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Apostille Stamp, Apostille Certificate and Legalisation
Our fast and professional legalisation service is invaluable to overseas customers
Legalisation of documents is an important process for limited companies that originate overseas or are likely to have extensive overseas dealings. The process of legalisation involves creating an internationally-recognised apostille (certificate) verify the details on the documents.
Legalisation Procedure
- Step1: We obtain a signature from a notary public to confirm that the documents are genuine. In The UK notaries public are usually solicitors who, in addition to their legal work, are allowed to ‘notarise’ (officially authenticate) documents. A signature from notary public is not necessary where a document has been signed by a UK government official.
- Step2: We then visit the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to present the notarised documents.
- Step3: The FCO checks the signature of the Notary Public against their list of registered officials and attaches an Apostille to the document.
Time scale: One week
Further confirmation by consulate: Some countries require further confirmation of Apostilled documents by their own consulate in the UK. Please call us to obtain a cost for this service.
Company documents
Legalisation of company documents
When you buy a company from us you can add our legalisation service in a single step.
What we do:
We bundle together the following documents:
- Certificate of incorporation
- A letter confirming the names of directors and shareholders of the company
- Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company
The bundle of above documents is sealed and tied together with a ribbon, signed and sealed by a UK registered notary public.
The sealed bundled of company documents is taken to the foreign and commonwealth office in London who legalise it with an apostille.
Cost: £150 + vat inclusive of government fee of £30.
How to Buy: You can buy this service by adding it to the shopping eform cart at the end of the company formation online gateway.
Cost
Cost of legalising company registration bundle:
£180 + vat, inclusive of government fee.
Cost of legalising certificate of incorporation only:
£90 + vat, inclusive of government fee.
How to Buy:
You can buy this service by adding it to your eform Briefcase near the end of the online company formation gateway.
We can also legalise other documents, for example:
Power of attorney originating in the UK, graduation certificates, marriage or birth certificates etc.
Single documents are charged at £90 + vat where certification by a solicitor or notary public is NOT required.
Certification by a notary public is charged at £80 + vat
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about legalisation
What is Legalisation?
Legalisation simply means confirming that a signature, seal or stamp appearing on a document is genuine. Our legalisation service manages the administrative side of achieving this for your company, should it be necessary.
What is The Hague Convention?
The Hague Convention of October 1961 was set up as a simple system to allow documents originating in one member country to be easily recognised as authentic in another member country. Member countries of the Hague Convention of 1961 accept an Apostille as a confirmation that the documents are genuine.
Who can legalise documents?
There is only one government department in the UK that is authorised to legalise documents - The Foreign & Commonwealth Office located in London.The Foreign & Commonwealth Office legalise documents by checking the signature of the government official or notary public who signed it. They then they attach an Apostille to the document to confirm that the document is genuine.
What is an Apostille?
An Apostille is a small certificate showing the following details of company legalisation:
- The name of the country of origin of the document,
- The name of the signatory of the document,
- The place and date of certification,
- The number of the certificate,
- The seal and signature of the authority issuing the certificate.
An Apostille has become the favoured form of document validation by member countries of the Hague Convention.
Apostilles are often accepted as a form of validation even by countries that are not signatories to the Hague Convention.
