When you order with London Apostille Services Ltd, you’re working with a GOV.UK-listed provider that’s registered with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). We manage your FCDO submission from start to finish.

Delivery and return options

How will the documents be delivered to our office?

Delivered in person. (Mon to Fri 8 am to 5 pm)
Delivered by post/courier.
Posted directly from acro.police.uk (*)

How should apostilled documents be returned?

Collected in person (Mon to Fri 8 am to 5 pm)
International shipping (DHL, 2-3 days)
Returned with DHL (UK next day delivery)

(*) You can order a new ACRO certificate from acro.police.uk and have it shipped directly to our office.

Payment options

We accept payment via major credit and debit cards and bank transfers.

Online card payments
Online via PayPal
Pay by direct bank transfer
Payment options explained >>

Please note that all orders must be paid in full before we can return apostilled documents. For account enquiries, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Notarising an ACRO police certificate

Sometimes the ACRO police certificate needs to be notarised. For example, authorities in Portugal and Cyprus request that your police certificate is notarised for certain applications.

In those cases, our notary will notarise the original ACRO certificate before we get the apostille certificate.

Solicitor certification

Avoid having a solicitor sign your ACRO police certificate. If a solicitor signs it, the apostille certificate will be issued based on their signature, not the public official who signed the ACRO.

This legalisation process is generally not accepted by most countries. When requesting the legalisation of your police check, the apostille should be issued for the public official’s signature on the ACRO.

ACRO types and processing requirements

No Trace: The person has no criminal record or related issues.
No Live Trace: The person has a criminal record, but it’s not shown on the certificate due to court decisions.
Trace: The person has a criminal record. The information is publicly available.
Further Information Stepped Down: The person has a criminal record, but only some details are on the certificate.

All UK police certificates are issued as hard copies and never issued electronically!

Note that an electronic apostille (e-apostille) is unavailable for ACRO or other police certificates.

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Screenshot of a mock ACRO Police Certificate, displaying personal information, photo, and criminal record check outcome.

ACRO background check (Example only)

Will my ACRO certificate need translation?

An ACRO certificate may need to be translated. The requesting authority usually requests a translation, so it’s best to check with them.

For example, when applying for a Spanish visa, the authorities often ask that the UK ACRO be translated into Spanish. Spain requires ‘sworn’ translations, meaning an accredited Spanish translator must do the translation.

Different background checks that we apostille are:

National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC)
Criminal Records Office (ACRO)
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
Basic Disclosure
Enhanced Disclosure
Disclosure Scotland
NIS Certificates
Subject Access Reports
Criminal Record Check (Northern Ireland)
Police Clearance Certificates (Guernsey)
Police Letters

Is ACRO the same as DBS?

An ACRO Police Certificate is not the same as a report from the government’s Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

The ACRO police certificate is designed for use in foreign countries.

Organisations mainly use the DBS in the UK to help them to decide whether an individual is suitable for certain kinds of work, especially work involving children or vulnerable adults.

Both give details of criminal records (including “spent” convictions), but an “enhanced” DBS check also includes pending cases and ongoing investigations [5].