AEDIRE
THE BRITISH LAND-OWNER GUIDE

A section in the care of Amanda Miller


Legalisation of foreign documents
 THE APOSTILLE


CONTENTS
Which documents may be apostilled?
How to get an Apostille
How to Apostille in UK
Model of Apostille


The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Hague Apostille Convention) facilitates the circulation of public documents executed in one State party to the Convention and to be produced in another State party to the Convention. It does so by replacing the cumbersome and often costly formalities of a full legalisation process with the mere issuance of an Apostille (also called Apostille Certificate or Certificate). The Hague Apostille Convention only applies as between States parties.


Which documents may be apostilled?


The Convention applies only to public documents. These are documents emanating from an authority or official connected with a court or tribunal of the State (including documents issued by an administrative, constitutional or ecclesiastical court or tribunal, a public prosecutor, a clerk or a process-server); administrative documents; notarial acts; and official certificates which are placed on documents signed by persons in their private capacity, such as official certificates recording the registration of a document or the fact that it was in existence on a certain date and official and notarial authentications of signatures.


The main examples of public documents for which Apostilles are issued in practice include:

  • birth, marriage and death certificates;
  • extracts from commercial registers and other registers;
  • patents;
  • court rulings;
  • notarial acts and notarial attestations of signatures;
  • academic diplomas issued by public institutions.  

Apostilles should only be issued for original public documents and  they may not be affixed to certified copies of public documents.


Diplomas issued by private institutions may not be apostillised directly; a "private" diploma may, however, bear an official certificate issued by a Notary, Solicitor, Agency or any other person or authority competent under the law of the State of origin of the diploma to authenticate the signature on the diploma. This official certificate is a public document under the Convention and thus may be apostillised. In such a case the Apostille does not relate to the diploma itself; instead it certifies the authenticity of the certificate on or accompanying the diploma.

Finally, the Convention neither applies to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents nor to administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations (e.g., certificates of origin or import or export licenses).

How to get an Apostille


Apostilles may only be issued by a Competent Authority designated by the State on whose territory the public document has been executed. The Permanent Bureau (Secretariat) of the Hague Conference does not issue Apostilles. The following link provides the list of Competent Authorities designated by each Contracting State, the contact details of Competent Authorities and other practical information



 How to Apostille in UK


The Foreign & Commonwealth Office can legalise most UK documents as long as they bear an original signature, seal or stamp from a UK public official.


Examples of documents that the Foreign Office legalise are:

  • UK Birth, Death and Marriage certificates

  • UK Civil Partnership Certificates

  • Certified copies of Birth, Death, Marriage and Civil Partnership certificates issued by the General Register Office

  • Death Certificate issued by a UK Coroner

  • Certificates of no impediment

  • County Court documents

  • Change of Name Deed poll - Signed by a UK notary public or solicitor (Please ensure that your solicitor signs your document in their own signature and not a company signature)

  • Power of Attorney - Signed by a UK notary public or solicitor. (Please ensure that your solicitor signs your document in their own signature and not a company signature)

  • Notarial Acts

  • Certificates of Incorporation - Signed by an official of Companies House

  • National Identification Certificates – Signed by an official of NIS

  • Medical documents – Signed by a GMC registered doctor

  • Passports – Photocopy signed by a UK notary public or solicitor (Please ensure that your solicitor signs your document in their own signature and not a company signature).


Academic Certificates

The Foreign Office will only legalise academic certificates or documents, which refer to qualifications from an accredited UK institution. The legalisation office will check the qualifications/institutions against lists of accredited providers available from the Department of Education and Skills, the British Accreditation Council for independent Further and Higher Education and the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council.


Academic documents must also be signed by a practising UK solicitor or notary public. When signing the document the solicitor/notary can confirm that the document is genuine after performing their own checks or sign a photocopy of the document confirming it is a true copy of an original document.


Photocopies

Photocopies of UK documents can only be accepted if they have been signed by a practising UK solicitor or notary public. (Make sure the solicitor signs the document with their personal signature (not a company signature) and print their name and company contact details clearly underneath).


Foreign Documents

The Foreign Office does not legalise foreign documents. If you have a foreign document which requires legalisation you should contact the relevant embassy in the UK for advice.


Translations

The Foreign Office can legalise translations of UK documents issued in the UK. These documents need to be signed by a practising UK solicitor or notary public.


For more information see:


 

Model of Apostille