Legalisation Office - Country Guide - How to Legalise documents

We offer a full legalisation service.

if you need help in getting your documents legalised

 - call us on +442074992605 or email notary@notarypublicinlondon.com 

If you are sending your documents abroad you may discover that there are often different requirements for different countries.

Access our guide to help you understand what may be required in different parts of the world.

Helping you to understand why certain steps are required and how we can help you.

What is an Apostille...?   click the button below now to access our Apostille Service Guide.

Legalisation Services Summarised - 3 Types Of Legalisation Services

1. Notarisation Only

Notary Public Notarisation of a document is in itself actually legalisation. 

The Notarisation is making the document legal as per the requirements in the recipient country.

Which countries just need simple Notarisation? 

2. Apostille Legalisation Required

The document is signed and sealed by the notary, then goes to the legalisation office of the  Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office Legalisation Office (FCDO).

The FCDO in the UK print an A5 sized certificate confirming that the document is considered a public document in the United Kingdom. This certificate is called an Apostille.

The Apostille is duly signed and an embossed seal is pressed onto the Apostille and through the document to which it is attached.

We can help you get an Apostille,  please see the Apostille section of our website for a complete guide to our service.

If your document destined for a country which is a member state of the Hague Convention, then an Apostille should make it legal and accepted in that country.

3. Get documents legalised - when a Consular stamp is needed

Where the document is going to a country which is not a signatory to the Hague Convention, then the document is signed and sealed by the notary, gets an Apostille and then needs to be taken to the consulate of the country in which the document is to be used.

The country's consulate's will have a database of Foreign & Commonwealth Office Legalisation Office signatories.

They cross check the signature of the Foreign Office staff member on the Apostille, they will duly sign and apply their stamp and seal confirming that the document has been duly legalised.

Thus, the relevant consulate will usually not comment or verify any of the documents contents,  but verify the authenticity of the Apostille.