• What is the FCO?
• Who we are
• What we do
• Our priorities
• Services we deliver
• Consular services
• Legal services
• The Legalisation Office (FCO) - The only competent authority in the UK to issue apostilles and legalisation certificates.
• Local document search
• Service of documents & taking of evidence
• The Government Diamond Office
• UK Trade & Investment
• Sanctions implemented by the UK
• Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)
• How we spend our budget
• Working in partnership
• Working with the Overseas Territories
• Public diplomacy
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• Our Ministers
• Our history
• Working for us

Service of documents & taking of evidence

Enquiries about serving documents overseas should be directed to the Foreign Process Section at the Royal Courts of Justice (contact details opposite). They will advise whether your documents need to be submitted via our diplomatic channels.

If they advise that you will need to serve documents through our diplomatic channels, then you will need to pay the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Consular fee for this service (using one of the links below). Please print the successful payment page once you have completed your order. Only then should you send your documents on to the Foreign Process Section.

What happens next?

Once you have paid the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Consular fee (available online only) please send your documents to the Foreign Process Section at the Royal Courts of Justice. They send them to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, where they will be processed within 10 working days. They are then send to the relevant British Embassy/ High Commission overseas. You should also allow for at least two weeks travel time for this to happen. Once the British Embassy/ High Commission receive the documents, they will pass them (again, within 10 working days) to the host country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who will arrange for service locally.

Once the documents have been passed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the process is out of our hands. We cannot influence how quickly or whether the documents are served. We regret that we are not resourced to chase updates on your case.

Service of documents to and from other countries are governed by:

• European Service Regulation
• The Hague Convention
• bilateral agreements

Requests for taking evidence are governed by:

• European Service Regulation
• The Hague Convention

Each country has different requirements, so please contact the Foreign Process Section for further details.

Other Useful links

• European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters

   

Contact Details

Foreign Process Section
Room E10
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London
WC2A 2LL  
DX 44450 Strand

Telephone: 020 7947 6691
Fax: 020 7947 6975
Email: FOREIGNPROCESS.rcj@hmcourts-service.gsi.gov.uk.

Premium Service Legalisation Office
C/o The Inward Mail Room
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
1 King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH

Telephone: 020 3102 5139
Email: SOPEnquiries@fco.gov.uk

See also

Useful links

• European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters