Secrets of drawing up powers of attorney in the USA so that they are accepted in your home country

I am often asked what should be in a notarial document issued abroad so that it can be subsequently accepted in Russia. The myth that documents need to be issued at the consulate arises from ignorance.

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Consulate VS Notary

If your document was not accepted in Russia, then it is most likely that it does not meet the requirements of the law. In addition to the obvious need for an apostille (requirements of the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961), the document must comply with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. But the details are defined by the Fundamentals of Legislation of the Russian Federation on Notaries of 1993 with amendments and additions that came into force on June 1, 2025. Ordinary people are little or not familiar with the Fundamentals of Legislation on Notaries; they are used by professional lawyers who provide legal assistance on a professional basis. However, it is this act that spells out the formal requirements for notarial documents down to the smallest detail.

Contacting a notary is always optional. Instead, persons living abroad and needing to prepare documents for their further use in the Russian Federation have the right to contact the consulate. They have the right, but there are questions about the possibility of implementing it - the queue at the consulate is full for six months in advance.

Consular officers perform the same notarial acts as a notary, and these documents have equal legal force. The difference is that consular documents can be used from the date of issue, as they do not require further legalization. And notarial documents must be legalized with an apostille, and you can start using them after following a certain registration algorithm. But there is good news - you do not have to wait six months. Recording in our office is made a maximum of one week in advance, and the process of document preparation is fast and convenient: you contact our office in the USA, and the completed document is transferred to your representative in the Russian Federation.

This is not a complete list of documents that can be issued at the consulate or by a notary with an apostille:

• certification of powers of attorney;
• cancellation of powers of attorney;
• execution of wills;
• revocation of wills;
• certification of marital consent for the purchase and sale of real estate;
• obtaining permits to travel abroad;
• certification of the accuracy of copies of documents and extracts from them, including certification of a copy of a passport;
• certification of the authenticity of signatures on documents;
• certification of the accuracy of the translation of documents from one language to another;
• certification of the fact that a citizen is alive;
• registration of a certificate of previously issued passports;
• certification of the fact of a citizen's presence in a certain place;
• proof of identity of the citizen with the person depicted in the photograph;
• certification of the time of presentation of documents;
• inspection of material evidence;
• interrogation of witnesses for further use of the interrogation protocol in a Russian court;
• any kind of affidavit.

The legislation also provides for other notarial actions. Almost all actions performed at the consulate can be performed by contacting a professional lawyer and notary in one person, that is, to me. The exception is the registration of a passport. Registration of a passport is an exclusively state service, it is not provided privately.

On the subject: Legal Myths That Make Our Lives Difficult: Gripping Stories from Karina Duval

Why your document prepared by a notary may not be accepted

In accordance with Article 45.1 of the Fundamentals of Legislation on Notaries, the text of a notarized document must be produced using technical means or written by hand and be easy to read. The use of a pencil or inks that are easily removed from paper, as well as the presence of erasures or additions, crossed out words and other corrections are not allowed. In a notarized document on paper consisting of several sheets, the sheets must be stitched, numbered and sealed with the notary's seal.

Yes, documents can be drawn up by hand, and although handwritten execution is a great rarity in the modern digital world, it is still possible that a document needs to be drawn up on the fly, and this will not be a reason for refusal if the content of this document fully complies with the law.

The text of the notarized document shall indicate: last name, first name and patronymic (if any), place of residence (if any), insurance number of the individual personal account (if any).

SNILS is a unique number of the individual personal account of the insured person in the compulsory pension insurance system. It is indicated in the notification of registration in the individual personalized accounting system ADI-REG or another document issued to the insured person, confirming his registration in the state pension insurance system of the Russian Federation. Many of you know this green laminated card (analogous to the American SSN), but not everyone knows that now it is becoming mandatory in many cases. Therefore, if you have a Russian passport, if you also receive a Russian pension, take care of obtaining this treasured number. For help in obtaining SNILS, you can contact Our New York office.

Photo from the personal archive of Karina Duval

The text of a notarized document on paper must indicate at least once in words the amounts and terms related to its content. It would seem like such a trifle, but if the date in the power of attorney is not indicated in words at least once, this power of attorney will not be accepted in Russia, even if everything else in it is simply perfect.

A technical error that does not change the legal content of a notarized document and does not affect the rights of third parties is corrected by the notary, stipulated and confirmed by the notary's signature with the seal imprint attached. The correction of a technical error is performed in such a way that everything written incorrectly in the original text can be read.

Hint: strikethroughs, use of correction fluid - what we are used to seeing in official documents in the US, will not work in Russia. Documents corrected with correction fluid can be immediately sent to the shredder; strikethroughs and changes must be properly specified and certified.

Documents submitted to the notary to confirm the facts that he/she is obliged to verify when performing a notarial act must also comply with the requirements of the law. Documents on paper cannot have erasures or additions, crossed out words or other unspecified corrections, they cannot be drawn up in pencil or with dyes that are easily removed from paper. The text of the document must be easy to read. The integrity of a document consisting of several sheets must be ensured by fastening it or by other means that eliminates doubts about its integrity. You can also provide the notary with electronic copies of documents - for example, those sent to you by relatives via WhatsApp. These photographs may only be used as information, the authenticity of which will be repeatedly verified upon presentation of the document in Russia.

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When performing a notarial act, the notary establishes the identity of the person applying for this act. All notarial acts are performed on the basis of a passport or other documents that eliminate any doubts regarding the identity of the applicant. In the USA, a driver's license is considered an identity document.

I notice that many people do not update the photo on their local ID, and it turns out that the document shows an attractive young man or woman who is a quarter of a century younger than the document holder. If the applicant has a valid passport, an outdated photo on the local document does not play a decisive role. However, in cases where the local ID is the only document proving identity, an old photo on it can become an obstacle to performing a notarial act. Check your documents - if they show a young face looking at you, as you did when you arrived in the USA 30 years ago, go to the DMV and update the photo.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Reasons for the invalidity of the Russian passport, and why it is dangerous for Russians living in America

How to Accept an Inheritance from the USA in Russia: Advice from a Notary

How to obtain certificates and references from the archives of the Civil Registry Office in your home country while in the USA

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