These guidelines explain how our services work, what to expect at each stage of your order, and the responsibilities of both London Apostille Services Ltd (“LAS” or “we”) and you (“the client”). By using our services, you acknowledge and agree to these guidelines.

About our service

London Apostille Services Ltd is a professional document legalisation company registered with the FCDO Legalisation Office.

We provide an end-to-end service covering apostille legalisation, solicitor and notary certification, embassy and consular attestation, and certified translations.

We handle the entire process on your behalf, so you don’t have to navigate the complexities of international document authentication yourself.

Business hours and office

  • Monday to Friday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  • Saturday, Sunday, and Bank Holidays: Closed

  • Document drop-off and collection: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday

Our office address:

London Apostille Services Ltd
1st Floor
3 Orchard Place
Broadway
London
SW1H 0BF

Processing and turnaround times

The following are our estimated processing times. These begin when your documents are received at our office — not when posted. Delivery time to and from our office is additional.

Express Next-Day Service

  • Documents requiring solicitor certification must arrive at our office by 9:00 AM.
  • Documents not requiring certification (e.g. birth, death, marriage certificates, ACRO, CNI, Letter of No Trace) must arrive by 10:00 AM.
  • Ready for collection by approximately 3:30 PM the next working day.

Standard Service (3–4 Working Days)

  • Documents received after 10:30 AM are typically processed in 3 working days.

E-Apostille Service

  • Typically processed within 24–48 hours by the FCDO.
  • The completed e-apostille is delivered as a PDF via email.
  • Not all document types qualify for e-apostille. We will confirm eligibility when you place your order.

Important: These are estimates. The FCDO’s workload, embassy procedures, and signature verification requirements can affect the final timeframe. We will always communicate any delays to you as soon as we become aware of them.

How to submit your documents

You can get your documents to us in the following ways:

  • Post: Send your documents by tracked or special delivery to our office address. We strongly recommend using a tracked service. Documents sent by untracked post are sent at the client’s own risk. Please include your order reference number with your documents.
  • In-person drop-off: Bring your documents to our Westminster office during business hours. Appointments are not required, but we appreciate advance notice.
  • Email (for initial review): You can email a scan or photo of your documents for a free review before sending originals. This helps us confirm requirements and avoid issues.

Documents posted to us are the client’s responsibility until received at our office. We recommend noting your tracking number when posting.

FCDO signature and seal verification

The FCDO can only issue an apostille if the UK public official’s signature and/or seal on the document is registered on their database. In most cases, this is straightforward and causes no delay.

However, if the signature or seal is not currently held on the FCDO’s database, they must verify it directly with the relevant government department or signatory body.

This might include, for example, HMRC, ACRO Criminal Records Office, a GP practice, a court, DEFRA, or Companies House.

This verification process typically takes between 1 and 5 additional working days, depending on how quickly the relevant department responds to the FCDO’s request.

This is an independent process carried out between the FCDO and the relevant body — neither LAS nor the client can speed it up or intervene.

We will notify you immediately if your document is subject to this additional verification and keep you updated on progress.

Older GRO Certificates (birth, marriage, death)

GRO certificates that are less than six months old are typically verified and apostilled by the FCDO without issue.

If your certificate is older than six months, or if it was issued by a church rather than the General Register Office, the FCDO may be unable to verify the registrar’s signature.

In that case, you have two options:

  • a) Obtain a new certified copy from the General Register Office (GRO). This is usually the simplest solution.
  • b) Ask the issuing Register Office or Church to send a signature confirmation directly to the FCDO so the registrar’s details can be added to their database.

We are happy to advise you on the best course of action for your specific situation.

FCDO rejections and non-refundable government fees

From 1 April 2025, the FCDO no longer issues refunds for apostille fees when a document is rejected due to incorrect presentation. Reasons for rejection include, but are not limited to:

  • Submitting photocopies of GRO certificates (birth, marriage, death)

  • Criminal Records Certificates that have not been properly certified

  • Unsigned UK passport copies

  • Improperly notarised documents (e.g. missing notarial embossed seal, date, or signature)

  • Photocopies of FCDO Apostilles

While we review all documents before submission and will flag any obvious issues, the client remains ultimately responsible for ensuring their documents are genuine, correctly prepared, and suitable for legalisation.

LAS is not liable for FCDO rejection fees where the rejection results from the condition or nature of the documents submitted by the client.

Refunds of the FCDO apostille fee will only be granted by the FCDO where the rejection occurs through no fault of the client, such as a signature verification issue on the FCDO’s side.

Delivery and return options

Once your documents are processed, we dispatch them promptly. DHL collects from our office daily, and we use Royal Mail’s daily postal services.

The following return options are available:

  • Collection from our office: Available during business hours. No additional charge.

  • DHL UK Next Working Day (recommended): Tracked, signed-for delivery with a one-hour delivery window and options to reschedule or redirect. This is our recommended return method for UK clients.

  • DHL International: Tracked, secure courier delivery worldwide.

  • London Bike Courier: Same-day service within London for urgent orders.

  • Royal Mail Special Delivery: Next working day delivery (aimed for by 1 PM). Please read the section below for important terms regarding Royal Mail.

  • Pre-paid envelope: You may provide your own pre-paid envelope for return shipping.

For international returns, we offer DHL courier service and, on request, Royal Mail or Airmail. Additional charges apply.

Please note: Delivery times shown are estimates provided by the courier or postal service. LAS is not liable for delays, losses, or misplacement of documents during transit by any third-party carrier.

Royal Mail — claims and compensation

If you choose Royal Mail as your return delivery method, please be aware of the following terms, which you agree to when selecting this option:

  • Royal Mail is a third-party postal provider. Once we hand your documents to Royal Mail, delivery timescales and service performance are entirely within Royal Mail’s control, not ours.

  • If Royal Mail fails to deliver within their stated service commitment (e.g. next day by 1 PM for Special Delivery), or if an item is lost or damaged in transit, we will submit a compensation claim to Royal Mail on your behalf. Under Royal Mail’s rules, only the sender can make a claim, and we accept this responsibility.

  • However, we cannot guarantee that Royal Mail will accept the claim, nor can we control how long they take to process it.

  • You may be asked to provide supporting evidence (for example, confirmation that the item was not received, or photographs of any damage). If you are unable to provide the evidence Royal Mail requires, or if Royal Mail rejects the claim or requests further information that cannot reasonably be supplied, we will not engage in repeated or ongoing disputes with Royal Mail on your behalf. The matter will be considered closed.

  • Any compensation that Royal Mail does pay will be passed to you in full.

Liability

Our services rely on external parties, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), solicitors, notaries, embassies, consulates, and courier companies.

We are not responsible for delays or issues caused by these external vendors.

London Apostille Services Ltd’s liability is strictly limited to the service fees paid by the client, excluding government disbursements, courier charges, and third-party fees.

We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, including loss of profit, revenue, goodwill, or opportunity.

We accept no liability where:

  • The client provides incorrect instructions or submits documents unsuitable for legalisation.

  • The receiving party in the destination country changes their requirements after we have processed the documents.

  • Documents are rejected by the FCDO or a consulate/embassy (additional fees may apply for resubmission).

  • Customs clearance, local regulations, or DHL/Royal Mail processes cause delays beyond our control.

Document scanning service

As part of our standard service, we scan your documents once legalisation is complete and email you a PDF. This scan serves as proof that the service has been completed, provides a digital record for your files, and acts as a final check before dispatch.

What we scan by default

  • Individual single-page documents (e.g. birth certificates, degree certificates, ACRO certificates, medical certificates): We scan both the front and back of each document, including the apostille certificate.

  • Multiple individual documents in a single order: All documents are scanned (front and back) and compiled into one combined PDF for convenience.

  • Multi-stage legalisation orders (e.g. solicitor certification + apostille + embassy attestation): We scan after each completed stage so you can track progress.

Document bundles

A document bundle is a set of multiple pages already bound as a single item (e.g. company incorporation documents, multi-page contracts, lengthy transcripts).

For bundles, we scan only the cover page and the page(s) where the apostille and/or embassy stamps have been affixed by default. We do not automatically scan every page.

 

Full page-by-page scanning

If you require every page of a document bundle to be scanned, you must request this when you place your order. Additional charges apply for bundles of more than three pages. Once your documents have been dispatched or collected, we are unable to recall them for a full rescan.

Service guarantee

We are committed to delivering a reliable and professional service. We guarantee the following:

  • Genuine UK documents: We will submit any genuine UK document to the FCDO for apostille issuance.

  • Full refund or resubmission: If the FCDO cannot issue an apostille on your document through no fault of the client, we will refund our service fees in full (excluding postage costs and disbursement fees) or resubmit your document free of charge.

  • Resolution commitment: If a document we submit is rejected, we will work with you and the FCDO to resolve the issue and fast-track any necessary revisions.

If a foreign authority rejects a document that we have legalised, we will work with you to resolve the issue. To do so, we will need you to provide any feedback, reasons for rejection, or contact details from the relevant foreign authority.

Conditions:

Our service guarantee is subject to the following conditions:

  • You have submitted the correct and genuine document for processing.

  • You are responsible for confirming the specific requirements of the organisation or individual in the destination country who will receive your document.

  • The guarantee does not cover rejections caused by fraud, suspected fraud, or documents that are inherently ineligible for legalisation.

Refunds and cancellations

Your payment is 100% refundable if your documents have not yet been processed and no shipping labels have been used. Once any part of the service has been carried out (apostille, certification, translation, notarisation, or shipping), the order is not refundable.

If the FCDO rejects a document that we submitted, we will either refund all applicable fees or resubmit the document free of charge, in line with our service guarantee (see above). Exceptions apply where documents are rejected due to suspected fraud or for reasons beyond our control.

You may cancel your order at any time. However, if we have already incurred third-party fees on your behalf (e.g. FCDO fees, courier charges), those costs are non-refundable.

Your responsibilities

To help us provide the best possible service, please ensure you:

  • Verify the exact document requirements of your destination country and/or the receiving authority before placing your order.

  • Submit genuine, correctly prepared documents. If certification or notarisation is required, ensure it is done properly by an FCDO-registered professional (or let us arrange it for you).

  • Communicate any deadlines clearly and in advance so we can advise on the most appropriate service level.

  • Request full document scanning at the time of ordering if you need every page scanned.

  • Provide supporting evidence promptly if required for a Royal Mail claim.

  • Inform us of any changes to your delivery address or contact details as soon as possible.

Acknowledgement

By using our services, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to these Service Guidelines. These guidelines should be read alongside our Terms and Conditions, Refund Policy, and Shipping Policy, all of which are available on our website.

If you have any questions about these guidelines or any aspect of our service, please do not hesitate to contact us.