Document Checker

Documents Eligible for Apostille Legalization

Click on your Select a Document dropdown below to verify if it can be legalized and see if any pre-legalization steps are required. If you have any questions, please get in touch with us.

Documents Checker Dropdown

Official UK Apostille Service

Academic Certificate
Academic Transcript
Degree Certificate
Diploma
Educational Certificate
Letter of Enrolment

British academic documents (including certificates, transcripts, reference letters) must be authenticated by a solicitor or notary public before they can be legalised with an apostille. If you are outside the UK, you may be able to have your document authenticated at a British Embassy, but you need to check if this service is offered in the country you are in.

University documents must have been issued by a recognised organisation. You can check if the university is recognized in the official government website.

Diplomas must also have been issued by one of the following accredited organizations:

• UK Border Agency
• Scottish Qualifications Authority
• OfQual
• British Accreditation Council
• Association of British Language Schools

Important Note - Requirements for authentication by solicitor/notary public

Photocopies of these documents can be legalised, as long as they are certified as a 'true copy' by a solicitor or notary public.

The solicitor or notary public must:

• state what they are certifying (true copy, original document, witness signature etc)
• use their own personal signature, not the company name
• date the certification
• state their company address

In addition, when a document is authenticated by a notary public from England, Northern Ireland or Wales, the notary public must affix their notarial seal and apply their embossed seal.

Please note that some authorities abroad will not accept copies of certain documents, even though they can be legalised here. If you want to make sure a copy will be accepted, contact the foreign authority concerned.

Official UK Apostille Service - Legal Documents

Affidavit
Deed Poll
Name Change Deed
Power of Attorney
Statutory Declaration

All legal documents listed above must be authenticated, signed or witnessed by a solicitor or notary public before they can be legalised with an apostille. If you are outside the UK, you may be able to have your document authenticated at a British Embassy, but you need to check if this service is offered in the country you are in.

Important Note - Requirements for authentication by solicitor/notary public

Photocopies of these documents can be legalised, as long as they are certified as a 'true copy' by a solicitor or notary public.

The solicitor or notary public must:

In addition, when a document is authenticated by a notary public from England, Northern Ireland or Wales, the notary public must affix their notarial seal and apply their embossed seal.

Official UK Apostille Service - Company Documents

Articles of Association
Certificate of Incorporation
Companies House Document
Memorandum of Association
Minutes of Board Meetings
Company information (eg. List of Directors)

Any of the documents above can be legalised if:

• the document has been issued by Companies House and certified by a Companies House Official. Official copies can be ordered directly from Companies House; or

• it is the original document, authenticated as an original document by a solicitor or a notary public.

• it is a copy of the document, authenticated as a 'true copy' of the original by a solicitor or a notary public.

Important Note - Requirements for authentication by solicitor/notary public

Photocopies of these documents can be legalised, as long as they are certified as a 'true copy' by a solicitor or notary public.

The solicitor or notary public must:

In addition, when a document is authenticated by a notary public from England, Northern Ireland or Wales, the notary public must affix their notarial seal and apply their embossed seal.

Official UK Apostille Service - Personal Documents

Bank Statements
Driving License
Letter from Employer (Reference)
Letter of Invitation
Medical Report/Fit to Work
Passport
Sick Note (from a Doctor)
Test Results (Medical)
Utility Bill

All documents, or copies, in the list above must be authenticated by a solicitor or notary public before they can be legalised with an apostille, except:

• Driving Licenses/Passports: only certified copies (by a solicitor or notary public) of these documents can be legalised; the original documents cannot.

• Medical reports, certificate of fitness to work and medical test results: originals must be signed by a doctor registered with the General Medical Council. If your document has been signed by another doctor or another member of staff, on behalf of your named doctor, the document will not be legalised.

Important Note - Requirements for authentication by solicitor/notary public

Photocopies of these documents can be legalised, as long as they are certified as a 'true copy' by a solicitor or notary public.

The solicitor or notary public must:

In addition, when a document is authenticated by a notary public from England, Northern Ireland or Wales, the notary public must affix their notarial seal and apply their embossed seal.

Official UK Apostille Service - Religious Documents

Baptism certificate
Other religious documents

Religious documents can only be legalised if they have been authenticated by a solicitor or notary public.

Important Note - Requirements for authentication by solicitor/notary public

Photocopies of these documents can be legalised, as long as they are certified as a 'true copy' by a solicitor or notary public.

The solicitor or notary public must:

In addition, when a document is authenticated by a notary public from England, Northern Ireland or Wales, the notary public must affix their notarial seal and apply their embossed seal.

Official UK Apostille Service - UK Government Documents

Certificate of Naturalisation
Department of Health Document
Government Document
Home Office Document

All documents listed above can be legalised if:

• the original document has been signed by an officer from the issuing authority, or
• if it has been authenticated by a solicitor or notary public

Important Note - Requirements for authentication by solicitor/notary public

Photocopies of these documents can be legalised, as long as they are certified as a 'true copy' by a solicitor or notary public.

The solicitor or notary public must:

In addition, when a document is authenticated by a notary public from England, Northern Ireland or Wales, the notary public must affix their notarial seal and apply their embossed seal.

Official UK Apostille Service - GRO Documents

Birth Certificate
Certificate of No Impediment (CNI)
Civil Partnership Certificate
Death Certificate
Letter of No Trace
Marriage Certificate

Only original certificates issued by a Registrar, or certified copies issued by the General Register Office (GRO), can be legalised. Photocopies of these documents will not be legalised under any circumstances - even if they have been certified as a true copy by a solicitor or notary public.

Possible delays:

• there could be a delay in the legalisation process if a religious marriage certificate is signed by a religious official, such as a priest or a vicar. This is because the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) may not have a specimen of the signature of that particular religious official in their database. In this case, the FCO will contact the church to ask for confirmation of the signature. The FCO will only issue the apostille once the signature is confirmed, so the delay will depend on how long the church takes to reply to the FCO.
• If your document was issued before 1991, it can take longer to legalise a signature on an original certificate.
If either of these two situations is the case with your document, and you want guarantee that your document will be legalised without delays, you could obtain an official copy of the original document from the GRO - the document would then be legalised under the GRO seal.

If you would like us to order the certificate on your behalf, please contact us either by email, contact form or simply chat to us online now (chat link at the bottom right of this page - business hours only).

Important Note

• Photocopies of GRO documents cannot be legalised, even if they have been certified by a solicitor or notary public. The only official copies are those issued by Registrars or the GRO.
• Documents not issued by a Registrar or the GRO, such as Islamic marriage certificates, can only be legalised if they are authenticated by a solicitor or notary public. Photocopies of these documents can be legalised, as long as they are certified as a 'true copy' by a solicitor or notary public.

The solicitor or notary public must:

In addition, when a document is authenticated by a notary public from England, Northern Ireland or Wales, the notary public must affix their notarial seal and emboss it.

Official UK Apostille Service - Court Documents

County Court Document
Court of Bankruptcy Document
Decree Absolute
Decree Nisi
Family Division of the High Court of Justice Document
Grant of Probate
High Court of Justice Document
Last Will and Testament
Sheriff Court Document

Any of the documents above must have been issued by one of the following:

• County Court
• Court of Bankruptcy
• Family Division of the High Court of Justice
• High Court of Justice
• Sheriff Court

They can only be legalised if they have:

• the original seal or ink stamp of the court
• the signature of a court official
• authentication from a solicitor or notary public

Please note that there could be a delay in the legalisation process if the document is signed by a court official. This is because the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) may not have a specimen of the signature of that particular official in their database. In this case, the FCO will contact the court to ask for confirmation of the signature. The FCO will only issue the apostille once the signature is confirmed, so the delay will depend on how long the court takes to reply to the FCO.

If you want guarantee that your document will be legalised without delays, we can provide solicitor or notary public authentication of the document. We work with solicitors and notaries whose signature specimen are definitely in the database.

Important Note - Requirements for authentication by solicitor/notary public

Photocopies of these documents can be legalised, as long as they are certified as a 'true copy' by a solicitor or notary public.

The solicitor or notary public must:

In addition, when a document is authenticated by a notary public from England, Northern Ireland or Wales, the notary public must affix their notarial seal and apply their embossed seal.

Official UK Apostille Service - Police Certificates

Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Document
Criminal Records Check
Disclosure Scotland Certificate
Fingerprints Document
ACRO Police Certificate
Police Certificate for Immigration Purposes
Access Northern Ireland Disclosure

All documents listed above can be legalised if:

• the original document has been signed by an officer from the issuing authority, or
• the original has been authenticated by a solicitor or notary public

Important Note

Photocopies of these documents cannot be legalised under any circumstances.

Official UK Apostille Service - DEFRA Pet Export Documents

The Pet Export document issued by DEFRA (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) can only be legalised if it has been signed and stamped by a veterinary surgeon registered with the Department of Food and Rural Affairs.

Official UK Apostille Service - Translated Documents

Translations can only be legalised if the translator, or translation company representative, has signed the certification of accuracy (in the form of an affidavit or a statutory declaration) before a solicitor or notary public.

We can provide legalised translations from English into various languages. Please note that we can't certify translations that have been made elsewhere. If you have a translation that hasn't been certified by a solicitor or notary public, ask the translator or translation company to provide a certification suitable for legalisation.

If you still don't have a translation, we will be happy to provide a quote for a legalised translation via our quote request form, contact us via email or chat to us right now (chat button at the bottom right of the page) to ask for more information.