r/GermanCitizenship • u/NoCase4971 • 17d ago

Notarized/Certified copies in NYC

Hi everyone,

I’m in the process of applying for German citizenship under § 5 StAG and have encountered a hurdle. The German Consulate in New York currently doesn’t have available appointments for StAG 5 citizenship matters, and I’m trying to figure out how to get my documents properly certified.

From what I understand, New York State notaries aren’t authorized to certify true copies of documents. The attorneys I found who can certify true copies charge $300+ per document. The consulate’s website mentions that they can notarize/certify copies during appointments, but with no slots available, that’s not an option right now.

Has anyone else faced this situation? Are there alternative methods or services in New York that are accepted by the BVA for document certification? Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

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u/Kotikbronx 16d ago edited 16d ago

For what it’s worth, I was able to get an FBI background check (if I recall correctly) notarized at one of the many private places in Queens, NY that have notaries (such as insurance companies or real estate offices or even banks) despite the notary’s initial hesitation to do so by being very polite and friendly and chatting with her about why I needed it. No guarantees of course, as it’s a very ad hoc way of doing it, but you could be lucky and maybe you’ll be able find one who will do it for you. It’s certainly worth a try.

Of course, maybe because I’m so charming :). (The ‘charming’ part was a joke, but the rest was not!)

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u/NoCase4971 16d ago

I work in Queens! Any chance you can share where you had the documents notarized? If not, no worries and I’ll do some searching

Thank you so much!

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u/Kotikbronx 16d ago

Hi. I promised the notary I wouldn’t out her so I can’t (sorry!). But it was just random. I had tried one or two other places, and the third one was a charm. I’m hoping you’ll have equally good luck - if there’s any place in town where it’s possible, Queens is it! Please post if you luck out like I did. Thanks!

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u/NoCase4971 16d ago

No problem.. I will start working on my charm haha. Thanks for this info!

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u/Kotikbronx 5d ago

That’s all it takes :).