An apostille can only be issued by a competent authority designated by the government. Its primary purpose is to authenticate that your documents are genuine.
So, who can apostille a document in the UK? This post will cover the apostille process to help you confidently legalise your documents for international use.
TL;DR – Who can apostille a document in the UK
The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) is the competent authority in the UK that can apostille a document. No other organisation in the UK can issue a valid apostille certificate.
The international treaty that established the apostille process is the Hague Apostille Convention. The convention requires signatory countries to designate competent authorities to issue apostilles for use in member countries.
While the FCDO is the only body in the UK that can issue an apostille, it works with registered third-party agencies that facilitate the process. These specialist apostille services act on your behalf to ensure documents are correctly submitted, significantly speeding up the process and avoiding rejections.
We are London Apostille Services Ltd, an FCDO-registered apostille facilitator (agent) with 15+ years of experience. Book a free consultation with our team today to get your documents apostilled in 24 hours.
What does it mean to apostille a document in the UK?
When you want foreign authorities and institutions to recognise and accept your UK documents legally, you must ‘legalise’ them for international use.
Legalisation involves validating the documents’ stamps and signatures to ascertain that legitimate authorities issued them.
Various countries, including the UK, adopted the Hague Apostille Convention to streamline document legalisation processes. The convention replaced several complex processes with a single certification, an apostille.
As the convention required, the UK designated a competent authority, the FCDO, to issue apostilles. The FCDO legalises documents for international use by attaching an apostille certificate to them.
You can submit your documents directly to the FCDO or through authorised agents and facilitators.
How does FCDO authorisation work?
The UK FCDO Legalisation Office checks the signature/stamp/seal on your document against its records and—if valid—issues an apostille (this is “FCDO authorisation”).
There are two ways you can get your documents apostilled:
Route 1 — Apply directly via GOV.UK (paper apostille by post only)
Route 2 — Use an FCDO-registered apostille agency
Note: There is also a separate e-Apostille route for eligible digitally-signed documents (apply online, upload the file). Acceptance varies by recipient/country; paper apostilles remain widely used.
Additionally, when you choose Route 2, it’s best to work with an apostille agency with reliable solicitors and notaries in its network.
Access to a reliable network of notaries and solicitors is essential because many UK documents cannot be sent to the FCDO for an apostille before certification.
The FCDO can only verify the authenticity of stamps and signatures already in the government’s database. Therefore, documents not issued by a public authority or that are copies of the original will first require an ‘authenticity verification’ by a third party. The third party is usually an FCDO-registered notary or solicitor.
Notary vs solicitor: who should certify my document for an apostille?
A document can be certified by a notary or solicitor. Under UK law, the two are competent legal professionals, but their primary focus and authority differ.
Notarial certification is often preferred—and in some countries required—because a notary provides independent, higher-level verification and impartiality.
London Apostille Services Ltd can confirm if your destination requires notarisation and guide you on the correct apostille route.
Who can apostille a document in the UK?
Only the FCDO Legalisation Office issues UK apostilles.
Notaries and solicitors don’t apostille—they certify documents so the FCDO can legalise them. Agencies like ours manage checks and submissions, but the apostille is always issued by the FCDO.
You can apply for an e-Apostille or a paper apostille, and anyone can verify a UK apostille on the official GOV.UK checker.
The Legalisation Office operates from Hanslope Park, Milton Keynes. All applications start online; once you’ve paid, GOV.UK gives you the correct postal address.
There are no public walk-ins.
Access is for registered business users only. The Premium Service is limited to registered business users who regularly submit documents (like us).
Important service update
The London same-day “Premium” service closed on 29 December 2023; processing is now handled via Milton Keynes.
When to use apostille services (When to use apostille agents)
You should use apostille services like ours when you want convenience, speed, expertise, and professional connections.
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Convenience: Dealing with government bureaucracy can be a headache. With an apostille service, you don’t have to understand and fill out government forms on your own or track the progress of the process. We can handle the entire process for you.
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Expertise: Does your document need prior certification? Are there specific legalisation requirements for your destination country? How do you prepare documents so the FCDO accepts them? You can borrow the expertise of an experienced apostille facilitator, so you don’t have to worry about these and other issues, like losing money, since the FCDO no longer refunds rejected documents.
- 3
Professional connections: You’d have to look for an FCDO-registered solicitor or notary where prior certification is required. However, when you work with London Apostille Services Ltd, you can use the FCDO-registered solicitors and notaries in our network. Moreover, we’ll coordinate it all, so there’s only one point of contact.
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Speed: The direct-to-FCDO apostille process can take weeks. However, going through an apostille facilitator like London Apostille Services Ltd can expedite it significantly.
We can process apostilles faster than you would on your own for several reasons, including:
As a result, if your document reaches our office by 9:30 AM, it will be apostilled and ready for collection by the next working day.
Get your documents apostilled in 24 hours with our next-day apostille service.
Conclusion
The FCDO is the only body in the UK that can apostille a document. However, the apostille process doesn’t have to be a solo endeavour. Agents like London Apostille Services Ltd can act as a bridge between you and the FCDO.
Take the complexity, confusing document requirements, and postal delays out of the apostille process. Book a free consultation with our team today to leverage our expertise and established channels for a hassle-free apostille process.
