Apostille for school documents.

So that our solicitor can certify school documents or other school papers like School transcripts, School diplomas, School grades, etc. –  our solicitor needs to see the original documents.

Once we’ve confirmed that your school certificate is genuine, we can certify a copy, or the original, for the FCDO.

Getting an apostille usually takes 2 to 3 days, and costs start from £110, including solicitor fees, FCDO fees, our fees, and VAT.

We can return the legalised documents via DHL courier (next-day service), or you can collect them in person from our London office – 24 hours a weekday.

Jump to: How much does it cost? ↓ How long does it take?

The full order process

Step one:

Make sure that your school documents can be legalised with an apostille. Your letter should not be damaged or altered in any way.

Step two:

Contact our office.

When emailing, please provide the following information:

• In which country will your school documents be used?
• Should we legalise the original or a certified copy?
• How soon do you need the apostille?
• How will the school documents be delivered and returned?

When we have all the information, the team will assess your enquiry and give you a quotation.

Then, if you accept the quote, the process of getting an apostille starts.

Step three:

Once your school paper 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.

How much does it cost?

Getting an apostille for school documents starts from £110. (includes solicitor fees, FCDO fees, our fees & VAT).

Other costs will depend on what service you choose if you also need embassy attestation, and what return delivery method has been selected.

Additional cost examples are:

• Same day or express service (+ £123)
• UK return delivery costs (+ £20)
• Notarisation by notary public (+ £90)
• Embassy authentication (from £75)
• Translations (from £60)

Our standard processing time for getting an apostille is 2-3 days.

Here is what 2 to 3 days mean:

• If your documents arrive by 10 am, it will take 2 days to process your documents + next-day return delivery.
• If your documents arrive after 10 am, then it would take 3 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 at our London office.

If a mailing or courier service is utilised, the same day becomes a 24-hour service.

Discover how the same-day apostille service works

We have several ways documents can be delivered and returned like, email, in-person, post, or private courier.

Yes. The legalisation office issues two types of apostilles. One is the normal paper apostille with the official stamp of the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO).

The other is called an “e-apostille“, which is signed digitally. You can get both kinds of apostilles for a digital copy of a UK school document.

To apply for an e-apostille, a solicitor or notary public must digitally sign digital copies (such as PDF files). Not all legal practitioners are familiar with digital signatures.

To get a paper apostille, you must print out the digital copy of your UK school document and get the copy certified by a solicitor or notarised by a notary public.

Yes. You can get an apostille for documents issued by a private school, provided the school is registered with the UK government. Private schools (sometimes called independent schools) are not allowed to operate in the UK unless they are registered [1].

You may also wish to get apostilles for some examples of your work (essays, records of science experiments, sporting, and swimming certificates, etc.).

Overseas authorities may request these. They can be helpful if you wish to take a job or study in a foreign country.

Other documents for which apostilles are sometimes required include:

Also, read this article on how to get an apostille for the GCSEs, “AS” Levels, and “A” Levels you obtained at school.

This is not a complete list. There are many documents issued by UK schools and tutorial colleges for which apostilles may be required.

Yes. You can get an apostille for a document from some institutions that have closed down.

Records of some formerly registered schools are kept by the Department for Education (DfE) [2].

A notary public must also notarise your document. The notary must be satisfied that a formerly accredited UK institution issued the document and that you are the individual to whom the document was issued.

These facts will be recorded as notarial comments before the notary signs and seals your document. The FCDO can then legalise the notarised document.

No. The FCDO will check that the school is registered on the school’s database before issuing an apostille [3].

Yes. You can get an apostille for some school documents from a British International School.

British International Schools are schools in other countries that teach the UK’s National Curriculum.

Three UK examination boards (Cambridge International Examinations, Oxford AQA, and Edexcel) offer International GCSE and International A Level examinations. These examinations are recognised as being equivalent to their UK counterparts.

Because the examination boards that administer these qualifications are based in the UK, it is possible to apply for an apostille for such documents from the UK’s FCDO.

The FCDO does not issue apostilles for any other documents issued by British International Schools unless a UK-based organisation has issued them.

UK-validated documents from British International Schools in other countries should be verified by the relevant British Council [4][5].

We can obtain apostilles for your British International School documents, provided they meet the above requirements.

An apostille is only required if it has been requested.

Until the UK left the EU, no apostille was required in other EU member-states. However, getting an apostille for your school documents is usually necessary if they are to be presented in any foreign country.

Most countries not signatories of the Hague Convention also require additional attestation of your documents.

An apostille certificate issued in the UK is in English and includes translations into two other languages, such as French and Spanish.

However, you may require translations for the underlying school documents if they are needed in your destination country.

The type of translation needed will depend on the document. We provide translation services for all official school documents.

Our turnaround time is usually 24 hours, but we can offer same-day service (12 hours) in emergencies. Our rates start at £60 per page, with discounts available for orders of three or more pages.