For the Ethiopian community in Washington, this is the practical link to the administration back home — documents, identity, civil status, and help when something goes badly wrong far from home.
Everything on record about this office follows: where it is, how to reach it, what it does, and what to settle before you go.
📞 Quick Contact
- Address: 3506 International DR NW, Washington
- Phone: (202) 364-1200
- Official website: http://www.ethiopianembassy.org
- Type of office: Embassy
🛂 Consular services at a glance
What follows is the usual range for a embassy of this size. The office itself is the authority on what it actually does:
- Powers of attorney: property sales, inheritance and banking are the usual reasons. Registries are strict about wording, so vague drafting gets rejected.
- Visas: applications from people travelling to Ethiopia, where the category is not handled through an online system.
- Passports: the most common reason people come here. Expect an appointment, a visit in person, and a wait while the document is produced elsewhere.
- Civil status: a marriage celebrated in the United States does not exist back home until it is registered. The same goes for a birth and a death.
📅 Getting an appointment
Assume you need one. The exceptions are rare and tend to exist for emergencies rather than for convenience.
Use the office’s own channel. Sites that charge for slots are intermediaries, and consulates warn against them regularly.
Bring originals and copies of everything. Counters keep the copy and return the original, and the reverse is the exception.
🤝 Practical points
Districts get redrawn. If you last used this office years ago, confirm it still covers you.
Keep the old documents. Expired passports, previous identity cards and original certificates are asked for far more often than people expect, and reconstructing them from abroad is slow.
Where a document has to be produced back home, the appointment is the start of the timetable rather than the end of it.
Before you travel to the embassy in Washington
Which source wins if there is a contradiction?
The office’s own, at www.ethiopianembassy.org. No directory, this one included, replaces the official source.
Do I need a visa to visit Ethiopia?
That depends on your nationality and the length of the trip. Where Ethiopia does require one, it is increasingly applied for online rather than at a counter.
Where exactly is this embassy?
At 3506 International DR NW, in Washington. Check the floor or suite number before travelling — it is the detail that ruins more visits than anything else.
How do I confirm the requirements before travelling there?
By telephone on (202) 364-1200. Ask about the documents and the exact fee: both change without much notice, and many posts take only cash or a money order.
Does this embassy cover my state?
Consular districts are drawn by each country, and the nearest office is not always the competent one. Confirm the district before booking anything in Washington.
What if I lose my passport days before a flight?
That does not go through the ordinary appointment queue. Call and say it is an emergency: for imminent travel most networks issue a travel document valid for a single journey.
Does this office handle passports?
It usually does, by appointment and with personal attendance for biometrics. Ask whether the booklet is collected at the counter or posted out.