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How to Apply

The public and business counters at the Legalisation Office in Milton Keynes are now closed. Members of the public and business customers should now send applications by post. The completion of an application form is compulsory (see below).

We aim to process and despatch all straightforward postal applications received at the Legalisation Office in Milton Keynes by the end of the next working day.  Processing times may vary during peak busy periods, please see our homepage for an update on which day of post we are currently working on:

  • Step 1: Check the exact requirements of the authorities requesting the legalisation of your documentation (the Legalisation Office cannot offer advice on this) _                                                                                                                                                
  • Step 2: Check that your document(s) are in a format that we can accept (for guidance see Documents We Can Legalise ) _                                                                                                                                                       
  • Step 3: Pay, we require a fee of £30.00 per apostille. Please ensure that you enclose adequate return postage or we cannot return your application. _                                                        

(a):  Pay Online .  Please print off your payment status page and include this with your application.  Please note that an amount will be added to your transaction for return postage by Special Delivery (FedEx). Rates will vary depending on your location (please see here for postal rates ). If you choose the "Legalisation Fee Only" option that does not include special delivery charge, please ensure you include a self-addressed pre-paid envelope (with sufficient postage) or self-addressed pre-paid express delivery envelope. If we cannot process your application immediately due to a payment or postage issue, you will be contacted once to resolve this. We will return your application if your payment issue cannot be resolved within 5 working days and retain any applications where adequate return postage has not been provided until we hear from you.

OR                                                                                                        

(b): Customers may also pay by UK postal order, bankers draft or business cheque (made payable to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office). Customers who do not pay online must include additional payment for return special delivery ( see here for postal rates ) or a pre-paid A4 sized envelope.        

Please note that we can only accept payment by Banker's Draft from outside of the UK with a minimum value of £50.00
  • Step 4: Print and complete the Legalisation Application Form [Word version] . An application form must be included with your documents and all fields must be completed or your application will be rejected. ** _                                                                                                                                                      
  • Step 5: Post* your completed application form, documents, payment and A4 sized envelope to the address below ensuring that you use the correct postage for an A4 size envelope:  

Customers should send their application to: 

Legalisation Office
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
PO Box 6255
Milton Keynes
MK10 1XX

Important Note*: Couriers or courier companies will not deliver to a PO Box address.  Customers who wish to use a trackable service, should send by Royal Mail Special Delivery.  

Overseas Customers

Customers who are only able to send their application BY COURIER from an overseas address should visit this page: OVERSEAS CUSTOMERS ONLY

 

If your application is incomplete in any way, we will be unable to legalise your document(s), and it will be returned to you with further instructions as to what to do next. This is likely to delay your application and may mean that you don't get your document(s) legalised in time for an important event such as a wedding. If your application is non-straightforward it will be delayed and we are unable to guarantee how long it may take to complete (please follow the link for more information). 

Checklist

You must include the following:

  • Documents for legalisation - Please do not include any additional documents that are not required and do not be legalised. Including any additional documentation may result in your application being delayed.
  • Your completed Application Form [Word version] *
  • An A4 sized envelope **
  • Payment in the form of business cheque, postal order, bankers draft or printed online payment status page 
  • A pre-paid A4 envelope if you have not included postage in the legalisation fee**  

* If inaccurate or incomplete postal delivery information has been provided with your application which results in your documents being returned to us then a further fee will be required in order to re-send your documents a second time and the return of your documents will be significantly delayed.

** While documents returned by Fedex will be placed in waterproof envelopes, to prevent your documents becoming  creased in transit we recommend that you provide your own envelope of an appropiate size for your documents.

Please do not include the following:

  • Cash 
  • Personal cheques 
  • Passports or ID cards
  • Documents not intended for legalisation
  • Stamps on your A4 envelope if you have included postage with the legalisation fee

Pre-registered business customers only

Premium Service

Drop-off and collection facility at Milton Keynes

 

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Important, please read

We strongly advise customers against making any travel arrangements or arranging meetings with Embassies  before  your  legalised  document(s) is returned to you.  If you do make such arrangements and the return of your document(s) is delayed due to your application being non-straightforward, the Legalisation Office will not be held responsible for any financial losses you may incur.