The Validation Verification Vortex

Official Seal of Hesse, Germany

It's amazing how different things can be from place to place and culture to culture.

In the US, if I needed a document notarized, I would go to the nearest bank, or a friend who is a Notary Public, and they would witness my signature, emboss the document with their embosser, stamp it with a stamp, and sign the document.  I might give them $5 for their trouble, and be on my way - total time: 5-10 minutes.

Carol and I recently needed a document notarized for our bank in the USA. The document was sent to us via email attachment. We printed it out, and took it to an attorney whose office is in the next building - perhaps 20 meters away. He looked over the document, asked for our passports, photocopied them, had us sign, and asked us to come back the next day to pick up the document.

Notarized Document with
Ribbon and Seal

We went back the next afternoon as instructed and were presented with the document, Attached to the original by a scarlet ribbon was a second document, complete with a wax seal, and numerous signatures. The attorney explained that we next had to take the two documents to the state courthouse to have an Apostille attached. This is very important, he explained, because he is audited every four years by the German government to make sure that every document and every penny charged was accounted for. Fee for his services - 24.99 EUROS - about 28 US dollars.

The next morning (now day three, in case you are counting), I called the State Courthouse, and was told I could come at any time between 9 and noon without an appointment. I made my way through the metal detector (they took my Swiss Army pocket knife), then up to the 5th floor. I was in room 204, but as I started down the hall, I as in the 300's. So I turned around and crossed the lobby - to find myself in the 100's...having lived here for a while, I figured that the 200's would be at the far end of the 100's, even though they would then be at the furthest end of the building from the 300's. And I was right.

I found room 204 - locked and lights out.  An inverted business card was stuck in the name-plate on the door that simply read "205" - I looked next door, and there was 205 - with a light on. I went in, and was greeted by a very nice government worker, who invited me to sit down while he finished something on his computer.


When he finished, I showed him the document, and explained in my limited German that we needed the document notarized. He asked which country it was for, I told him "USA".  He checked his computer, and said, "That will be 18 Euros" (about 20 US Dollars). Beginning to marvel at the complexity of this process, I took out my wallet. He shook his head and said, "No, not here - go down to the ground floor to the cashier. Pay there, then return."  I gathered up all my items, made my way down 5 floors, found the cashier, and paid the fee.  I received a receipt, and an officially stamped form documenting that I had paid, which I returned to the kind gentleman on the 5th floor.  He accepted the form, and asked me to take a seat in the waiting area at the end of the hall.

I went there, glad I had brought my Kindle, and read for a while until I heard a woman say, "Herr Marsh?"  I gathered up my document, which had now multiplied into three documents, and went to the post office to mail it to the US.  When I got to there, I thought that it might be good, since it is Christmas time, to check into some form of expedited post.  The man said, "Sure, we can do that - it will cost 60 Euros (about 65 US Dollars)..."  I went for the standard shipping and paid 3.95 Euros.

So - Three days, three offices, one original document, one document verifying our signatures on the original, one document validating the verification of the signatures on the original, one wax seal, two official government stamps, three receipts, and a total cost of more than 50 US Dollars.


I told the person at our bank in the US to frame the forms.