To legalise your Scotland disclosure, we must receive the original certificate. We can not process photocopies.
You can deliver in person, via post or courier the certificate to our office in Westminster, London.
We can return the legalised disclosure certificate via DHL or Royal Mail (next-day service), or you can collect it in person.
Jump to: How much does it cost? | How long does it take?
The full order process:
If you have any questions, please call 0207 0500 692
Step one:
Make sure that your disclosure certificate can be legalised with an apostille.
The official Scotland disclosure certificate must be valid, undamaged, and certified by an FCDO-registered solicitor or notary public.
Step two:
Contact our office.
When emailing, please provide the following information:
- How soon do you need the apostille?
- Do you also require embassy legalisation?
- How will the Scotland disclosure certificate be delivered and returned?
When we have all the information, the team will assess your enquiry and give you a detailed quotation and timeline of the process.
If you accept the quotation, we will send an invoice to be paid, and the process of getting an apostille will start.
Step three:
As soon as your Scotland disclosure certificate has been apostilled, we will send you a scanned copy via email.
If you are not collecting your apostilled document from our London office – we will provide you with the tracking number given by the courier.
Note that we return documents by DHL or Royal Mail only. If you want to make other arrangements, please let us know.
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.
Do I have to come to your office?
No, you don’t need to attend our office in Westminster to get your Scotland disclosure document apostilled by the Milton Keynes legalisation office.
Documents can be sent by courier or by post. We recommend using a tracked service if you send your documents by post. We return your documents in the same way.
You are, of course, welcome to drop the documents off in person. However, delivering in person requires that you have an order number. Please make sure you contact our office first.
When do I need an apostille for a basic Disclosure Scotland certificate?
You will only need an apostille for a basic Disclosure Scotland certificate if it is requested by an overseas authority like an employer, government agency, or other organisation that requires that your documents are legally authenticated.
An apostille could be requested if you intend:
What are the requirements to get an apostille for a disclosure Scotland certificate?
All disclosure Scotland certificates must be certified with a stamp and signature that the FCDO recognises before they can be legalised.
By default, disclosure certificates are not signed by the issuing authority – Disclosure Scotland. Since the Legalisation Office verifies documents’ signatures before issuing an apostille, you must certify your disclosure Scotland certificate with an FCDO-recognised signature.
You can request that Disclosure Scotland certifies your certificate by sending a self-addressed envelope with your certificate to them, which takes a couple of days to complete.
Or you can instruct our solicitors to certify your disclosure Scotland certificate, which is certified the same day.
Does Disclosure Scotland charge a fee to stamp and sign my certificate?
No. The service is free.
Send the basic disclosure certificate with a letter asking for your certificate to be stamped and signed to the following address:
Operations Manager
Disclosure Scotland
PO Box 250
Glasgow
G51 1YU
Be sure to send a stamped, addressed envelope (SAE) to have your certificate returned to you.
What if a foreign organisation or government agency requests an apostille for a ‘higher level’ (enhanced or PVG) certificate?
In the UK, only ‘registered bodies’ (which may include your UK employer) and ‘umbrella organisations’ can apply for higher level disclosures.
Employers and individuals who are not registered with Disclosure Scotland can also apply for ‘enhanced’ and Protected Vulnerable Group (PVG) certificates through an ‘umbrella organisation’.
The Scottish government has compiled a list of ‘umbrella organisations’ together with their fees. This list is not exhaustive [1].
For how long is the apostille of a disclosure Scotland certificate valid?
The validity of the apostille is the same as the validity of the underlying certificate. All Disclosure Scotland certificates are valid only at the time they are created.
Disclosure Scotland does not monitor individuals with basic checks [2].
Those who are registered with the Protection of Vulnerable Groups scheme (PVG) are, however, continually monitored until they leave the scheme.
Do I need a translation of the Disclosure Scotland certificate for an apostille?
You only need a translation of the Disclosure Scotland certificate if it has been requested by a foreign organisation, government agency, company, employer, or individual.
Translations must be certified as accurate. We can provide an accurate, certified translation that the authorities will accept in the country you need to use it.
Can I get an ‘e-apostille’ for my Disclosure Scotland certificate?
No, disclosure certificates for Scotland or Northern Ireland do not qualify for the electronic apostille in the UK [7].
A disclosure Scotland certificate or certain other documents can not be processed via the e-apostille because issuing authorities do not allow it due to special features on those documents – for example, a hologram or other security features.
How much does a Disclosure Scotland check cost?
At the time of writing Disclosure Scotland charges £25 for a basic disclosure [3], £25 for a standard disclosure [4] and £25 for an enhanced disclosure [5].
How much does it cost to be registered with the Disclosure Scotland PVG scheme?
The organisation through whom you are applying to be registered with the PVG scheme of Disclosure Scotland (your UK employer or another registered ‘umbrella organisation’) must pay £59 to join the scheme.
In some cases, your employer will pay the fee. In other cases you will be asked to pay the joining fee [6].
