Get Free Help on Legalisation
Free help – notary and legalisation

Locations

Postcodes KT1 – KT24 Cobham Weybridge Walton on Thames Chertsey Esher Dorking Cranleigh Guildford Ashtead Bookham Leatherhead Oxshott Ockham East and West Horsley Ripley and Send East and West Clandon Chessington Epsom & Ewell Reigate, Redhill and Gatwick Walton on the Hill Kingston and Surbiton New Malden Wentworth Sunningdale Chobham Virginia Water Farnborough Cheam, Banstead and Sutton Chipstead Coulsdon and Caterham Whyteleafe Oxted Lingfield Woldingham Kent Borders Westerham Biggin Hill Airport London Wimbledon Waterloo Victoria Westminster Kensington and Chelsea City/London Bridge Other London areas by arrangement
Postcodes KT1 – KT24 Cobham Weybridge Walton on Thames Chertsey Esher Dorking Cranleigh Guildford Ashtead Bookham Leatherhead Oxshott Ockham East and West Horsley Ripley and Send East and West Clandon Chessington Epsom & Ewell Reigate, Redhill and Gatwick Walton on the Hill Kingston and Surbiton New Malden Wentworth Sunningdale Chobham Virginia Water Farnborough Cheam, Banstead and Sutton Chipstead Coulsdon and Caterham Whyteleafe Oxted Lingfield Woldingham Kent Borders Westerham Biggin Hill Airport London Wimbledon Waterloo Victoria Westminster Kensington and Chelsea City/London Bridge Other London areas by arrangement

Apostille and legalisation

Apostille and legalisation

We have designed a Free help – notary and legalisation , which will help you. It will inform you what your document needs for it to be valid in the receiving country. You can also call our notaries for free guidance.

FCDO / Apostille

The FCDO Apostille or Legalisation certificate is a verification from the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office of the notary’s (or other competent / public official’s) authority to sign.

Many countries have signed up to the Hague (or Apostille) Convention which has as an aim the harmonisation and simplification of legalisation between signatory countries. 

For example, every EU country has signed up.

The FCDO services:

  • Standard Postal Service
  • E-Apostille
  • Business counter next day service (Milton Keynes) (in reality, this is a 3-4 Working Day turnaround)
  • Urgent Service (Milton Keynes) – this is a very limited service offered by FCDO.

It is early days for the E-Apostille – as at February 2024, just 11 countries have signed up to recognise E-apostille.  We are concerned about our clients’ documents not being accepted in the receiving country and then being ‘out of option’ – so would only use this for documents where there is no urgency or business imperative.  We can deal with E-Apostille if clients state this as their preference and will keep E-apostille progress under review.

Embassy / Legalisation

There remain several countries that have legalisation formalities which go further than Apostille.  These countries require the consulate/embassy of the receiving country in London to also legalise (authenticate) the Notary and document.  Some have specific requirements to enable them to legalise, which can be dependent on the type of document (i.e. private or commercial).  This can, in a few instances, include an international Chamber of Commerce.

Timescales, procedure, cost and formality vary considerably from country to country so it is best to check with us.

Company Notary Limited is a UK registered company (CRN: 10403985) owned by Dawn Stallwood. Our notaries are regulated by The Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, England.  Professional Insurance arranged by Howden Insurance and The Notaries Guarantee Limited.

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Copyright Company Notary Limited ©. March 2025. All rights reserved. Not for reproduction or use other than client reference.

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