Your guide to FCDO services and apostilles in 2024

In this brief guide, Fast Legalisation explains the role of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in getting an apostille, and we take you through how we can help you with FCDO services.

What is the FCDO apostille service?

In England, the FCDO is the only official body authorised to issue apostilles. Their remit as part of the UK Government is to provide travel advice and assistance, and also deal with providing humanitarian aid around the world. As part of FCDO services to help with travel, they provide apostilles.

Before going to the FCDO, your document may need to be notarised by a Notary Public, who will then request an apostille for your document on your behalf. Nathan Woodcock at our sister company, Woodcock Notary Public, can notarise your documents for you if you need this service.

If you would like a quicker turnaround, you will need to use an Apostille Service through an agent like Fast Legalisation. This is because members of the public can only use standard FCDO services, and are unable to access the premium service directly.

What is an apostille?

Each country has its own legalisation requirements, but an apostille is the most widely accepted validation of a document. The apostille is a separate document that is attached to an original document to confirm its legitimacy. 

Apostilles act as a way of verifying a notary’s seal and signature as legitimate, whilst also giving your documents equal legal weight to ones from the country you want to go to.

Countries that do not accept apostilles will use other forms of legalisation, such as embassy and consulate legalisation.

Which countries issue and recognise apostilles?

For countries which are party to the Hague Convention, the process of legalisation is fairly simple. In these cases, an apostille from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is all that is usually required for a document to be recognised abroad. A full list of the current Hague Apostille Convention countries is as follows:

What documents might need an FCDO apostille?

Any UK-issued documents that are to be used overseas will require an apostille if they are being used for official purposes. Documents that commonly require an apostille include:

• Marriage Certificates
• Birth Certificates
• Leaving Certificates
• Police Clearances
• Registration Certificates
• Powers of Attorney
• Medical Certificates
• Educational Documents

The process

Once a document has been notarised, it is usually necessary for the notary’s signature and seal to be certified as genuine by the Government. This process is called legalisation. The full process of getting your document legalised is broken down below.

For a full breakdown of the most commonly asked questions about apostilles and how to get them, read our FAQs.

How we can help you

Although getting an apostille is quicker than other legalisation processes, it can still be stressful and time consuming. That is why we are here to help by managing the whole process of getting an FCDO apostille, for you.

Through us, you can access both standard FCDO services for apostilles, as well as their fast-track service. You can choose which one to use based on your current needs. We aim to get you an apostille from the FCDO as fast as we possibly can.

Alternatively, if the country you want to go to does not accept apostilles as a way to legalise documents, then we can assist you with the legalisation process of that country as well.

Get in touch with us today to use our FCDO apostille services.