Commercial Legalization

For any exporter seeking to legalize his documents from the Consulate, Commercial documents are classified into three main categories:

First: Certificate of origin, commercial invoices has to be:
- certified by a chamber of commerce recognized under the laws of the state,
- notarized by the notary public,
- and authenticated by the secretary of state.
- Please note that some states require commercial documents to be attested by the county clerk prior to its authentication by the secretary of state.
Commercial documents have to be signed by an authorized company representative, with his/her name and title clearly stated in the document.

Second: Other documents such as corporate commercial power of attorney and commercial contracts, as well other commercial documents, need to be notarized by the notary public, attested by the county clerk and authenticated by the secretary of state.
It is important to note that commercial contracts, agreements as well as agency agreements with a specific value are subject to an extra legalization fee. This fee will be determined on a case-by-case basis after the revision of the commercial agreement/contract.
Commercial documents has to be signed by an authorized company representative, with his/her name and title clearly state in the document.
The consulate requires a letter from the company stating that the representative/agent is authorized to sign.

Third: Documents issued by federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Treasury, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), et cetera, need to be authenticated directly from the U.S. Department of State in Washington DC.
Personal Commercial POA
Please use the attached form.

Walked-in: documents are processed in the same day, unless otherwise indicated by the officer in charge.
- Requirements for an Egyptian National:
  - A valid national Egyptian ID or Passport
  - Should the individual be signing on behalf of a specific Egyptian company, a proof of signature authorization is required.
  - The individual should present the original Company Commercial Registration in Egypt authenticated by the Egyptian Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Requirements for US National:
  - The commercial document has to be authenticated by the secretary of state.
  - Valid US passport
  - A notarized copy of the US Passport and authenticated by the secretary of state.
Mailed-in: documents are processed in 5 business days in addition to mailing time.
- Requirements for an Egyptian National:
  - A notarized copy of a valid Egyptian National ID or Passport
  - The commercial document has to be notarized then authenticated by the secretary of state
  - Should the person is signing on behalf of a specific Egyptian company, a proof of signature authorization is required.
  - The person should send the original Company Commercial Registration in Egypt authenticated by the Egyptian Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Requirements for US National:
  - Valid US passport
  - A notarized copy of the US Passport and authenticated by the secretary of state.
  - The commercial document has to be authenticated by the secretary of state.
Important notice: The name in the commercial document should be identical to the personal identification document used.

Notice:
- The Consulate only legalizes original documents
- Documents are processed in 5 business days in addition to mailing time.

Requirements for mailing-in documents:
For your convenience, exporters can either come to the consulate in person or mail in their documents along with the payment and a prepaid self-addressed return envelope.
Payment and Fees
The payment per document is 55USD in the form of cash, US Postal Service Money order, or cashier's check that is valid for three months from the day of documents' submission.
The Consulate recommends sending documents with registered mail as it will not be held responsible for any loss of documents by mail.
At the Consulate of Egypt in New York, we are always happy to serve you