An apostille is an official certificate issued by the UK Legalisation Office after it checks a recognised signature, stamp or seal on a document. If you have been asked to provide a UK document overseas, first obtain the receiving organisation’s requirements. The correct route depends on the document, its destination and the purpose for which it will be used.
Use the document legalisation planning worksheet
Start with the receiving authority’s instructions
Before arranging notarisation or legalisation, ask the organisation receiving your document to confirm whether it needs an original or a certified copy, whose signature it accepts, and whether it requires a paper apostille or can accept an electronic one. Also ask whether separate documents need separate apostilles.
Keep those instructions with your documents. A request that simply says “legalised copy” may leave important details unresolved. Clarifying them before work starts helps avoid arranging a service that does not match the recipient’s requirements.
Notarisation and an apostille are different steps
Notarial work may involve authenticating a signature or preparing a certified copy. An apostille is then issued by the Legalisation Office, rather than by the notary. Some official documents can be submitted without prior notarial certification; other documents need certification by an appropriate UK public official first. Do not assume every document follows the same sequence.
The FCDO’s current legalisation guidance explains which documents can be legalised.
Paper apostille or e-Apostille?
The UK offers both formats. An e-Apostille application uses a PDF electronically signed by a UK notary or solicitor. A scan of a paper document is not, by itself, the electronically signed document required for this route. Eligibility and the recipient’s requirements both matter; check the current exclusions on GOV.UK before choosing.
For a paper application, the online service provides instructions for submitting the documents. For an e-Apostille, the completed documents are made available electronically. Use the official application guidance rather than sending originals to an address found in an old article.
Check destination-country requirements
An apostille should not be treated as a promise that a document will meet every requirement overseas. Confirm the required wording, language and supporting documents with the intended recipient. Where further embassy or consular legalisation is required, establish that process before deciding the order of the work.
FCDO guidance for documents used abroad describes additional steps for countries outside the Hague Apostille Convention arrangements. If the document was issued outside the UK, contact the authorities in that country about the appropriate legalisation route.
Prepare your enquiry
When contacting Mihail about a document, include:
- The document type and the country where it was issued.
- The destination country and the name of the receiving organisation.
- The recipient’s written instructions, including any translation requirements.
- Whether you have the original and whether it has already been signed.
- Your deadline and whether paper or electronic delivery is required.
Explain the document’s purpose in your initial enquiry without including unnecessary personal information. Ask how any sensitive documents should be provided. If the recipient has given you a form, retain its full instructions and attachments so that relevant conditions are not lost.
Ask for a quotation identifying the work required and any separate legalisation, delivery or translation charges. For current government charges and processing information, consult GOV.UK at the time of application. Avoid making travel or submission arrangements on the assumption that a document will be completed by a particular date.
Checking an issued apostille
The recipient can check a UK paper or electronic apostille through the official verification service using its issue date and apostille number. Keep a record of those details with the completed document, and provide the full document to the recipient in its requested format.
Document legalisation planning worksheet
Start with the document’s origin and the receiving organisation’s instructions. This worksheet helps you record what must be checked before choosing an apostille or other legalisation route.
1. Identify the document
- Issuing country or territory, document type and issuing organisation.
- Original, certified copy or electronic document.
- The signature or seal that is expected to be authenticated.
- Any additional certification or translation requested by the recipient.
2. Record the receiving organisation’s instructions
- Country or territory of use and exact receiving organisation.
- What the organisation has requested, including prescribed wording and document age requirements.
- Paper or electronic delivery format, number of documents, and whether separate certificates are requested.
- Submission deadline and a contact who can clarify the instructions.
3. Check the route using current official guidance
- For a UK-origin document, check the FCDO's current eligibility and application guidance.
- Check whether the Apostille Convention applies to the relevant origin and destination, including any territorial or other qualifications in the HCCH status information.
- Where another legalisation route is needed, obtain current instructions from the relevant embassy, consulate or receiving authority.
- If an electronic route is considered, check the UK document's eligibility and the recipient's submission arrangements.
4. Agree the sequence and responsibility
- Who supplies or checks the original document?
- Who prepares any notarial act or other certification?
- Who handles apostille, consular and translation stages, where required?
- Who pays the agreed professional fees and third-party charges?
- Who checks the completed document and arranges delivery?
Questions to resolve before choosing a route
- The origin or recipient's requirements are unclear
- Obtain written clarification before selecting a service.
- A UK-origin document appears eligible for an apostille
- Check any prior certification and the appropriate application format using current FCDO guidance.
- The document was issued outside the UK
- Identify the relevant authority and process in its country of issue; do not assume the FCDO can legalise it.
- The treaty route does not apply or further steps are requested
- Check current destination instructions and agree the route with the notary.
- An e-Apostille is proposed
- Check document eligibility and handling arrangements; record any recipient concern for clarification rather than asserting a blanket rejection rule.
Illustrative example — not a client case
A professional is asked to send a UK qualification certificate overseas. They record the receiving body's exact request, check whether the original or a certified copy is wanted, and discuss the certification and legalisation sequence before arranging dispatch. The worksheet does not decide professional recognition or admission.
An apostille concerns the relevant signature, seal or stamp. It does not decide the document’s underlying legal effect or whether it meets every requirement of the receiving organisation. Allow for recipient checks and third-party processing.
Official guidance
- Legalise a UK document (GOV.UK)
- Documents for British people abroad (GOV.UK)
- Apostille Convention guidance (HCCH)
Related guidance: all notarial services · notary appointment preparation checklist · company document and signing authority checklist.
Contact Mihail about your document · Fees and price structure · Apostille questions · All notarial services