Military and overseas families
Notary help for military and overseas families
Deployments, overseas postings and long assignments do not pause U.S. paperwork. Here are the routes, in the order worth checking.
✓ New Jersey commissioned notary, no. 50244803, insured for errors and omissions. See the credentials
Routes to check, in order
- Military legal assistance. Legal assistance offices may offer notary services to eligible people, often free. Ask yours what it covers and who is eligible.
- A U.S. embassy or consulate. The State Department says posts charge a fee for each consular seal, require you to appear in person, and do not offer remote services. Their page has the current rules.
- A notary near you. Rules differ by country, and a foreign notary's work may need extra steps to be accepted in the United States.
- A video session with a New Jersey notary. For a document with a U.S. connection, as set out below, when signing is not prohibited where you are. Online sessions run 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time, 7 days a week, by appointment.
What a New Jersey notary can take from abroad
- The notary must be physically in New Jersey. You can be anywhere. Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other U.S. territories count as inside the United States.
- If you are outside the United States, the document must meet at least one of these: (a) it will be filed with, or relates to a matter before, a U.S. court, public official, government agency or other entity under U.S. jurisdiction; (b) it involves property located in the United States; or (c) it relates to a transaction substantially connected with the United States.
- In every case, signing it must not be prohibited by the country you are in. You confirm that with the local authorities there; we are not lawyers and cannot advise on foreign law.
- Wills and codicils are outside New Jersey's remote notarization law, so we do not notarize them by video.
- The receiving party decides whether it accepts the result.
- The session is recorded, and New Jersey requires the recording to be kept for at least 10 years.
Get it notarized online today
Online notary: open now until 9 PM ET · sessions by appointment · times confirmed by email
A New Jersey notary can notarize this with you on a video call, from anywhere in the U.S. or, on the terms below, from abroad. The fee shows in the booking form before you confirm. Open 7 am to 9 pm ET, every day, by appointment.
What you need
- A valid government photo ID
- A computer or phone with a camera
- The unsigned document
Our certificate states the act was performed using communication technology, as New Jersey law requires. What it must say
Signing from outside the U.S.? We can notarize when the document is for a U.S. court or agency, involves U.S. property, or relates to a transaction connected with the U.S., and signing isn't prohibited where you are. Check your document.
Most U.S. recipients accept a remotely notarized document; check with whoever will receive it. What to ask them · Several signers
Common documents
- Powers of attorney while deployed or posted abroad
- Documents for a house sale, purchase or refinance
- Bank, brokerage and retirement forms
- Affidavits and sworn statements
- Papers for a U.S. estate or probate matter, with an attorney's guidance on witnesses (not wills or codicils)
Each has its own page: notarizing U.S. documents from abroad. Or use the quick check.
Before you book
- Ask the receiving party if it accepts a remote notarization.
- Check what the base or host country allows. You confirm that locally; we cannot advise on foreign law.
- Know which U.S. court, agency, property or transaction the document is connected to.
- Have an unexpired government photo ID.
- Work out the time difference. Our country pages include a clock table: <a href="/notary/us-citizens-abroad">find your country</a>.
- Have a lawyer draft or review the document. A notary cannot.
Questions
Can a service member get a document notarized for free?
Military legal assistance offices may offer notary services to eligible service members and others, often at no charge. Eligibility and availability depend on the installation, so ask your legal assistance office first.
What if there is no legal assistance office nearby?
A video session with a New Jersey notary is another route when the document has a U.S. connection: it relates to a matter before a U.S. court, agency or other U.S. entity, involves property in the United States, or relates to a transaction substantially connected with the United States. Signing must also not be prohibited where you are. Check first that the receiving office accepts a remote notarization.
Do you give legal advice on powers of attorney for deployment?
No. A notary cannot give legal advice. Legal assistance attorneys can advise service members on powers of attorney.
Does a deployed signer have to be in a particular place?
The notary is in New Jersey and you can be anywhere. Outside the United States the document needs one of the three U.S. connections, and signing must not be prohibited by the country you are in. Confirm any restrictions on your end, with your command or the local authorities, before booking.
Can you notarize a will for a service member overseas?
No. New Jersey's remote notarization law does not cover wills and codicils. A military legal assistance office is the usual place to ask about wills.
MCC Solutions is not a law firm and a notary cannot give legal advice, choose the type of notarization for you, or tell you what a document means. Ask the office or person who will receive the document what it needs, and ask a lawyer about the content.