What does “FCDO-registered” mean

“FCDO-registered” means that a solicitor or notary has lodged a sample of their signature, stamp and seal with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Legalisation Office. The FCDO keeps these on file so it can verify that person’s work when an apostille is requested.

In simple terms:

• The solicitor or notary signs the document.
• The FCDO checks that signature.
• If the FCDO recognises it, they can attach the apostille.

A common misunderstanding is that the apostille certifies the document itself. It does not. The FCDO does not read, check or verify the contents of any document.

What the FCDO actually does is confirm that the signature, stamp or seal on the document belongs to a genuine, authorised solicitor or notary. The apostille is then issued against that solicitor’s or notary’s signature — not against the document.

To do this, the FCDO must already hold that person’s details on file. If the FCDO has no record of the solicitor or notary who certified or notarised the document, it cannot verify the signature, and the document will be rejected.

This is why a solicitor or notary can be fully qualified and practising, yet still not be suitable for apostille work — if their signature is not registered with the FCDO, the FCDO simply has nothing to check it against.

Unfortunately, the official UK government website does not mention this requirement. It advises using “a solicitor” or “a notary public” but does not specify that the solicitor or notary must be registered with the FCDO for legalisation purposes.

There is also no public database or register that you can search to check whether a specific solicitor or notary is FCDO-registered. The only way to find out is to ask the solicitor or notary directly.

This catches many people out. Customers regularly arrive at our office with documents that have been properly certified or notarised — only to discover that the solicitor or notary who signed them is not registered with the FCDO. In these cases, the document must be re-certified or re-notarised by a registered professional before it can be submitted, which adds time and cost.

All solicitors and notaries we work with are FCDO-registered. If your document needs to be certified or notarised before it can receive an apostille, we can arrange this through one of our registered professionals, so there is no risk of rejection. Notarisation is carried out by a notary public and is charged separately.