Certificate Attestation Procedure in UK

UK Certificate Legalization /Apostille / Authentication / Attestation

Documents issued in one country and intended for use in another country must be “authenticated” or “legalized” in order to be recognized as valid in the foreign country. The number and type of authentication certificates you will need depend on the nature of the documents and whether or not the foreign country is a party to the multilateral treaty on “Legalization” of documents.

Documents which are being presented in a country which is not party to the Hague Convention relating to Apostille’s will often request further Legalization. This usually involves having an Apostille attached to the Document and then carrying out further Legalization through the Embassy of that Country.

  *Educational                           
  *Marriage
  *Birth
  *Adoption
  *Death Certificate
  *Name Change
  *Deeds                                     
  *Company Certificate             
  *Memorandum Articles of Association
  *Other Company related Documents
  *Invoice Documents
  *Export & Import Documents
  *National Identification Certificate
  *Disclosure Scotland Certificates
  *Criminal record
  *Power of Attorney & Letters of Authorization

UK Certificate Legalization Procedure

Type A

    1.Notary Public    
    2.Common Wealth Department
    3.Concerned Embassy From London
  

The country where the document will be used is not a party to the Convention, you will need "Embassy (Consular) Legalization" (“Chain Authentication"). "Embassy (Consular) Legalization" of official documents is a procedure of confirmation of the validity of originals of official documents or certification of authenticity of signatures of the officials, authorized to certify the signatures on documents, and also the validity of prints of stamps, seals by which the document is fastened. The documents for non Hague Countries are subjected to "chain authentication" in the State, Federal and Embassy levels. The Department of State, Authentications Office is responsible for signing and issuing certificates under the Seal of the U.S. Department of Sate providing authentication services on documents that will be used overseas and then they are certified in the Embassy or Consulate of that country for which they will be legalized.

 (See Non – HLC- Countries) The following countries are not a party to the Convention and need "Embassy (Consular) Legalization" ( "Chain Authentication").

Type B

The Hague Legalization convention is in force in the following countries. On October 5, 1961 the several nations joined to create this simplified method of legalizing documents through the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. The Legalization Convention works in Following Country.

The Apostille Certificate follows a prescribed format and must include the following information –

1.Country of issue
2.Who has signed the document
3.The capacity in which the person signed the documents
4.Details of any seal on the documents
5.Place of issue
6.Date of issue
7.Issuing authority
8.Apostille Certificate number
9.Stamp of issuing Authority
10.Signature of representative of issuing authority