Apostille Certification Services

An apostille is a certificate and stamp issued by the government to officially verify a document’s authenticity. Such verification is accepted by members of the Hague Apostille Convention (including countries such as the United States, France and Spain). It will be vital if you’re planning on studying or working abroad. Your identity might also have to be verified for immigration and legal proceedings.

If there’s any doubt over the need for an apostille, you should check whether any countries you plan to visit are members of the Hague Convention (you can confirm this with a quick Google search). If this isn’t the case, then you might require embassy authentication. It’s also worth checking whether the government office of the destination country requires the presentation of an apostille.

Although they might both be presented for the same purpose, there are differences between the apostille and notarisation. The notarisation applies to domestic and international documents and involves having a notary public or other authorised official verify the authenticity of a signed document. The apostille process is generally simpler and more standardised, with notarisation involving some steps based on the country or region’s demands.

The apostille service begins with the checking and verification of any documentation that you’ve provided. This might mean contacting a university for verification of an academic certificate, a doctor for verification of a birth certificate, etc. With such verification, one of our solicitors can sign and attach a certified copy or cover sheet as appropriate.

The next step will be to present the document to the UK FCO for application of the apostille. This will depend on the cross-reference of the document against the FCO’s database of signatures and seals. If the signature can’t be verified, the FCO may contact Mounteney Solicitors to confirm our approval.

Timescales vary depending on the document and whether third-party verification is required. We can often complete our part within one to two working days, but some documents, including academic certificates and ACRO certificates, may take around a week to verify before they can be sent to the FCDO. After that, FCDO processing typically takes around a week, although delays can occur and are outside our control.