Legalisation

Notary Legalisation is the process by which the signature and seal of the Notary are authenticated by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and/ or a foreign embassy. Notary documents going to countries which are or have been part of the British Commonwealth never need legalisation nor do documents going to most parts of the United States.

Most countries accept only one certificate from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office called an apostile and this costs £27 and usually takes 4 to 8 days to obtain by post/DX. Some countries want one certificate from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and one from their own embassy. This can take longer. A Notary may not be able to tell you in advance what they will cost, but fees can be high for some commercial documents (over £100 per document).

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office address is:

The Legalisation Office
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Old Admiralty Building
Whitehall
London
SWQIA 2LG
DX 123243 St James' Park

Tel: 020 7008 1111