E-apostille (signature) problems: Common issues and how to solve them

An e-Apostille is an electronic version of the traditional certificate; it is a fast and convenient way to legalise a document for international use.

The document required for international use must have an Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) or Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) from a UK solicitor or notary, following the requirements set out by the UK eIDAS Regulation, the Electronic Identification and Trust Services Regulation.

Once verified, the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) issues an e-apostille, essentially a digital apostille as a PDF. These are usually ready within 48 hours.

It all seems straightforward, but is it as simple as it sounds? Well, not quite!

As anyone using a digital service knows only too well, technical glitches and unexpected errors happen.

Common issues surround e-signature verification on the FCDO portal.

Signatures that appear valid in all respects are rejected or cause an upload error.

Potential causes include electronic glitches and errors ranging from the user’s computer settings or software to FCDO system inconsistencies.

We’ve compiled a handy checklist to avoid and manage problems.

Use it to minimise your chances of rejection and to help if you experience difficulties.

The below steps can help avoid getting a rejection notice when you submit your document, minimising e-apostille verification issues.

Review the error message from the FCDO carefully; it may contain vital information about where the problem lies and save time.

See screenshot examples below:

A common issue is a problem with the document’s digital signature.

It’s always worth checking this before starting a long process of looking for technical issues or a system conflict.

The signature not valid rejection notice is the most common reason the FCDO does not issue an e-apostille. If you get this message, let the issuing solicitor or notary know to fix or reissue the AES/QES electronic signature.

Once you receive your document, you can check the validity of the signature by opening the PDF in Acrobat Reader and looking for the digital signature ‘green tick’.

Unfortunately, and we do not know why, the FCDO rejection notice for invalid signatures is not always correct. (!).

This means there might be nothing wrong with the document’s signature. You could try resubmitting the same document and see if it is accepted.

From experience, we resubmit the same document (without any changes) nine out of ten times, and the e-apostille is issued on the second submission.

For example, the FCDO might indicate a problem with a pre-existing digital signature on a university document, which can result in an e-apostille signature error.

If your document has a digital signature that existed before the solicitor or notary added theirs, a possible solution is to “Print and certify.”

The notary or solicitor can certify a printed version of the digitally signed document as a true copy and then apply their AES or QES without technical conflicts.

If two or more electronic signatures exist, the AES/QES electronic signature from the solicitor or notary must be the ‘first digital signature’ on the documents.

Another reason for rejection might be that the issuing solicitor or notary’s electronic signature is not registered with the FCDO. Only FCDO-registered solicitors’ or notaries’ signatures, both electronic and traditional paper-based, are accepted for apostille services.

If the signature is not issued correctly (often by unregistered authorities), important information might be missing or not be an AES / QES signature. If it is not the correct signature, you usually get an error message when you upload your document.

The solution is to find an FCDO-registered solicitor or notary to help or contact our office.

Here are some troubleshooting tips to work through.

If these first steps don’t solve the problem, it’s time for a deep technical dive. Don’t worry; most people can manage these themselves, and you don’t need any particular technical knowledge.

1. Deep dive on PDF software:
   • Update Adobe Acrobat:
     • Open Adobe Acrobat.
     • Go to “Help” > “Check for Updates”.
     • If an update is available, follow the on-screen instructions to install it.
   • Repair Adobe Acrobat installation:
     • Go to “Control Panel” > “Programs” > “Programs and Features”.
     • Locate “Adobe Acrobat Reader DC” (or similar).
     • Right-click and select “Repair”.
     • Follow the on-screen prompts.
   • PDF/A compliance:
     • Ensure your PDF is saved in PDF/A format, a standard for long-term archiving that may improve compatibility.
     • In Adobe Acrobat, go to “File” > “Save As Other” > “PDF/A”.

2. Network and security:
   • Temporary firewall disable:
     • Windows:
     • Search for “Firewall” in the Windows search bar.
     • Click on “Windows Defender Firewall”.
     • Select “Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off”.
     • Choose “Turn off Windows Defender Firewall (not recommended)” for private and public networks.
     • Remember to re-enable the firewall after your test!
   • Antivirus exclusion:
     • Open your antivirus software (e.g., Windows Defender, McAfee, Norton).
     • Look for settings related to “Exclusions” or “Exceptions”.
     • Add the FCDO portal website and/or the folder containing your e-apostille document to the exclusions list.
   • Proxy settings:
     • If you’re using a proxy server, try temporarily disabling it.
     • Windows:
     • Search for “Proxy settings” in the Windows search bar.
     • Toggle the “Use a proxy server” option to turn it off.

3. Browser:
   • Clear browser cache and cookies:
     • In your browser, go to “Settings” (usually represented by three dots or lines).
     • Find the “Privacy and security” section.
     • Select “Clear browsing data”.
     • Choose a time range (e.g., “Last hour” or “All time”).
     • Check the boxes for “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files”.
     • Click “Clear data”.
   • Disable browser extensions:
     • Go to your browser’s “Extensions” or “Add-ons” settings.
     • Temporarily disable all extensions to see if one is causing interference.
   • Incognito/private mode:
     • Try submitting the e-apostille in an incognito or private browsing window. This disables extensions and prevents the browser from using stored data.

4. File handling:
   • File name simplification:
     • Please rename the file to something simple like “e-apostille.pdf,” removing any special characters, spaces, or underscores.

5. Advanced troubleshooting:
   • Check for system errors:
     • Windows: Use the “Event Viewer” to check for error messages related to PDF software, network connectivity, or the FCDO portal.
   • Hardware acceleration:
     • Disable hardware acceleration in your browser and PDF software. This can sometimes resolve compatibility issues.
   • System file checker:
     • Windows: Run the System File Checker (SFC) tool to scan for and repair corrupted system files.
     • Open Command Prompt as administrator.
     • Type sfc /scannow and press Enter.

The FCDO can offer some obvious suggestions if they spot anything with the document but cannot advise on potential technical issues with your system.

Self-help goes a long way, especially in ruling out more obvious e-apostille problems, some of which have an easy fix.

If you received a rejected e-apostille upload error message from the FCDO or experienced particular FCDO system inconsistencies, use this as your starting point.

However, error messages don’t always provide a definitive reason, and some e-signature rejections are opaque, so you’ll still have to work through a troubleshooting checklist.

As with many things in life, it’s easier to get your e-apostille submission right the first time; this saves unnecessary work and delays. E-signature rejections can be a serious headache in time-critical situations.

If you’ve encountered any issues we haven’t covered or have worked out an easy workaround to a particular problem, please feel free to share it. Your insights can help others facing similar challenges.