • Fee which is US $20/document
• Submit those documents in person to the Office of Authentications on the appointed date.

Note:

• Third party companies may schedule an appointment but the Office of Authentications will only offer the next available appointments to customers submitting their own documents in-person.

✔By drop-off and pick-up:

By this way, you need to prepare:

• A completed Request of Authentications Service DS-4194 form – specify Vietnam as the document’s country of use in Section 4
• The document(s) requiring authentication services
• Fee which is US $20/document.

You then visit the Office of Authentications for submitting your documents and then picking up your result.

🎯Processing time: Due to COVID, it may take us 5 to 6 weeks to process your request from the date Office of Authentications receive your request and full required documents.

🎯IMPORTANT NOTE:

• Due to Covid, the in-person counter service is suspended and only offering mail-in service is available at this time.
• Personal or company checks, and money orders must be submitted with mail-in document(s):
  • Temporary, starter, or bank fill-in checks are not accepted
  • All check numbers must be over 100.
  • Checks must be dated within the last six months.
  • Checks and money orders are payable to the U.S. Department of State, name and address must be pre-printed on the check without changes.   
• You must pay a $25 fee if your check is returned for nonsufficient funds.

👉Step 3: Legalize by the Vietnam embassy/Consulate General in the United States of America

This step is also known as Vietnam embassy legalization in the US. It is carried out as follows:

• First of all, you need to prepare:
  • Application for legalization of documents (download pdf) or cover letter states what you need to do for your documents;
  • Original + 01 copy of Documents requested for Vietnam embassy legalization which have been notarized/certified and authenticated in Steps 1 & 2;
  • Original of requester’s ID if submitted in person or photo of requester’s ID if submitted by post;
  • Fees: pay by Money Orders or Cashier’s Checks (Certified Checks) if submitted by post, or in cash or
  • Mail back: A self-addressed postage-paid return envelope. You should use one of the following mailing services which provide tracking numbers: Federal Express (FedEx), or USPS Express Mail. If you use FedEx, please make sure your name, address, FedEx account and phone number in both sender’s and recipient’s boxes.
• You then submit those documents to the office of Vietnam embassy or Consulate General of Vietnam in the United States of America as follows:
  • Consular Section, Embassy of Vietnam in the United States
    • Address: 1233 20th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036
    • Business hours: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM & 02:00 PM – 04:30 PM Monday through Friday except for Vietnam and US public holidays.
    • Tel.: (202) 436-6889; (202) 861-0737 ext 122 or (202) 615-4141
    • Fax: (202) 861-0917
    • Email: [email protected]
    • Recommended mailing service: http://vietnamembassy-usa.org/page/fedex-mailing-service
    • Processing time: Regular processing: 5 – 7 working days; Rush service: 2 – 3 working days after the date of documents receipt
  • Consulate General of Vietnam in San Francisco
    • Address: 1700 California Street, Suite 580, San Francisco, CA 94109
    • Business hours: 8.30 am – 12.00pm and 2.30pm – 4.30pm, Monday to Friday, except for Vietnam and United States holidays.
    • Tel.: +1 415 922 1707; 415 922 0707; 415 922 1238;
    • Fax: +1 415 922 1757
    • Email:  [email protected]
    • Recommended mailing service: https://vietnamconsulate-sf.org/en/post-service/
    • Processing time: regular processing: 3 – 5 working days; same day processing, ½ hour processing.
  • Vietnam Consulate General in Houston:
    • Address: 5251 Westheimer Road, Suite 1100, Houston, Texas 77056
    • Business hours: 8.30 am – 12.00pm and 2.30pm – 4.30pm, Monday to Friday, except for Vietnam and United States holidays
    • Tel.: +001-713.850.1233 | 7138771326 | 7138400096
    • Fax: +001-713.871.0312 | 7138100159
    • Email: [email protected]

After receiving your document with sealed with the Vietnam embassy/consulate legalization stamp, you need to take it to Vietnam, translate it into Vietnamese and then you can use it legally in Vietnam.

4. Frequently asked questions about U.S Document legalization for Vietnam

5. Service on legalization of U.S documents for use in Vietnam

You are at In case you are in Vietnam, whether you have found a new job and need to apply for a work permit Vietnam, or you are following a procedure to get married to a Vietnamese citizen, and you need to legalize your U.S documents, papers for those purposes, our dedicated team are at your disposal. ​We ensure that all the required procedures will be followed and your U.S documents are legally recognized in Vietnam.

Our Vietnam consular legalization service for the documents issued in the United States covers:

• Notarization and certification of your documents at competent authorities;
• Document authentication in the United States of America, &
• Vietnam Embassy legalization for U.S documents;

In case you need a translation into Vietnamese, we will provide you with a high-qualify one.

Our Full-package Service Fee for Legalization of U.S Documents for Vietnam

Document type	Fee	Processing time
Diplomas, Certificates	US $560/document	4 weeks
Work Experience Confirmation	US $560/document	4 weeks

Our service fee covers:

• Notarization and certification of your documents at competent authorities;
• Document authentication in the United States of America, &
• Vietnam Embassy legalization for U.S documents;
• Delivery of documents from our office in Vietnam to the United States and vice versa

For other types of documents, please contact us for FREE QUOTE.

U.S documents we have legalized for Vietnam

PERSONAL OR FAMILY DOCUMENTS	CORPORATE DOCUMENTS	ACADEMIC DOCUMENTS
✔Marriage certificates ✔Death certificates ✔Birth certificates ✔Divorce decrees ✔Single status affidavits ✔Power of attorney ✔Wills ✔Car titles ✔Adoption dossier ✔FBI records ✔Criminal history reports ✔Any notarized document	✔Certificates of good standing ✔Certificates of incorporation ✔Certificates of origin ✔Power of attorney ✔Hiring documents ✔Company invoices ✔Other business documents	✔High school report ✔GED College, university diplomas ✔Certificates ✔Report cards ✔Other various school records

How to get your U.S documents legalized with us

With only 3 simple steps below, you will get your document legalized without hassles.

Why our Vietnam Consular Legalization Service

You are at one-stop shop for legalizing your U.S documents for use in Vietnam.

For over 10 years, we are proud of being the No. 1 Consular Legalization Service Provider in Vietnam for:

• Reliability: We have been providing this legalization service since 2007 and have a wealth of experience so can deal with virtually any document.
• Absolute Security: Vietnam-visa.com consists of a team of specialists. You can be assured that your documents are treated with care, attention to detail, and a consistent, professional manner.
• Guaranteed Delivery: We always process documents as soon as we receive them and do whatever is possible to meet the required timescales.
• Excellent Support: With many years of experience we know how to process your documents and offer you the best advice on legalizing your documents.

Need assistance in legalizing your U.S documents for Vietnam, connect with us via:

• Hotline: +84.946.583.583 (WhatsApp, Viber, Zalo available)
• Email: [email protected]
• Offices:
  • In Hanoi: 23rd Floor, TASCO Building, Pham Hung road, Me Tri, Nam Tu Liem
  • In Ho Chi Minh City: 2nd Floor, VIPD Building, No. 4 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Da Kao Ward, District 1