What is attestation?

In the context of preparing UK documents for official use overseas, ‘Attestation’ generally refers to the final stage of legalisation required by countries that are not members of the Hague Apostille Convention.

It involves getting your document officially stamped or certified by the embassy or consulate of the destination country, typically in London.

This final embassy stamp or certificate is often called the ‘attestation. ‘

To understand attestation, it helps to know the two main routes for making UK documents official abroad:

• Hague Convention Countries: The process is usually simple for countries party to this convention. After initial certification (like notarisation), a UK document needs an apostille certificate issued by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). The Apostille is accepted directly by member countries.

• Non-Hague Convention Countries: For countries not signed up to the Hague Convention (common examples include the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Vietnam, Thailand, Egypt, and many others), the Apostille alone is not sufficient. A further step is needed after the FCDO Apostille: Embassy Attestation/Legalisation. The document, with the UK apostille attached, must be presented to the destination country’s embassy or consulate in London for their final verification stamp.

The term ‘attestation’ comes from the verb ‘to attest’, which means to affirm to be true, genuine, or authentic; to bear witness.

In this legalisation process, the official at the embassy or consulate essentially attests to (or confirms) the authenticity of the preceding official mark on the document—usually the seal or signature of the UK FCDO official on the apostille certificate.

By adding their attestation, the embassy signals to authorities in their home country that the document has followed the correct preliminary authentication procedure in the UK.

This final step of embassy attestation makes your apostilled UK document officially recognised and acceptable for use within the legal and administrative systems of the specific non-Hague country that requires it. Without the embassy’s attestation stamp, officials in that country would likely consider the document incomplete and reject it.

The attestation step can only be performed by the authorised consular officials of the embassy or consulate of the country where the document will be used.

Each embassy in London has its own unique set of procedures, required supporting documents, specific application forms, fee structures, and processing times, which can often be complex and subject to change.

While ‘attestation’ is widely used, especially when dealing with Middle Eastern countries, this final embassy step is also commonly referred to as ‘Consular Legalisation’ or simply ‘Embassy Legalisation‘.

The meaning in this context is the same. (Note: ‘Attestation’ can have other meanings in different legal contexts, like witnessing a signature on a will, but for international document processing, it refers to this embassy stage).

Navigating the diverse and often intricate attestation requirements of different London embassies is a core part of our expertise.

As your London-based legalisation agency, we manage this entire complex stage efficiently.

We prepare according to each embassy’s specific needs, manage the submission process (which sometimes requires specific appointments or agent-only access), pay the correct fees, and retrieve the document once it has been attested.

This ensures the process is completed correctly and is essential for providing a reliable fast attestation service when time is critical.