There are two options for legalising and getting an apostille for your court documents.
Option one – you try via the official FCDO website and complete the checks and apostille process yourself. The process can take up to 20 days or longer.
Option two – you can use us, an FCDO-registered apostille agency, to take care of the entire process for you. Plus, we can get the apostille much faster. Usually within 2-3 days. We also offer a same-day service if required.
Jump to: How much does it cost? | How long does it take?
How to order:
Step one:
Please check if your court document has the official court stamp and signature. If it does not, we must certify it first.
Note that the FCDO does not recognise some court clerks’ signatures, so your court document would not be accepted for the apostille and would need to be certified first.
If unsure, send us pictures of your document, and we will check the signature for you.
Step two:
Contact us to place an order.
When emailing, please provide the following information:
- How many court documents need an apostille?
- In which country will your documents be used?
- How soon do you need the apostille?
- Do you need a translation?
- Any other requests you may have
Once we have all the information, the team will assess your enquiry and give you a personalised and detailed quotation.
We’ll explain the process, answer all questions, and inform you of the time it will take to get your court document legalised.
If you accept the quotation, we will send an invoice to be paid, and the process of getting an apostille for your documents starts.
We will take care of everything.
Step three:
We will return your apostilled court documents as soon as they are ready.
We will email you a scanned copy, too.
If you need your documents returned by post – nationally or internationally – we use DHL’s next-day service to return them.
How much does it cost?
- 10-12 day service (currently unavailable)
- 3-4-day service from £120
- 1 day (next business day) from £135
- 1-day e-Apostille from £97
The price includes admin, solicitor, FCDO, and VAT. Business documents incur an additional processing fee.
There could be additional costs, depending on your chosen service and how many documents you wish to apostille. Additional cost examples are:
- Translations start from £30
- Notarisation by notary public (+ £96)
- Return delivery costs (+ £12)
- Embassy legalisation (from + £75)
How long does it take to get an apostille?
There are three options for getting an apostille.
Option one: 1 day (next business day)
- Documents must arrive before 10:00 am for the next-day service.
- Documents can be collected around 3:30 pm the next day.
- Documents are submitted and collected in person
Option two: 3 to 4 days:
- If documents arrive by 10:30 am, it will take 3 days
- If documents arrive after 10:30 am, then it will take 4 days
- Documents are submitted and collected in person
Option three: e-Apostille 1 to 2 days
If the document qualifies for an e-apostille, it is usually completed within 24 hours but can take two working days, depending on the FCDO’s workload.
Can somebody collect my court documents on my behalf?
Yes, you can ask a friend or family member to collect or drop off your court documents at our central London address. We ask that you notify us of the person’s name and ask them to bring photo ID.
Should I use the original or a photocopy for the apostille?
If you should use the original court document or a solicitor-certified photocopy will depend on the requesting authority and country.
It is also worth checking if the court documents (both original or copy) need to be notarised, instead of solicitor certified.
If your legalised court documents are used for personal or business purposes could also a deciding factor if you should use the original or certified copies.