Legalising a Power of Attorney
Power of Attorney
Granting Power of Attorney to a lawyer, an agent or another person is commonplace when you need someone to act on your behalf overseas. Power of attorney documents are frequently used when you need someone in another country to act for you. This means you can remain in the UK while actions are taken in another country. This is common for house purchases, handing a deceased’s estate, registering an overseas company, and when travelling to the country is inconvenient or costly making repeat visits.
How to Legalise a UK Document?
Reasons your document is requested.
About Power of Attorneys
The apostille is added to the original INK SIGNED power of attorney to verify the signature of the solicitor or notary that has witnessed the document being signed.
Copy or Original? – We do not recommend that a copy is processed unless you have lost the original document or do not have access to it. If a copy is processed you will need to visit the solicitor that prepared the original document and ask them to certify the copy. In general, copies of a power of attorney will not be accepted overseas.
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Power of Attorney Advice
Power of Attorneys are commonly prepared by solicitors and notaries. The actual document is normally provided by a foreign lawyer, who will be acting on your behalf. Your document should then be signed in the physical presence of a UK solicitor or notary public so that your signature can be witnessed.
The solicitor or notary should then sign, stamp and date the document. The solicitor or notary should also add a brief statement confirming the reason they have signed the document. For example –
- Witnessed by
- Signed before me
- Signed in my presence
When making the appointment, make sure the solicitor or notary public has their signature registered with the FCDO Legalisation Office.
If your document specifically says ‘notary’ do not use a solicitor as the witness.
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.
