Apostille for UK Company Documents & Companies House Records

If your business is expanding overseas, opening a foreign bank account, registering a subsidiary or tendering for international contracts, you will almost certainly be asked to provide apostilled UK company documents. The apostille confirms that your document has been issued or certified in the UK and is recognised under the Hague Convention.

Understanding which company documents can be apostilled, and what preparation each one needs, can save you significant time and cost. Some records held at Companies House can be solicitor certified directly, while internally drafted documents such as board resolutions follow a different route entirely.

This guide explains the process step by step, so you know exactly what to expect when you apostille service your company documents through Hague Apostille, a registered FCDO service provider.

A wide range of UK company documents may be requested by overseas authorities, banks, free zones and registries. The most commonly apostilled company documents include:

• Certificate of incorporation – confirms the company is registered in the UK.
• Articles of association – sets out the rules governing the company.
• Certificate of good standing – confirms the company is active and compliant at Companies House.
• Register of directors / officers – lists the current directors of the company.
• Annual confirmation statements and company filings – various filings held on the public register.
• Board resolutions and authorisation letters – internally drafted documents that authorise specific actions.

It is important to note that each document requested by an overseas party may need its own separate apostille. Some authorities do accept bundled documents and this is more cost effective. Check if the receiving authority will accept a set of documents.  Check our apostille prices page for fixed-fee pricing on company document orders.

The preparation each document needs before it can be apostilled depends on whether it is held at Companies House or is an internally created record. The table below summarises the key differences.

One of the biggest advantages of using Hague Apostille for company documents is that we can arrange solicitor certification for records that are verifiable against the Companies House public register. This often removes the need for you to source a separately certified copy yourself, saving both time and hassle.

Here is how the process typically works:

• You provide us with the company document and we verify the details against the Companies House register directly.
• A qualified solicitor certifies that the document is a true copy of the record held at Companies House.
• The solicitor-certified document is then submitted to the FCDO for the apostille.
• Most orders are completed in 1 to 2 working days including both the solicitor certification and the FCDO apostille

Documents that can usually follow this process include certificates of incorporation, articles of association, certificates of good standing, registers of directors and other publicly filed records. Because these are all verifiable against an official government register, we can organise the solicitor certification.

This streamlined approach is particularly useful for businesses working to tight deadlines on overseas registrations, bank account openings or tender submissions.

Not all company documents are held at Companies House. Board resolutions, authorisation letters, powers of attorney and similar records are drafted internally by the company and are not part of the public register. Because of this, we cannot arrange for these to be solicitor certified against Companies House records.

For these documents, the process is different:

• The document must first be notarised or witnessed by a UK solicitor or notary public. This step confirms the authenticity of the signatures and the authority of the signatories.
• Once correctly notarised, the document can then be submitted to us
• If the destination country is not a member of the Hague Convention, embassy attestation may also be required after the apostille.

Please note: Hague Apostille does not draft, witness or execute board resolutions, authorisation letters or powers of attorney. You will need to arrange the notarisation or witnessing step with a suitable professional before sending the document to us. Once that is done, we handle the apostille submission on your behalf.

If you are unsure whether your document needs notarisation or solicitor certification, please contact us for free guidance before placing your order.

Whether you are apostilling a single certificate of incorporation or a full pack of company documents for an overseas registration, the general process follows these steps:

• Step 1: Identify which documents you need. Confirm the exact requirements with the overseas bank, authority, free zone or registry. Requirements can vary significantly between countries and institutions.
• Step 2: Determine the preparation route. Check whether each document is held at Companies House (we handle the solicitor certification) or is internally drafted (pre-certification required). Use the table above as a guide.
• Step 3: Place your order. Order online through our apostille service page and provide the documents. For Companies House records, we can usually handle the solicitor certification on your behalf.
• Step 4: Apostille processing. We submit the certified or notarised documents to the FCDO. Most apostille-only orders are completed in 1 to 2 working days.
• Step 5: Embassy attestation (if required). For non-Hague Convention countries, the apostilled document may need to be attested by the relevant embassy or consulate. We can manage this additional step for you in many cases. See which embassies we assist with here.
• Step 6: Return delivery. Your completed documents are returned to you by your chosen delivery method, ready for use overseas.

Requirements can vary depending on the destination country, requesting authority and document type. We can advise on the apostille and legalisation process for UK documents, but you should confirm the exact requirements with the organisation requesting your document before placing an order.