Chancery (diplomacy)

The American chancery in Manila, Philippines

A chancery is the type of building that houses a diplomatic mission or an embassy. The building can house one or several different nations' missions. The term derives from chancery or chancellery, the office of a chancellor. Some nations title the head of foreign affairs a chancellor, and chancery eventually became a common referent to the main building of an embassy. The ambassador's quarters are generally referred to as the residence.