US $50 for a notary at the U.S. Consulate in SMA?!?!

[SoNouveau]

I need a simple form notarized--a request for a birth certificate from the San Diego, CA, country recorder.

They say that if I have the form notarized by a Mexican notary, that I'll also need the apostille (sp?). BUT, if I go the U.S. Consulate, I don't need the apostille. (From what I gather online, getting the apostille locally is a bit tough, so I'm inclined to use the U.S. services in SMA.)

Here's the question, though ... The SMA U.S. Consulate will notarize for US $50.

Doe that strike anyone as basically outrageous?!?! In Washington state, say, the maximum a notary can charge is US $10.

I don't mind paying a premium, but ... $50?!?!

Comments? Suggestions? (I'm tempted to "comparison shop" and ask the U.S. Consulate in Mexico City what THEY charge. LOL I'll be there in early February for 3 nights and I could do it then.)

[Doyle Phillips]

Could not see a way to reply privately to you but since it is of interest...

I recently wrote to the American Embassy about this matter and they have not answered
as to why the charge should be $50 dollars per page. (My Texas bank charges $0.00 to
customers.) Equally annoying is that many Americans in Guanajuato do not find it easy
to travel to SMA to get their documents notarized.

In the same email i suggested to the embassy that the American Embassy Wardens (such as i)
should be authorized to notarize documents if they are licensed in any state of the U.S.
And that the fee charged by the Warden/Notary could be whatever the Notary might choose,
certainly less than $50.00.

Yes, Embassy, i know that the Law does not permit it. And that is indeed my suggestion: change
the rule!!! --doyle phillips warden GTO & Del. Hidalgo

p.s. you can send a message to the Embassy by email. A flood of protests might get the fee lowered.

[SoNouveau]

My typical response, at least in the U.S., would be: And I thought Jesse James was dead.

This also springs to mind, just now: And I thought Wells Fargo fees were outrageous.

Thanks for the note! I guess I swallow hard, bus over, and pay them.

Oddly enough--or apropos, one might say--is the fact that the notarized birth certificate is for Permanent Residency in Chile! LOL

Again, thanks for the information--and the rather quick response!

[doncoulter]

So try the apostille route instead. This is going back a few years, but I once had a Mexican-notarized document apostilled at the local Registro Civil office. I don't remember how much they charged, but it wasn't much and they gave me quick service.

As Doyle noted, the $50 fee is established by the State Department. Complain if you like, write letters to your congressmen to try to get the fee lowered if you like, but the truth is that we expats are not a large constituency. Your protests will fall on deaf ears.