Frequently Asked Questions
The following information answers some of the most common questions we are asked about the Embassy legalisation service. If you have any questions which are not answered here please contact us using the chat service, by telephone or email.

General FAQ's
Our apostille legalisation and embassy attestation service makes legalising your documents simple. We will liaise with solicitors, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the embassies to ensure your documents are correctly attested for use overseas.
We will return your documents ready to be presented overseas without any hassle.
We have made the ordering process as simple as possible.
- Print and complete the order form or place your order securely online
- Post the document to us
- We return the document with an apostille
For more information visit our how to order page.
Some documents can be sent electronically. Contact us to confirm if we can accept your documents by email.
Almost all UK issued documents can be legalised with the apostille and attested. We can legalise education certificates issued by accredited UK universities, colleges and schools. We can also process documents issued by UK government departments such as HMRC and Companies House.
If you have any questions about legalising your document contact a member of the team who will be pleased to assist you. If we are not able to assist with the attestation of your document we will notify you immediately.
Apostille FAQ's
The apostille is a small certificate attached to UK documents which are to be presented overseas. The apostille verifies the signature of the legal official or seal of a government office so the document can be recognised overseas. The apostille is recognised in any country which has signed the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents act.
Find out more about our apostille service here
The apostille has no expiry date. Some organisations may request the apostille has been issued within a certain time frame. For example, the China embassy will only legalise documents that have an apostille which has been issued in the last 3 months. It can also depend on the type of document you are legalising. If you are presenting a criminal record check overseas it is likely the authorities will not accept a criminal record check which is 12 months old even if it has been legalised with the apostille. It is possible for a person’s criminal record to change so they will require a more recent version to be issued and legalised with the apostille.
Most apostilles are issued in 1-2 working days. In some cases it may take longer to issue the apostille if your documents have not been certified correctly or due to delays with the government checks. The processing times will also vary depending on when the documents arrive in our office. If we experience delays with your order a member of the team will contact you to discuss your order.


Embassy Legalisation FAQ's
Embassy attestation is required when you are presenting your document in a country which is not a member of the Hague Convention. Embassy attestation is an additional legalisation stamp attached to a document after the apostille certificate.
You can find more information about our embassy legalisation services here.
Any country which has not signed the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents act will need your document to be attested by the relevant embassy in London. You can find a full list of the embassies we work with here.
The embassy legalisation process varies depending on the country and they type of documents we are legalising. Some embassies will legalise documents in 4-5 days whereas other documents can take 15 working days to process as they have to be presented to multiple offices.
For more information about the embassy legalisation times frames please contact us or visit our embassy legalisation page.