To legalise your Scotland disclosure, we must receive the original certificate. We can not process photocopies.
You can deliver in person (24 hours) via post or courier the certificate to our office in Westminster, London.
Once we receive the Scotland disclosure, getting an apostille usually takes 1-2 days, and costs start from £110, including solicitor fees and FCDO fees and VAT.
If your Scotland disclosure certificate has already been certified, the cost will start at £79.
We can return the legalised disclosure certificate via DHL courier (next-day service), or you can collect it in person (24 hours).
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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.
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 DHL tracking number given by the courier.
Note that we return documents by DHL courier only. If you want to make other arrangements, please let us know.
Getting an apostille for a Scotland disclosure certificate starts from £79.
If you need solicitor certification, the cost starts from £110.
Other costs will depend on additional services you choose (express service) if you need embassy attestation and what return delivery method you choose.
Additional cost examples are:
- Same day or express service (+ £123)
- Return delivery costs (+ £20)
- Notarisation by notary public (+ £90)
- Embassy attestation/legalisation (from £75)
How long does it take to get an apostille for a Scotland disclosure certificate?
Standard processing times for getting an apostille is 1-2 working days.
Here is an explanation of the difference between the 1 to 2 day service times:
- If your documents arrive by 10 am, it will take 1 day to process your documents + next-day return delivery.
- If your documents arrive after 10 am, then it would take 2 days to apostille your documents + next day return delivery.
We also offer a same-day apostille service.
- Documents must arrive before 10 am for the same-day service.
- Documents can be collected around 4 pm the same day.
Same-day service assumes you can drop off and collect your documents on the same day.
The same-day becomes a 24-hour service if a courier service is used.
Read our article on how the same-day apostille service works.
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 London or 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].
