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The public counter
The public counter at Milton Keynes
The Legalisation Offices at Norfolk House and Centre point will be closed on Thursday 26 November for essential staff training and development. Both Offices will be open business as usual on Friday 27 November, when business batches delivered to Norfolk House on 25 November will be ready for collection.
We apologise for any inconvenience this closure may cause while we continue to improve on the services that we offer.
About the counter
The public counter provides a standard service for legalising documents in person. For members of the public this is a whilst-you-wait service. For business customers this is a drop off and collect 24 hours later service.
Documents dropped off at the public counter cannot be returned by post. There are no exceptions.
Opening times
- The public counter is open from 9.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays.
- No appointment is necessary.
- Please check the Legalisation Office home page the day you want to use the public counter as there may be days the counter will be closed.
Members of the public
The public counter same day service at Milton Keynes is only available to members of the public with personal documents.
The same day service at Milton Keynes is not available to companies, businesses, couriers or people with company related documents.
We do not offer a service for members of the public in London.
Business customers
- Business customers using the Standard Legalisation Service at Norfolk House (West) will be required to deposit their documents and collect them at the same time the following working day. This will apply regardless of the number of documents being presented for legalisation. Business customers will not be able to queue using the ticket system. After reporting to the reception desk, business customers will be directed straight to the business counter to deposit their documents. The legalisation fee will be taken and a receipt issued. This receipt MUST be presented to collect the documents and anyone can collect the documents as long as they have this receipt. The documents can then be collected from the business counter.
All couriers and agents must present their documents at the business batch counter.
There are no exceptions to the 24 working hour turnaround for processing documents for business customers and these documents cannot be processed on the same day at the Milton Keynes office. - Business customers may wish to be aware that a Premium same day Legalisation Service is available exclusively for business customers. This service is only available at our central London office. The fee is £69 per legalisation. Documents are normally processed within 90 minutes of receipt. You must register your company by emailing Premium.Service@fco.gov.uk prior to using this service. For more information call 0203 102 5141/5142/5143. Please note that members of the public cannot use this service.
How much does it cost?
The fee for legalisation of each document at the Milton Keynes office is £28.
How do I pay?
- Cash.
- Credit/Debit card.
- Business Cheque.
- No e-payments or personal cheques will be accepted at the counter.
How long does it take?
- Waiting times to get to the counter can vary. It depends on how busy the counter is. Our aim to process all customer applications within two hours.
- If there is a query with the document/s and the signature of the official who signed the document is not on our system, waiting times to get confirmation of a signature cannot be predicted and could possibly be hours. Customers are therefore advised to arrive as early as possible to ensure they do not need to return if confirmation of a signature could not be received before closing.
Extra information
- You do not need to bring ID and anyone can present the documents on your behalf.
- The Legalisation Office is not a suitable environment for babies or young children. Please try to avoid bringing babies or young children to the Legalisation Office.
Security notice
- All non medical related electrical devices must be switched off at all times when in the waiting room. THIS INCULDES MOBILE PHONES.
- Please note that the Legalisation Office operates a zero tolerance policy with regard to physical or verbal abuse of our staff.
- Customers with disabilities - Anyone can present the documents on your behalf so there is no requirement for you to come to the Legalisation Office. However, if you do choose to come the office can be accessed by wheelchair users.
Where are we?
View Foreign Office Milton Keynes in a larger map
The Legalisation Office is located behind Ashton House on Silbury Boulevard. The full address is:
Norfolk House (West)
437 Silbury Boulevard
Milton Keynes
MK9 2AH
Milton Keynes is 55 miles north of London. There are frequent train services from London Euston station and to stations in the Midlands and the North. Norfolk House is a 15 minute walk or short taxi ride from Milton Keynes Central train station. The M1 also runs past Milton Keynes and there is Pay and Display parking nearby.