Travel.State.Gov >
Legal Resources > Judicial Assistance Country Information > Ecuador Judicial Assistance Information
DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND MAY NOT BE TOTALLY ACCURATE IN A SPECIFIC CASE. QUESTIONS INVOLVING INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN LAWS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE APPROPRIATE FOREIGN AUTHORITIES OR FOREIGN COUNSEL.
Avigiras E12-170 y Eloy Alfaro
Quito, Ecuador
Telephone: 593-2-398-5000
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: 593-2-398-5000 or 593-9-9788-3222
Email: ACSQuito@state.gov
U.S. Consulate General Guayaquil
Santa Ana St. and Jose Rodriguez Bonin Ave.
San Eduardo Sector
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Telephone: 593-4-371-7000
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: 593-4-371-7000
Email: ACSGuayaquil@state.gov
List of Attorneys - U.S. Embassy Quito
Ecuador is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters. The United States and Ecuador are parties to the Inter-American Convention on Letters Rogatory and Additional Protocol. The U.S. Central Authority for the treaty is the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Office of Foreign Litigation, Washington, D.C. Requests for service under the Inter-American Convention on Letters Rogatory and Additional Protocol may be sent to the U.S. Department of Justice's contractor, Process Forwarding International (PFI), for transmittal to the Ecuadorian Central Authority.
Service on a Foreign State: See also our Service Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) feature and FSIA Checklist for questions about service on a foreign state, agency or instrumentality.
Prosecution Requests: U.S. federal or state prosecutors should also contact the Office of International Affairs, Criminal Division, Department of Justice for guidance.
Defense Requests in Criminal Matters: Criminal defendants or their defense counsel seeking judicial assistance in obtaining evidence or in effecting service of documents abroad in connection with criminal matters may do so via the letters rogatory process.
Ecuador is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil and Commercial Matters.
The taking of voluntary depositions of willing witnesses is not permitted in Ecuador, regardless of the nationality of the witness. Litigants may wish to consult local legal counsel for guidance on local legal procedures available.
Ecuador is a party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents. Ecuador’s competent authority for the Hague Apostille Conventionwill authenticate Ecuadorian public documents with Apostilles. For information about authenticating U.S. public documents for use in Ecuador, see the list of U.S. Competent Authorities. To obtain an Apostille for a U.S. Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America, contact the U.S. Department of State, Passport Services, Vital Records Office.
You are about to leave travel.state.gov for an external website that is not maintained by the U.S. Department of State.
Links to external websites are provided as a convenience and should not be construed as an endorsement by the U.S. Department of State of the views or products contained therein. If you wish to remain on travel.state.gov, click the "cancel" message.
You are about to visit: