With the approach of summer, many high school students may be spending their summers on special field trips out of the country.

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs requires a notarized parental consent letter when a minor child travels without either parents or guardians to many international destinations. Even if the child has a current U.S. passport, the parental consent letter is necessary.

Notarizing parental consent usually involves taking the acknowledgment of the parent or guardian who has signed the consent letter. If the letter does not contain the acknowledgment language, “Acknowledged before me …” or something similar, you, the notary, can add it or attach a form of acknowledgment on a separate piece of paper.

Some Spanish-speaking countries require certified Spanish translations of all legal documents, including parental consent letters.

Notaries should not certify their own translations. To certify a translation, the translator must go to a notary with the original document and the translation to swear or affirm that the translation is true and accurate. Even if you, the notary, are a translator, you would have to go to another notary to swear or affirm to the accuracy of the translation since you cannot administer an oath to yourself.