Yes, getting a UK e-Apostille typically involves additional costs beyond the £35 FCDO fee. The most significant is the fee a UK solicitor or notary charges for their required electronic signature. Using an apostille agency will add service fees to this cost.

If required, you might also have to pay for document verification (e.g., HEDD for university degrees), translation, or postage of original documents.

Here’s a breakdown:

Mandatory fees:

  • FCDO e-Apostille fee: The FCDO charges a fee of £35 per document for the e-Apostille itself. This is cheaper than the fee for the standard paper apostille service.
  • Solicitor/notary electronic signature fee: This is a crucial and unavoidable cost for e-Apostilles. Since the document must be a PDF electronically signed by a UK-registered solicitor or notary public, you must pay their fee for this service. This fee can vary considerably depending on the solicitor/notary, the complexity of the document, and whether any additional verification is required (see below). This is not a fee paid to the FCDO but to the solicitor/notary.

Potential additional fees:

  • Document verification fees (e.g., HEDD for education): For certain documents, particularly educational documents, the solicitor/notary may need to verify the original document’s authenticity before they can electronically sign a copy. This might involve contacting the issuing institution and paying a verification fee.
    • Example: HEDD (Higher Education Degree Data check): For many UK university degrees, the solicitor/notary will use the HEDD system to verify the degree’s authenticity. HEDD charges a fee for this service, which is passed on to the applicant. The HEDD fee varies depending on the university.
  • Postage/courier costs (if original documents are needed): Although the e-Apostille process itself is electronic, there might be situations where you need to send the original document to the solicitor/notary for verification before they can create and electronically sign a certified copy. This would involve postage or courier costs to send and return the document to you.
  • Translation fees (if required): If your document needs to be translated, the translation service will incur additional costs.

The FCDO’s fee for an e-apostille (£35) is lower than their fee for standard paper apostilles (£45).

However, the total cost of obtaining an e-apostille depends heavily on the fees charged by the solicitor or notary public for their electronic signature and any necessary document verification.

These additional fees can sometimes make the overall e-Apostille process more expensive than a paper apostille. Still, in other cases, especially if you can avoid postage and expedited fees, the e-Apostille may be cheaper.

Always get a clear quote from the solicitor/notary beforehand, outlining all potential costs.