What Is an Apostille? A Complete Guide for UK Documents

An apostille is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document for use in another country. In the UK, apostilles are issued under the Hague Convention of 1961, which established a simplified system for international document authentication. This guide explains what an apostille is, how it works, and when you need one.

The Hague Convention and Apostilles

The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (1961) — known as the Apostille Convention — created a single-tier authentication system for documents used between member states. Rather than requiring multiple layers of authentication (notarisation, foreign affairs certification, embassy legalisation), the convention allows documents to be authenticated with a single certificate attached to the document.

What Documents Can Receive an Apostille?

Apostilles can be issued for public documents only. Public documents are documents issued or certified by a government authority or an officer of the state (such as a notary public).

• Birth certificates
• Marriage certificates
• Death certificates
• Divorce decrees
• Criminal record checks
• Academic qualifications (when issued by public institutions)
• Court orders and judgments

How We Obtain Your Apostille

We obtain the official apostille on your behalf. You send us your document, we handle the process and return it with the apostille attached or appended. Turnaround is typically 3–5 working days.