Get an apostille for a letter of no trace .

To get an apostille for a Letter of No Trace (LNT), we need to receive the original document.

Photocopies cannot be processed, although official replacements from the GRO or local registrar’s office are accepted.

You can deliver in person, post or courier the no trace of marriage letter to our office in Westminster, London.

We can return the legalised adoption record 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 process explained:

If you have any questions, please call 0207 0500 692

Step one:

Make sure your letter of no trace can be legalised with an apostille. You need the original version or an official replacement stamped by the GRO.

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 adoption 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.

Suppose you accept the quotation, the process of getting an apostille starts. We will take of everything.

Final step:

As soon as your UK adoption 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.

How much does it cost?

For personal documents, prices are as follows:

• 3-4 day apostille service starts from £87.
• 1 day (next business day) service costs £97

The price includes our fees, FCDO fees, and VAT.

There could be additional costs, depending on another service you choose and how many documents you wish to apostille. Additional cost examples are:

• Translations start from £35
• Notarisation by notary public (+ £96)
• Return delivery costs (+ £12)
• Embassy legalisation (from + £60)

There are 4 options for getting an apostille.

Option one: 10-12 days:

Your documents are “posted” to the FCDO in Milton Keynes and then posted back to our office – or your address. This process usually takes about 10 business days. (currently unavailable)

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: 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 four: e-Apostille 1 to 2 days 

Electronic apostilles are usually completed within 24 hours but can take two working days, depending on the FCDO’s workload.

No, you don’t need to attend our office in Westminster. 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. Delivering in person requires that you have an order number. Please make sure you contact our office first.

The main difference between a Letter of No Trace (LNT) and a Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) is a CNI is available to British citizens who wish to get married or enter into a civil partnership. The CNI confirms that there are no objections to the proposed marriage.

A letter of no trace (LNT) is issued by the UK’s General Register Office (GRO) to a foreign national. It confirms that there is no record of the foreign national being married since their arrival in the UK.

Either a CNI or an LNT may be required when a person who is typically resident in the UK wishes to get married or enter into a civil partnership in another country [1].

Getting the CNI or LNT apostilled for use overseas is usually necessary.

You should get an apostille for the LNT (No trace certificate) if a public official, organisation, company, government agency or other authority of a foreign country request it.

Refusing to obtain an apostille will result in your documents not being accepted in the country that requested them. The apostille certificate confirms that the official signature, seal, or stamp on the LNT is genuine.

No. A Letter of no Trace is issued by the General Register Office. Every document issued by the GRO is already a certified copy. No further certification is required by the FCDO to get an apostille [2].

No. The FCDO cannot apostille a photocopy of a letter of no trace even if a notary public has legalised it. The legalisation office can, however, accept official copies stamped or signed by the GRO itself.

The apostille expires when the underlying letter of no trace expires.

A letter of no trace covers only the time between a foreign national’s arrival in the UK and the date when the letter of no trace was issued.

Technically, therefore, a letter of no trace cannot cover any period of time after the letter of no trace was issued.

The decision to accept an apostilled letter of no trace rests with the person, organisation, foreign government agency or other authority that has requested the letter of no trace.

In practice, most foreign authorities will accept an apostilled LNT for at least three months after the LNT was issued. Many will accept even older LNTs. The decision is entirely at the discretion of the body that made the request.

Always check how recent the LNT must be with the overseas person or organisation that has made the request [3].