Legalising a Certificate
of Free Sale
Certificate of Free Sale
The Certificate of Free Sale is a document issued by the Rural Payments Agency. UK exporters can apply for a Certificate of Free Sale (CFS) to help them to access certain overseas markets. Declarations are made that products meet the required UK standards before the CFS can be issued.
We can issue the apostille certificate on all UK Certificates of Free Sale and can also provide the solicitor certification where necessary. Our all-inclusive service will ensure your documents are correctly legalised with the apostille so that they will be accepted outside of the UK.
How to Legalise a UK Document?
Reasons your document is requested.
Original or Copy
It is standard practice to issue the apostille to the original Certificate of Free Sale wherever possible. This ultimately depends on how the document has been issued. If the document has been issued with the original ink signature of the issuing government official then we advise legalising the original document to verify this signature. However, many Certificates of Free Sale are now issued electronically and have a digital signature only. Where this is the case the document will need to be solicitor certified as a copy in order to be eligible for the apostille.
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Certificate of Free Sale
Simply purchase your apostille online and post or email your document to us (depending on how this has been issued as per the above guidance). Our fast and low cost service means you can get on with your business while we take care of the legalisation service.
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.
