Notarial and documentary services in Hong Kong and Macao
Documents, certificates, letters and notes available at British Consulate-General Hong Kong and in Macao.
Overview
The British Consulate General in Hong Kong provides a limited range of notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Hong Kong and Macao.
Where local notaries or lawyers can provide services, the British Consulate will not provide them.
You must make an appointment for each service and your personal attendance is required. Use the links after each service to make an appointment.
It is essential that you check with the authority who is requesting the notarial document that a document from us will be accepted by them. Where you need a document for a country other than the United Kingdom or China, you must give us satisfactory evidence that the notarial document will be recognised by the jurisdiction of that country. Only the relevant authority can tell you which service you will require. This information cannot be verified by the British Consulate General. We will not give you a refund if your certificates or notarial services are not accepted by the requesting authority.
What to bring to your appointment
See the individual services below for details of any additional supporting documents you need to present. For all notarial services you will need to bring:
- acceptable proof of your identity. We accept a valid British passport as proof of identity
- proof of address. We accept utility bills, bank statements, rental contracts or tax bills as proof of your address
- proof that there is a specific requirement for this service to be provided by the British Consulate General (for example a formal requirement from the authorities of a 3rd country or a UK court requirement)
Payment
We accept payment by Visa or MasterCard. See the full list of consular fees.
Services we provide in Hong Kong and Macao
For information about documents relating to marriage, such as a certificate of no impediment (CNI) and affirmations or affidavits of marital status, please see getting married abroad.
Administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit
This service is for people who need to swear an oath, make an affirmation or make an affidavit in front of a consular officer.
The Consulate will not draft documents for you. Check first with the Consulate what format is required before the document is drawn up or checked by a professional.
We will request a copy of your document in order to confirm that this service can be provided to you.
What you will need to bring with you:
- the oath, affirmation or affidavit that you will swear or affirm
- evidence of the contents mentioned in the oath, affirmation or affidavit
- the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
- proof of identity/address – see what we will accept as proof
- proof that there is a specific requirement for this service to be provided by the British Consulate General (for example a formal requirement from the authorities of a 3rd country or a UK court requirement). If you cannot provide such evidence, you should use a local notary or lawyer
Contact the British Consulate General Hong Kong by using the contact form to arrange an appointment.
Make a certified copy of a document
This service is for customers who need certified photocopies of their valid British passports and British driving licences.
We are unable to provide certified true copies of passports for use in relation to banking or mortgages in the UK. In these cases, you should use a local notary or lawyer.
We are unable to provide certified photocopies of any other documents, including those issued by Hong Kong authorities, e.g. local birth, marriage or death certificates. This also includes:
- UK birth, adoption, death, marriage or civil partnership certificate, which can be obtained from the General Register Office in the UK
- UK educational certificates: The only authority permitted to provide this service is the Legalisation Office in the UK
We do not verify the authenticity of documents. We only provide a photocopy of the original document and state that this is a copy of an original document which was presented to us.
The certified copy of a British passport we provide does not verify your identity or nationality. If you require such a document, you should contact a lawyer or notary public in the UK.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency no longer issues paper counterparts to driving licences, as a result staff in Hong Kong cannot make certified copies of paper counterpart licences. The only exception to this is where your licence was issued before 1998, meaning you only hold a paper driving licence.
What you will need to bring with you:
- the document to be copied
- proof of identity/address – see what we will accept as proof
- the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
- proof that there is a specific requirement for this service to be provided by the British Consulate General (for example a formal requirement from the authorities of a 3rd country or a UK court requirement). If you cannot provide such evidence, you should use a local notary or lawyer
Contact the British Consulate General Hong Kong by using the contact form to arrange an appointment.
Services we provide in Macao
We provide the same services to British nationals living and working in Macao as we do for those in Hong Kong. In order to simplify the procedure so that customers do not need to travel to Hong Kong, you may enquire with us by using the contact form.
In your enquiry you should:
- reference your enquiry with ‘MCA’
- notify us which service you require (see Services we provide in Hong Kong)
Consulate staff will reply to you as soon as possible. If we can provide the service, we will take payment online and pass your details to our Honorary Consul in Macao who will contact you within three working days. You can then agree a time with our Honorary Consul to complete the service.
Services provided elsewhere
Hong Kong Certificate of No Criminal Conviction (CNCC)
From 8 June 2022 the British Consulate-General Hong Kong and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in the UK do not issue letters to the Hong Kong Police as part of a CNCC request.
The authorities in Hong Kong have declared that Certificates of No Criminal Conviction (CNCC), the equivalent of a criminal records check, can only be obtained for reasons relating to applications for a visa, to visit, or to reside, in another country, or for the adoption of children. In exceptional circumstances, the authorities may consider applications where a CNCC is required to meet the legal or administrative requirements of foreign countries.
In the UK, there are statutory requirements for employers to carry out such checks, but in many instances, it is only best practice to do so.
If you hold an offer of employment from an official organisation or UK Government Authority that requires a CNCC check eg. UCAS, or a recognised education or healthcare body, you should apply directly to the Hong Kong Police. The Hong Kong Police manages the process for obtaining a CNCC. Visit CNCC’s website for more information.
Legalisation of UK documents
Legalisation is the official confirmation that a signature, seal or stamp on an official public document is genuine. UK public documents such as birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates can be legalised by the UK government in the UK. This is also known as an apostille.
To get a UK document legalised, see Legalising a UK public document on how to get a UK document authenticated for the purposes of obtaining a Chinese visa and Foreign Expert Certificate.
Legalisation of foreign documents
The British Consulate Hong Kong is unable to legalise foreign documents because the UK does not require foreign documents to be legalised for use in the UK. If the document is to be used in another country, you should contact the legalisation authorities of the country where the document will be used for advice.
Passport numbers change upon renewal or name change
The British Consulate Hong Kong cannot issue letters confirming the change of passport numbers upon renewal or name change. This is because we are not the passport issuing authority. You can download a free copy of an information note on change of passport numbers upon renewal which may serve in place of such a letter.
If you need a letter providing details of multiple passports belonging to you, you can request information under the Freedom of Information Act by submitting a Subject Access Request to HM Passport Office, asking for confirmation that you were the holder of your previous passport(s). Please visit HM Passport Office for further information and contact details. The British Consulate in Hong Kong cannot answer any queries on this subject or the application process.
Life certificates to claim State Pension abroad
The British Consulate Hong Kong cannot witness signatures on your life certificate if you are claiming a British pension abroad, including those required by the Department of Work and Pensions. Please refer to the list of professionals who can witness a life certificate.They do not need to live in the UK, or have a British passport.
Nationality: confirmation of British Nationality and Dual Nationality
Please note the Consulate can no longer issue letters confirming British nationality. Instead, you can download a free copy of an information note on confirmation of British Nationality which may serve in place of the letter. Alternatively, you can submit an application to the Home Office for confirmation of your British nationality status.
For letter related to dual nationality, you can download a free copy of an information note on dual nationality.
Renunciation and Naturalisation or Registration as a British citizen
We do not handle applications for renunciation and naturalisation or registration as a British citizen. All applications are handled by the UK Visas and Immigration.
Certificates confirming British nationality
Please visit UK Visas and Immigration website for more information.
UK driving licences
Please visit DVLA website for information on how to renew UK driving licences.
Services we cannot provide
We do not witness or issue documents for the purpose of registering businesses, purchasing/ selling property, confirming identities, family relationships or addresses, or witnessing a signature on a third party document such as a Power of Attorney, as these can be done by local notaries or lawyers.
We are unable to authenticate, notarise, verify or legalise any document. Find more information on how to get a UK document legalised abroad.
Under Hong Kong Law (Section 10 of the Consular Relations Ordinance), consular staff in Hong Kong are not permitted to undertake notarial acts for use in Hong Kong.
Recognition or validity of marriage
We do not provide a recognition of marriage document. Only Courts in England and Wales can recognise a marriage under English and Welsh Law, for more information see information note on recognition or validity of marriage.
If you cannot find the service you are looking for on this page, or have proof that there is a specific requirement for a service to be provided only by the British Consulate and not a local notary or lawyer, please contact us using the contact form.
Data protection
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office holds and uses data for purposes notified to the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998. Such personal data may be disclosed to other UK government departments and public authorities.
Disclaimer
This information is provided as a general guide and is based upon information provided to the embassy / consulate by the relevant authorities and may be subject to change at any time with little or no notice. Accordingly the FCDO and the British embassy / consulate will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information. For all notarial and legalisation services it is the responsibility of the customer to ascertain the precise requirements of the person requesting the notarial or legalisation service and to satisfy themselves that the service provided by the embassy/consulate will be accepted.
Updates to this page
Last updated 19 August 2022 + show all updates
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Updated information on issuing of letters as part of Certificate of No Criminal Conviction request.
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Updated the guide in full.
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Updated guidance about applying for a Hong Kong CNCC from overseas
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March 2022 update to 'Applying for Hong Kong CNCC from overseas' letter.
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Amendments to Services we provide in Macao
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Attached new Information Note: Dual Nationality.
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Changes to British Consulate-General Hong Kong’s notarial services wef 9 Apr 2018
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Updates to Services we provide in HK and Make a certified copy of a document sections
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Appended with new section Information Notes under Services provided elsewhere
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Updates for rollout of Consular Appointments Booking System
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Update to Service we no longer provide section
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Update to Service we no longer provide section
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New Affidavit/Affirmation for marriage in Macao
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Updated contents of Notarial services guide for Hong Kong
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Deleted the line "signing a declaration of existence'
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First published.