Legalising a Deed Poll
Deed Poll
A deed poll is a formal legal document that can be used to change your name. This can be a document you have created yourself or a template obtained from a solicitor or deed poll agency. When you sign the document the witness could be anyone; whether this is a friend, a colleague or a family member. However, in order for the apostille to be issued the document would need to be certified by a UK solicitor or Notary Public.
How to Legalise a UK Deed Poll?
In order for the deed poll to take effect the individual changing their name should have their signature on the document witnessed.
The witness can be anyone however, if you intend to get an apostille for this document, we recommend signing the document in the presence of a UK solicitor or notary public. If your document has already been witnessed by an individual who is not a legal official then get the document countersigned by a solicitor or a notary prior to sending this to us for the apostille to be issued.
Reasons your document is requested.
About Deed Polls
A Deed Poll is a legal document used to formally declare a change of name. For the document to take effect, the individual changing their name must sign it in the presence of a witness.
A Deed Poll can be legalised with an apostille once it has been certified by a UK solicitor or notary public. The solicitor or notary may also be the witness on the document, though this is not always the case.
Both original and copy Deed Polls can be accepted for legalisation, provided the version submitted bears an ink signature and is properly certified. The apostille confirms the authenticity of the solicitor’s or notary’s signature, ensuring your name change document is recognised overseas.
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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.
