Legalising a Court Document
Court Document
Court-issued documents such as decrees, judgments, or final orders are often required overseas as part of legal, immigration, or family proceedings. To be accepted abroad, they must be verified and legalised with an apostille.
If your document bears an original ink seal or signature from a UK court official, it can be submitted directly for the apostille.
If the document has been issued electronically or bears a digital seal, it must first be certified by a UK solicitor or notary before the apostille can be issued.
Our team can review your document and confirm whether solicitor certification is required before submission. We cannot provide the solicitor certification for court documents.
How to Legalise a Court Document?
Reasons your document is requested.
Original or Copy
If possible, it is best practice for the apostille to be issued to the original court document that bears an ink court seal and/or a signature from a district judge. This is not always possible as many court documents are now issued electronically and will have a digital court seal only. If you have a digitally issued court document, you should arrange for this to be pre-certified by a UK solicitor or notary public prior to posting this to us for the apostille.
Court documents with an INK seal or signature need the apostille on the original.
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How to order an apostille for a Court Document?
Before sending your document to us, it’s essential to confirm whether it needs to be pre-certified by a UK solicitor or notary.
If your document has an original ink court seal or signature from a judge or court official, you can send it directly to us for the apostille.
If your document is a digital court document (for example, a PDF downloaded from the court portal or one with only an electronic seal or signature), it must first be certified by a UK solicitor or notary before we can process it. Our solicitors cannot certify court documents on your behalf.
Once this has been established, simply order the apostille only service online and post your document to us together with the order confirmation sheet.
For secure delivery, we recommend sending documents by Royal Mail Special Delivery or a tracked courier.
If you are unsure whether your document needs solicitor certification, please contact us before sending it – we can review your document and confirm the correct approach.
Read Our FAQ’s
All countries that are members of the 1961 Hague Convention accept apostilles. Members of the 1961 Hague Convention both accept and issue apostilles. You can view a list of member countries HERE.
An apostille is an official certificate issued by the UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) that verifies the authenticity of a document for use in another country.
The apostille certificate confirms the signature, seal or stamp on a UK document to be genuine so that it will be accepted when presented in another country outside of the UK.
Most documents are completed in just 1 or 2 working days. 98% of documents complete in 2 working days. However, for clarity, we cannot guarantee processing times. Where this is not possible we will try to contact you with advice on your documents.
Every effort is made to complete all orders as quick as possible. Some documents get delayed and you can read more on apostille processing times page.
In the UK there is no same day counter service for the public to obtain the apostille certificate. Our service ensures your document is processed in just a few days. If you need an apostille urgently we can provide a next day apostille service. Please contact us for our price and processing times.
In some cases we can arrange for a UK apostille to be issued but it will depend on your document. If you have any doubts we recommend that you speak to your country’s embassy or consulate for more advice.
It is important that you understand we issue UK apostilles on UK documents. If you send us a non UK document and we are able to process your document it will be issued with a UK apostille. You should check if this is suitable in the country where your document is to be presented.
Nearly all UK documents can be issued with the apostille certificate. There are a few exceptions that include home office documents that are for use within the UK only. We will let you know immediately if your document cannot be legalised and provide a full refund for our service.
We do not issue apostilles on ‘purchased online’ degrees or false documents. We are a reputable legalisation service. We are pleased to issue the apostille on genuine qualifications but we do not support any individual or online retailer deliberately trying to mislead prospective employers. Sorry, but we have a reputation to maintain.
We do not add the apostille to company documents that ‘claim’ to offer degree level education.
If you have a document that was issued in a country that is a member of The Hague Convention and it is being presented in another country that is a member of The Hague Convention, then it is likely that you will need an apostille. If you have been asked to get an apostille then your document may not be accepted without one. You can find a list of Hague Countries that issues and request apostilles on our website.
If your document was created or issued in the UK then it will be accepted in the UK without the apostille. It is not necessary to legalise UK documents unless you are using them outside of the UK.
If your UK issued document is being used ‘outside’ of the UK, in another country, you may well need an apostille on the document.
