What is an Apostille?

An Apostille (also known as Hague Apostille) is an official certificate issued in the United Kingdom by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) certifying/attesting public documents for use in another country, pursuant to the Hague Apostille Convention 1961. The Apostille is an abbreviated method of legalisation that certifies/attests to the Solicitor’s signature, Notary Public’s signature and seal OR a signature or seal from a UK government official/department such as from the Courts, HMRC, ACRO Criminal Records Office, NHS (Medical Practitioners), General Register Office (GRO) and Ministers of Religion (Church of England). In summary, countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention 1961 (Convenzione dell’Aja/Convenção de Haia) have agreed to do away with the lengthy legalisation process via the foreign consulates and embassies and accept documents with the Apostille only as authentic for use in another Signatory country. An Apostille (Apostila dell’Aja/Apostila de Haia) in the UK is issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (“FCDO”) Legalisation Office, in Brazil is issued by the Notary Public Offices (Cartórios) and in Italy by the Prefectures of each Province. In most other foreign jurisdictions, the Apostille is issued by their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Example Apostille Legalisation Document With an Apostille certification, a notarised/certified document is entitled to recognition in the country of intended use and there is no requirement for further certification or legalisation by the country of recordal’s nearest Embassy or Consulate in the United Kingdom if the exchange of public documents are between the Hague Convention member states.