Apostille and consular legalization of documents from the United Kingdom

Schmidt & Schmidt offers the legalization services for documents issued in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Island, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man by apostille.

The United Kingdom acceeded to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents in 1965. Therefore, no diplomatic authentication or consular legalization of public documents from the United Kingdom is required for successful legal communication with other member states of the Convention. The documents only need to be affixed with an apostille certificate on a separate slip of paper (called "allonge") or directly by the competent authority of the issuing state in order to be valid in the state of destination.

The apostille is a square stamp in English with the obligatory heading "Apostille" and a reference to the 1961 Hague Convention in French (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961). The apostille certificate’s sides will be at least 9 centimeters long.

The apostille or the “Hague apostille” is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document (e.g., a birth, marriage or death certificate, a decree, an extract of a register or a notarial certificate). It confirms the authenticity of the signature and the authority of an official who signed the public document.

Types of documents

Specific aspects and document requirements for the apostille in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the authority to certify documents with an apostille is held by the Legalization Office Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. This depends on the type of document and where it was issued. In addition, the apostille process can vary and consist of several steps.

In the United Kingdom, only original documents are allowed to be apostilled. At the same time, the certificate itself must be in good condition and all seals and signatures on it must be clearly legible.

Consular legalization of documents from the United Kingdom

In the case of a document to be used in a country that does not recognize the Hague Convention, such as China, the United Arab Emirates, or other countries not listed, the certificate must be legalized consularly. A complete list of countries that accept and use apostilles can be found here.

Consular legalization is a procedure for recognising the legality of documents that is more complex, longer and more expensive than authentication with an apostille.

Consular legalization is a more time-consuming and expensive procedure than the apostille, in which the certificate goes through several pre-certification procedures and is then certified in the consulate of the destination country in the United Kingdom. Often the document has to be translated by a certified translator into the official language of the destination country.

It should be noted that the certificate is only valid in the country whose consular mark it bears and cannot be used in other countries.

The duration of consular legalization of a document is generally not limited, but the validity of the certificate itself might be restricted.

The main differences between an apostille and consular legalization of documents

The common feature between apostille and consular legalization is that they authenticate an official document for presentation to institutions in another country. However, they have many differences.

Procurement of documents from the United Kingdom

Often important documents are lost or damaged, or current copies of the documents need to be obtained. In this case, it is necessary to request a duplicate of the documents. It is not unusual for people who have left the United Kingdom to encounter difficulties with this procedure. Our service allows you to apply for your documents remotely in the United Kingdom, and we can arrange for your documents to be sent by courier anywhere in the world.

Certified translation of documents from the United Kingdom

Copies and transcripts of civil status documents can be translated into any language by a sworn translator in the United Kingdom or the translation can be done in the country of destination. We offer certified translations of civil status documents with further certification. The cost of the work is calculated according to the volume of the document in question.

Does the translation have to be certified by an apostille?

Any foreign document issued in one country and required for use in another country must be legalised. It is important to remember that a translation of a document that has already been apostilled that has been made in the United Kingdom will still have the status of a foreign document for which an apostille is required. Consequently, many authorities may not accept certified translations from the United Kingdom. To avoid this, translations should be made in the country where the document is to be used.

Express delivery of documents with apostille from the United Kingdom is charged separately according to the rates of the delivery services.