Post Office Document Certification Service -OK for US Gov Agencies?

[TheBigPickle]

Hi,
I'd be very grateful if anyone knows whether I can use the post offices Document Certification Service to certify a copy of a U.K. Passport? I think It's to be sent to the US IRS - I'm not quite sure as it's for one of my adult DSs who has an American passport and needs to file a US tax return??

It's much cheaper and easier than getting a notarized copy from a Solicetor but I can work out if it's acceptable or not. 😌

You'll need to check with the particular authority as I suspect it will depend who requires it. Google is suggesting that IRS might require the copy to be certified by the issuing authority. Not sure how that would work for a passport but there are few threads on this if you google (mostly saying it's difficult!).

In general: I don't deal with the US but for the jurisdiction I'm in the post office certification wouldn't be sufficient on its own. I regularly provide certified copies and generally they ask for it to be a lawyer or notary public registered in the jurisdiction (which some exceptions). I can't recall seeing forms for the US but I suspect I have done over the years!

For what it's worth, the solicitor wouldn't be notarising, they'd be certifying as a true copy. Only notaries public can notarise documents - some solicitors are also notaries public but it's fairly rare - it's extra exams which are apparently pretty hard. Certifying a copy of a document is looking at the copy and looking at the document and saying the copy is a 'true copy' of the document (pretty quick to do if you take the photocopy yourself!). Notarising is verifying that the original document is a true document.

Thanks so much for that ZimmerZammer It makes more sense to me now. I'm usually the queen of googling things but I could quite find what I was after so thought I'd ask here.

. I'll definitely chase up exactly what it's required for then take it from there. Thanks again.

Thanks FamilyLawSol that's very kind of you. I've found a local solicetor that will certify the documents for me tomorrow so I'll make sure he signs etc and I will double check what it is I actually need.

Thanks for the link to the legislation office. I hadn't heard of it before,

It's all a bit of a pain really as DS 20 doubts he will ever want to live in the US so could just renounce his citizenship. However DH thinks he should just wait a few years just in case he changes his mind.

Thanks again for the info.