A UK apostille is only needed if an overseas authority requested the legalisation of UK documents so those documents can be used in the requesting country.
You need an apostille if:
- If both the requesting and issuing country are part of the Hague Apostille Convention
- The country where the document originated recognises the document as a public document
- The requesting country needs a UK document that is legally recognised in their country
The apostille certificate must be attached to the UK document for the document to be legally recognised in the requesting county.
An apostille’s only function is to certify the authenticity of the signature of a document.
A UK apostille can only be used overseas, never for the UK.
