What is an apostille?

What is an apostille?

An apostille is an official certification that authenticates documents for use in foreign countries. An apostille is internationally recognised and simplifies the process of verifying documents across borders, making it easier for individuals and businesses to conduct transactions overseas.

The process of attaching an apostille to a document is often referred to as “legalisation”. You may also be asked to obtain a Hague apostille or an apostille of the Hague. These terms all refer to the same thing.

Apostilles are issued by a designated authority in a country that is part of the Hague Apostille Convention of 1961. In the United Kingdom, that designated authority is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), which has a dedicated Legalisation Office based in Milton Keynes.

An example of an apostille is shown in the image above - it is a square document which is usually glued to the reverse of the document being certified. The apostille contains ten standardised fields, including who has signed the document and in which capacity. The apostille is then stamped and sealed (embossed) by the FCDO.

The apostille itself confirms the name and capacity of the public official who signed the document. As a notary public, James’s signature and seal are registered with the FCDO, so documents notarised by James can receive an apostille.

Does a document need to be notarised before obtaining an apostille?

This depends on the document. In the UK, certain documents that have been issued by the UK government and signed by a public official may be able to receive an apostille without being notarised, such as original birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates and ACRO (police check) certificates.

Many other documents will require notarising before receiving an apostille. This includes all copy documents (i.e. documents which are not originals such as copies of passports and driving licences), as well as power of attorneys and other documents not already signed by a public official. DBS certificates also need to be notarised before receiving an apostille. Please contact us and we can confirm whether a document requires notarising before being legalised.

What about e-apostilles?

Electronic apostilles (e-apostilles) were introduced in 2021 and involve the electronic legalisation of digitally signed documents. Once a document has been electronically notarised, the notarised PDF can be uploaded to the Legalisation Office’s website, following which an e-apostille will be issued.

The benefits of e-apostilles are that they are cheaper, quicker to obtain, and can be emailed directly to the recipient, saving the time and cost of international postage. However, the vast majority of recipients still require hard copy apostilles, so you should only proceed with an e-apostille if you have confirmed that it will be accepted. It is not possible to be issued a hard copy of an electronic apostille.

How long does it take?

We can submit the document for you and benefit from the FCDO’s next day service. You can also submit a document yourself for apostille, but this can take up to 15 working days and sometimes longer. Please refer to the Legalisation Office’s website for the current estimated processing times.

Does every country accept apostilles?

Apostilles are only recognised in countries that are members of the Hague Apostille Convention. For countries not part of the convention (such as the UAE, Qatar, Vietnam, and more) additional legalisation steps may be required, which usually involves sending the document for apostille first, then onto the country’s consular section for consular attestation (a process sometimes called super-legalisation).

Certain recipients in countries which are members of the Hague Apostille Convention (such as India) may still require additional attestation, so you should always check with the recipient of the document what they require.

What are the limitations of an apostille and what does the notary public do?

An apostille certifies that a document has been signed by a public official, but it does not validate its content. Recipients will therefore often ask for documents to be “notarised and apostilled”. The role of the notary will be verify the identity of the person involved (if applicable) and issue a notarial certificate confirming certain information. The apostille is then limited to confirming the document has been signed by the notary.

Get in touch

If you need help obtaining an apostille, we can help. Please contact us on a no obligation basis, and we can confirm the appropriate process for the document and country you are dealing with.

This article is not legal advice - it is provided for general information only.