Apostille Certificates

Click here to see how you can obtain an Apostille Certificate

The Hague Conference creates a number of agreements that unify the different laws of its member countries, these agreements are called conventions.

In January 1965, the Conference in introduced 'Convention 12 - Abolishing the Requirement Legalisation for Foreign Documents' which declares that as long as a document from a foreign member country has an Apostille Certificate attached, it will not need to go through a long and expensive legalisation process in the country where it is presented.

It is only possible for a UK Document to be legalised and authenticated with a UK Apostille Certificate, and visa-versa; a UK issued Apostille can only be attached to a genuine UK related document.

Examples of Documents that can be legalised

Adoption Certificates
Affidavits signed by a solicitor or notary
Agreements & Mandates (witnessed by a solicitor)
Apprenticeship & Indenture Certificates
Awards & Degrees
Baptism & Confirmation Certificates
Bills of Sale & Proof of Ownership
Birth Certificate
Company Certificates of Incorporation
Death certificates
Decree Nisi/Absolute & Annulments
Deeds & Wills signed by a solicitor
Diplomas & Transcripts
Marriage Certificate
Memorandum and Articles of Association
National Identification Certificates
Notary Oaths
Other company related documents
Passports
Permits & Identity Documents
Plans & Schematics
Power of Attorney & Letters of Authorisation (witnessed by a solicitor)
Private papers & Letters of Administration
Probate

Countries that adopt Convention 12, and accept Apostilles.

Albania
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Estonia
Finland
France
FYR of Macedonia
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Korea, Republic of
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Mexico
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Panama
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russian Federation
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK)
United States of America (USA)
Venezuela

OBTAINING AN APOSTILLE
We suggest that you look at
The Apostille Service's Website - www.apostille.org.uk
or at the Document Legalisation Website - www.apostille.biz for more information and to purchase the service.