Register and get verified: Signature registration with the FCDO explained!

How to register or verify a signature:

Receiving news that your document has been rejected by the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) can be both frustrating and disheartening. We understand the inconvenience this may cause, especially when time-sensitive matters are at hand.

We recognise the complexities inherent in the apostille legalisation process, especially regarding signature verifications with the FCDO.

This guide aims to explain the FCDO’s signature verification process and offers actionable steps to take.

As your dedicated legalisation partner, our commitment is to provide clarity and assistance, ensuring a smooth progression through each step of the process.

If all this is new to you – the terms used in this guide are explained at the end of this article.

Getting an apostille – overview:

1. Documents are submitted to the FCDO
2. FCDO compares the signature on the document against their database
3. If the signature isn’t in their records, The FCDO can’t issue an apostille

Explainer:

An apostille certificate is issued against a public official’s signature (Registrar, Minister, Solicitor, Notary, Judge, etc). The FCDO does not verify the document’s content, only the public officials’ signatures. If the signature has not been registered on their database, the FCDO can’t issue the apostille.

Can’t signatures be checked before submission?

Some signatures can be verified before submission, such as those of a solicitor, notary, or doctor who recently signed a document.

We ask the signer to confirm that they are FCDO registered. If not, they can follow the registration process outlined in this guide.

General Steps:

The next steps could be:

(*) This is not always recommended or accepted. Please check with the requesting authority first.

Although registering and verifying a signature with the FCDO is the same process for everyone, we’ve listed the most common examples below.

(Birth, Death, Marriage, Civil Partnerships, Gender Recognition, CNI, Adoption Certificates, etc):

If you have a GRO certificate (birth, marriage, death, or no impediment) and there’s a question about the signature:

• If the certificate is less than 6 months old: The FCDO will contact the Register Office to verify the signature
• If the certificate is older than 6 months or from a church: The FCDO can’t verify the signature. You have two options:
  • Get a new certificate from the GRO
  • Ask the Register Office or church to send signature confirmation directly to the FCDO. This allows them to add it to their database and Apostille your existing certificate.

Important: Signature verification can take 1-5 working days, depending on how quickly the relevant department or official responds to the FCDO.

This process is handled directly between the FCDO Legalisation Office and the relevant parties.

Please note that ordering an official replacement copy from the GRO or your local council for birth, death, marriage, or similar documents may not come with a new signature. The replacement copy may contain the original signatures from the time of registration!

You do have a second option, which is to have a solicitor or notary certify your document.

Please note that if a solicitor or notary certifies your document, the apostille will be issued for the solicitor’s or notary’s signature – not the original public official’s signature.

Some authorities accept this method of getting an apostille – but not all. You must first confirm that this would be an acceptable process for the requesting authority.

If the doctor can’t or won’t register their signature (not all GPs agree to being added to the database or are slow to provide the requested registration information), you would need to get a new medical certificate or letter from a doctor registered with the FCDO.

One company you could use is https://www.zoomdoc.com

Please note that we are affiliated with Zoomdoc, and many customers have used their services without issues. You should still check that the doctor is registered with the FCDO when using their services.

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The other option is that a notary certifies your medical document.

When a notary certifies your document, the apostille will be granted for their signature, not the original doctor’s signature.

While some authorities accept this, ensuring it’s an accepted process for the specific authority you’re dealing with is essential.

We understand that not everyone has heard of or is familiar with the apostille process. Here are short explanations of the terms used in this guide.

Terms explained:

• FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office): A department of the UK government responsible for safeguarding the UK’s national security, promoting the UK’s prosperity, and providing consular services. It also plays a crucial role in legalising documents for international use by issuing the Apostille certificate.

• Apostille: An official government-issued certificate added to documents to ensure they are recognised when presented in another country. This verifies the legal official who has signed a document and their capacity to do so.

• GRO (General Register Office): The UK office responsible for registering vital events, including births, deaths, marriages, civil partnerships, and adoptions in England and Wales. They provide official certificates for these events, and replacement certificates.

• HMRC (His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs): The UK government department is responsible for collecting taxes, payment of certain forms of state support, and administrating other regulatory regimes.

• Signature Verification: The process of checking the authenticity of a signature by comparing it to a database of verified signatures. In the context of this article, the FCDO performs this verification when legalising documents for overseas use.

• Requesting Authority: Requesting authority refers to any overseas entity, be it governmental or non-governmental, like immigration offices, visa departments, universities, medical boards, or employers, that requires you to present specific verified or legalised documents for purposes such as travel, study, employment, or residency.

• Public Officials

In the UK, a “Public Official” refers to individuals who are responsible within the government or a publicly funded organisation. Their roles are typically defined by law and given specific powers or responsibilities to act for the public interest.

Examples of public officials in the UK include:

• Registrars: Individuals responsible for registering life events such as births, marriages, and deaths.
• Judges and Magistrates: Persons authorised to oversee and adjudicate in courts of law.
• Notaries Public: Legal professionals authenticate documents, witness signatures, and administer oaths.
• Members of Parliament (MPs): Elected representatives participating in the UK legislative process.
• Local Councillors: Elected members of local councils who make decisions on local issues and services.
• Police Officers: Individuals given the power to uphold and enforce the law.
• Civil Servants: Employees of the civil service who work for government departments or agencies.

The term can encompass a broad range of roles, each with its own specific powers, responsibilities, and regulatory frameworks. The unifying factor among all public officials is that they serve the public interest and are held to specific standards of conduct and accountability.