Honorary Consul of Germany in Charleston

German consulate in Charleston
An honorary consul is not a consulate general. None of them issue visas, and only some can take a passport application. Fees are paid in cash in US dollars, and applying through one adds 105.00 € to the passport fee.

Germany keeps an honorary consul in Charleston to serve Georgia and South Carolina, under the supervision of the mission in Atlanta.

How to reach this office

  • Address
    The Federal Foreign Office does not publish a street address for this office. Write or call first and agree where to meet.
  • Telephone
    +1 843-727-6330
  • Email
    charleston@hk-diplo.de
  • Honorary consul
    Elizabeth Gibbes, Honorary Consul
  • States covered
    Georgia and South Carolina
  • Reports to
    German Consulate General in Atlanta

Book an appointmentFees and requirementsThe thirteen procedures

What this office can and cannot do

Honorary consuls work on an honorary basis, without a fee for their services, and their consular authority is limited by law.

The Federal Foreign Office does not say whether this office can take passport applications. That is not the same as saying it cannot: call and ask before assuming you have to travel to Atlanta.

No honorary consul issues visas or German ID cards. Those are limited to the embassy and the eight consulates general.

It is worth starting here even for things that end up elsewhere: the office knows the local situation.

How far your consulate general is

The consulate general in Atlanta is 301 miles from here, roughly 5 h 52 min of driving without traffic. That is a long day out and back, so it is worth confirming by email what can be settled locally first.

The other German offices near you

Charleston is not the only honorary consulate covering this ground.

  • Columbia, which also covers South Carolina

What you can settle without travelling

Several of the most searched German procedures are handled entirely somewhere else.

  • Get a certificate of conduct: the Federal Office of Justice handles it; any US notary public can notarize your signature on the form
  • Get a document apostilled: for a US document it is the Secretary of State of the issuing state; no German mission can do it
  • Send in a life certificate for your pension: there is a free digital route with a QR code, and a bank or a police station can sign the paper one

This is an independent directory of German consular offices in the United States. It is not operated by the Federal Foreign Office or by any German mission. Fees, opening hours and requirements change: always confirm them with the office before you travel.

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