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UK FCDO-listed next-day apostille provider
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Apostille and legalisation, answered

Straight answers on routes, timings, costs and what to send. If your question is not here, our team will check your document and confirm the correct route before you pay.
Most searched:

3 working days

Standard apostille, from £85

Next working day

Express apostille, from £95

10–12 working days

Complete UAE legalisation

20+ years

Working with UK authorities

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What is an apostille?
An apostille is a certificate attached by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office confirming that the signature, stamp or seal on a UK document is genuine. It allows the document to be accepted in the countries that are party to the Hague Convention.
Legalisation is the wider process of making a UK document acceptable abroad. For Hague Convention countries the apostille completes it. For other destinations, embassy or consular attestation follows the apostille.
For most UK-issued certificates, yes. The FCDO stamps the original or a solicitor-certified copy, depending on the document. We tell you which applies before you order.
The FCDO apostille is issued in English and French. If the receiving authority needs the document itself in another language, certified translation can be arranged before or after legalisation.
An apostille does not expire. Many overseas authorities will, however, only accept documents issued or legalised within the last three to six months, so check the deadline with the body requesting it.
Three working days from the day your documents arrive at our office, plus return delivery time.
Yes. The express apostille service is processed the next working day, from £95 per document.
Around 10 to 12 working days. That covers notary or solicitor certification where needed, the FCDO apostille, and UAE attestation including MOFA.
On the working day your documents reach us, not the day you place the order. We confirm receipt by email.
By tracked Royal Mail or courier. International return delivery is available and quoted at checkout.
Standard apostille starts from £85 per document and express from £95. The e-apostille is £150. FCDO fees are included.
UAE attestation only starts from £160 and complete UAE legalisation from £225. Commercial documents start from £600.
Yes. Send them together and we will quote a reduced per-document rate.
At the point of ordering online. For assessed or commercial work we confirm the full cost in writing before starting.
No. Reviewing the document and confirming the correct route is free.

Birth, marriage and death certificates, ACRO and DBS certificates, degrees and transcripts, company and commercial documents, powers of attorney, affidavits and court documents, among many others.

Not on its own. A copy must first be certified by a solicitor or notary, and the FCDO then apostilles that certification.

It can be. Laminated or heavily damaged documents are sometimes refused. Send us a photograph first and we will advise whether a replacement copy is needed.

No. The FCDO can only apostille UK documents. A foreign document must be legalised in the country that issued it.

Yes, before or after legalisation depending on what the receiving authority requires.

Destinations outside the Hague Convention, including the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Yemen, Vietnam, Thailand and China.

The UAE is not a Hague Convention country, so an FCDO apostille alone is not accepted. UAE attestation must follow the apostille.

The physical original document with the FCDO apostille is returned to you, and the UAE attestation is sent to you digitally by email.

Yes. They vary by embassy and can change without notice. We confirm the current position when you order.

Certified copies of UK documents can usually be handled by a solicitor. Documents you sign yourself, such as powers of attorney, affidavits and statutory declarations, normally need a notary public.

If you are signing the document, yes — the notary must witness your signature and check your identity. Where only a certified copy is needed, attendance is often unnecessary.

Valid photo identification, proof of address dated within the last three months, the unsigned document, and any instructions from the overseas authority.
From £140 per document, by appointment. The final cost depends on the documents, the signatories, and whether an apostille or embassy attestation follows.
What is an apostille?
An apostille is a certificate attached by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office confirming that the signature, stamp or seal on a UK document is genuine. It allows the document to be accepted in the countries that are party to the Hague Convention.
Legalisation is the wider process of making a UK document acceptable abroad. For Hague Convention countries the apostille completes it. For other destinations, embassy or consular attestation follows the apostille.
For most UK-issued certificates, yes. The FCDO stamps the original or a solicitor-certified copy, depending on the document. We tell you which applies before you order.
The FCDO apostille is issued in English and French. If the receiving authority needs the document itself in another language, certified translation can be arranged before or after legalisation.
An apostille does not expire. Many overseas authorities will, however, only accept documents issued or legalised within the last three to six months, so check the deadline with the body requesting it.
How long does the standard apostille service take?
Three working days from the day your documents arrive at our office, plus return delivery time.
Yes. The express apostille service is processed the next working day, from £95 per document.
Around 10 to 12 working days. That covers notary or solicitor certification where needed, the FCDO apostille, and UAE attestation including MOFA.
On the working day your documents reach us, not the day you place the order. We confirm receipt by email.
By tracked Royal Mail or courier. International return delivery is available and quoted at checkout.
How much does an apostille cost?
Standard apostille starts from £85 per document and express from £95. The e-apostille is £150. FCDO fees are included.
UAE attestation only starts from £160 and complete UAE legalisation from £225. Commercial documents start from £600.
Yes. Send them together and we will quote a reduced per-document rate.
At the point of ordering online. For assessed or commercial work we confirm the full cost in writing before starting.
No. Reviewing the document and confirming the correct route is free.
Which documents can be apostilled?

Birth, marriage and death certificates, ACRO and DBS certificates, degrees and transcripts, company and commercial documents, powers of attorney, affidavits and court documents, among many others.

Not on its own. A copy must first be certified by a solicitor or notary, and the FCDO then apostilles that certification.

It can be. Laminated or heavily damaged documents are sometimes refused. Send us a photograph first and we will advise whether a replacement copy is needed.

No. The FCDO can only apostille UK documents. A foreign document must be legalised in the country that issued it.

Yes, before or after legalisation depending on what the receiving authority requires.
Which countries need embassy attestation?

Destinations outside the Hague Convention, including the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Yemen, Vietnam, Thailand and China.

The UAE is not a Hague Convention country, so an FCDO apostille alone is not accepted. UAE attestation must follow the apostille.

The physical original document with the FCDO apostille is returned to you, and the UAE attestation is sent to you digitally by email.

Yes. They vary by embassy and can change without notice. We confirm the current position when you order.

Do I need a solicitor or a notary?
Certified copies of UK documents can usually be handled by a solicitor. Documents you sign yourself, such as powers of attorney, affidavits and statutory declarations, normally need a notary public.

If you are signing the document, yes — the notary must witness your signature and check your identity. Where only a certified copy is needed, attendance is often unnecessary.

Valid photo identification, proof of address dated within the last three months, the unsigned document, and any instructions from the overseas authority.
From £140 per document, by appointment. The final cost depends on the documents, the signatories, and whether an apostille or embassy attestation follows.

Not sure which route applies?

Send us the document and destination country. We confirm the steps and the cost before any work begins.

Ask our team

Not sure which route applies?

Send us the document and destination country. We confirm the steps and the cost before any work begins.

Ask our team
The three routes

Almost every order follows one of three routes

Which one applies depends on the document and the country where it will be used. We confirm the route in writing before processing.
Hague country

Apostille only

Original UK certificates — birth, marriage, death, ACRO, DBS — usually go straight to the FCDO.
  • Document check → FCDO apostille
Signed document

Notary, then apostille

Powers of attorney, affidavits, declarations and company resolutions are certified before the apostille.
  • Certification → FCDO apostille
Non-Hague country

Apostille, then embassy

The UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others require attestation after the apostille.
  • Document check → FCDO apostille
At a glance

Prices and turnarounds in one place

Turnaround is counted from the working day your documents reach our office. FCDO fees are included in the prices below; return delivery is quoted at checkout.

  • Documents checked before payment is taken on assessed work
  • Reduced per-document rates when several are sent together
  • Tracked UK and international return delivery
ServiceTurnaroundFrom
Standard apostille 3 working days £85
Express apostille Next working day £95
E-apostille 3 working days £150
Notary services By appointment £140
UAE attestation only 5–7 working days £160
Complete UAE legalisation 10–12 working days £225

Embassy timeframes vary and can change without notice. We confirm the current position when you order.

Still have a question?

Send us the document and the country it is going to. We will confirm the route, the cost and the timeframe before anything is processed — no unnecessary certification, no surprise steps.

Order online
+44 20 8004 8838
contact@l4you.co.uk