UK Apostilles for Court Documents - Apostilles from £87

Court documents can be apostilled for use abroad, but whether yours needs to be certified first comes down to one thing: The seal.

A document with a physical court stamp or wet-ink signature can usually go straight to the FCDO.

A printout of a PDF — which is how most court documents arrive now — needs to be certified by a solicitor or notary first.

Either way, we’ll review what you have and handle the entire process.

Prices start at £87 with a sealed original, or £120 if your document needs certification.

Send us a copy, and we’ll tell you exactly which route is yours before you pay anything.

Order online or get an instant quoteOrder online or get an instant quote

See pricing

Original or printout (the decision that affects everything)

Is your court document an original or a printout?

Most UK court documents now arrive as a PDF you print at home, so what you’re holding is usually a printout — even though it looks official.

An apostille can only attach to a genuine wet-ink stamp or signature, so this is the first thing to check.

A printed copy can show a perfect image of the court’s stamp and still not qualify. The stamp being there isn’t the test; whether it’s real wet ink is.

The quick way to check

Hold the page up to the light and look at the back. Real wet ink often bleeds through the paper, leaving a faint trace of the stamp from behind.

A genuine stamp is rarely perfect, too — slightly smudged, uneven, or pressed harder on one side. A printed stamp is crisp and flat, with nothing showing through.

For the signature, run your finger over it. A wet-ink signature leaves a slight indentation you can feel where the pen pressed. A printed one is smooth and flat.

If the stamp and signature are both crisp, flat and printed straight from your printer, you have a printout — and it’ll need certifying before the FCDO will apostille it.

If you have the court-issued original

A document with a genuine wet-ink stamp or signature needs no certification. We send it straight to the FCDO, and the apostille is issued against the court’s own stamp and signature.

If you only have a PDF or printout

This is the most common case we handle. We verify the PDF is genuine, then arrange certification through our FCDO-registered solicitor or notary, and the FCDO issues the apostille against their signature and stamp.

Does yours need certifying?

When a court document needs certification first

Three situations cover almost every court document. Find yours below

1) Wet-ink stamp or signature — no certification

If your document has a genuine wet-ink court stamp or a wet-ink signature, it goes straight to the FCDO. The apostille is issued against the court’s own stamp and signature, with no certification step and no added cost. This is the quickest and cheapest route.

2) A stamp but no usable signature — still no certification

If your document carries a genuine wet-ink court stamp but the signature is missing, digital, or from a court official the FCDO doesn’t have on record, the FCDO will now apostille it on the strength of the stamp alone. This is a recent change, and it means documents that once needed certifying often no longer do.

One thing to know: this apostille confirms the court’s stamp, not the signature. If your destination authority specifically requires a verified signature, tell us — we can ask the FCDO to confirm it with the issuing court before the apostille is issued.

3) A printout with no wet ink — certification first

If your document is a printout of a PDF with a printed stamp and no wet ink anywhere, it needs to be certified before it can be apostilled.

We verify the document is genuine; our FCDO-registered solicitor or notary certifies it, and the FCDO then issues the apostille against their signature and stamp.

Most court documents fall here, because most are now issued digitally.

Build your quote onlineBuild your quote online

Pricing & turnaround

Court document apostille — pricing and turnaround

Pick a speed based on your deadline. Every price below includes solicitor certification where it’s needed, the FCDO fee, our admin and VAT — so the figure you see is the figure you pay.

Your document	Service	Cost
Wet-ink stamp or signature (no certification)	Standard, 3–4 days	£87
Wet-ink stamp or signature (no certification)	Express, next day	£97
Printout / PDF (with certification)	Standard, 3–4 days	£120
Printout / PDF (with certification)	Express, next day	£135
Printout / PDF (with certification)	e-Apostille, 5–48 hours	£97

Notice: FCDO fees and turnaround times can be affected by UK public holidays and occasional technical issues at the Legalisation Office. If anything changes during your application, we’ll let you know promptly.

Start your order onlineStart your order online

Paper or e-Apostille

Can your court document get an e-Apostille?

An e-Apostille is an electronic certificate attached to a PDF that’s been electronically signed by a UK solicitor or notary. Whether yours can have one depends on the route it takes — not the type of court document it is.

Your document	Paper apostille	e-Apostille
Wet-ink stamp or signature (no certification)	YES	No — nothing for the e-Apostille to attach to
Stamp-alone route (no certification)	YES	No – same reason
Printout/ PDF (certified by a solicitor or notary)	YES	YES – once electronically signed

Court documents themselves are never barred from an e-Apostille — unlike birth, marriage and death certificates, police and DBS checks, which the FCDO won’t e-apostille at all.

The limit on a court document is only its format: it needs that electronic solicitor or notary signature first.

If you’re not sure your destination accepts an electronic apostille, choose paper, or tell us where it’s going and we’ll confirm before we start.

Country check (important)

Countries that only accept original court documents

Most countries accept a solicitor-certified copy with an apostille. Some authorities, though, will only take the original court-issued document — meaning a certified printout can be rejected, even with a valid apostille attached.

This tends to come up with civil-status, marriage and registration matters.

The countries we most often see this with are Malta, Poland and Turkey.

Requirements can vary by local office and by the document’s purpose, so treat these as common cases rather than a complete list.

The risk: the receiving authority refuses a certified copy and asks for the court original — after you’ve already paid to legalise the wrong version.

The fix: send us the court-issued original, or obtain a court-certified copy first, and we’ll legalise the version your destination will accept.

Not sure which you need? Tell us the destination country when you order, and we’ll confirm the safest route before you send anything.

How it works

Getting your court document apostilled, step by step

1
Email your PDF, post your original, or drop it to our London office.
2
We confirm the right route based on your destination and whether you have an original or a printout.
3
If it’s a printout, we verify it’s genuine and arrange solicitor or notary certification.
4
We lodge your document with the FCDO and collect it once the apostille is attached.
5
For non-Hague destinations, we handle the extra embassy legalisation, then return everything by your chosen method.

Send us a copy first if you’re not sure what you have — we’ll identify it and confirm the route before you commit to anything.

Court document apostille — questions we get asked

My document came from the court by post — isn't that the original?

Not usually. Most courts email a PDF that you (or they) print, so a posted court document is normally still a printout. The post-its’ arrival doesn’t change what it is — check for a wet-ink stamp or a signature you can feel, as above. If it’s flat and printed, it’ll need to be certified first.

My document is 15 or 20 years old — does that change anything?

Often, yes, in your favour. Older court documents were issued on paper with a genuine wet-ink stamp and signature, so they can usually go straight to the FCDO with no certification. If yours is an older original, run the light-and-finger check — there’s a good chance it qualifies for the cheaper route.

Can you apostille a court document I've only got as an email attachment?

Yes, but it takes the certification route. We verify the file is genuine — usually by having the issuing court confirm it to us, or via the official portal — then our solicitor or notary certifies it before the FCDO apostilles it. A scan or attachment on its own can’t be apostilled as-is.

The signature on my document isn't from a judge I can identify — is that a problem?

No. If your document bears a genuine wet-ink court stamp, the FCDO can now apostille it on the stamp alone, even if the signatory isn’t on its records. If your destination specifically requires the signature to be verified, tell us, and we’ll arrange that with the issuing court first.

Can someone collect or drop off my court document for me?

Yes. A friend or family member can drop off or collect at our London office — just let us know their name in advance.

Do I need a translation as well as the apostille?

If your destination doesn’t use English, usually yes — many authorities want the apostilled document translated into their official language. Tell us the country, and we’ll confirm whether it’s required and arrange a certified translation along with the apostille.