Please Note:

Due to limited staff in the office, the phones will be on a restricted service today

Revised Opening Times:

As from the 22 June 2009, the Legalisation office will be changing the opening times to the following:

The service offered to the general public for personal documents will only be available between Tuesdays and Fridays from 09:30-15:30 inclusively.

The Courier and Business customer service both in Milton Keynes and London will remain unchanged.

NOTE TO CUSTOMERS ON CHANGES TO THE CONSULAR FEE TABLE

On 9 April 2009, the revised edition of the Diplomatic Service Consular Fees Order will apply. As a result, legalisation fees will be adjusted as follows:

Applications to Premium Service (Centrepoint, London): £69 per Apostille
Applications to Norfolk House (Milton Keynes): £28 per Apostille

The fee has increased because the costs of legalising documents have increased. HM Treasury rules require us to recover the full issuing costs from fee income. Thus, all applications received on or after 9 April 2009 will require payment at the revised rates as detailed above. The option £6 fee for Return by Special Delivery for postal applications will remain unchanged.

What is legalisation?

Legalisation is the official confirmation that a signature, seal or stamp on a document is genuine. But having a document legalised doesn’t mean that its contents are accurate, and it does not carry any sort of official approval by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

And all we can do is legalise documents – we can’t translate them or offer any other services.

How do we legalise documents?

First we check the signature, seal or stamp on the document against our database. Then we attach an apostille (the legal term for the legalisation certificate) to confirm that it is genuine.

Why do documents need to be legalised?

If you are going to use British documents overseas, for business or personal reasons, you’ll probably be asked to have your documents legalised before they can be accepted. The FCO stamp of authenticity gives the person you’re dealing with complete confidence that it’s the genuine article.

What documents do I need to legalise?

We can’t tell you that, because it depends on the local requirements. Only the authority or organisation you’re dealing with can give you that information. But you may be able to get advice from the Embassy, Consulate or High Commission of the country you’re travelling to.

We can legalise most UK documents, but you should check the details at Documents we can legalise.

For Overseas weddings different countries have their own requirements, so check carefully well in advance.

How can I get my documents legalised?

You can send them to us by post or bring them to our public counter in Milton Keynes.