Legalisation is the process of having a notary’s certificate or document authenticated by a competent authority to make it acceptable in the receiving legal jurisdiction. The competent authority in England and Wales is the Legalisation Office of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office which issues a certificate called an apostille to legalise the document. Sometimes further legalisation at the receiving jurisdiction’s consulate is also required.
An apostille is a certificate issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office that verifies the signature and seal of a public official, such as a notary, confirming they are authorised to issue notarial documents. Each apostille is dated and carries a unique reference number.
This depends on the nature of the document. Powers of Attorney to deal with land in Spain, for example, can be handled at short notice. They require an apostille and this usually takes about three business days to organise through the notary, rather longer if you arrange it yourself.
Obtaining an apostille involves additional work. Fees are kept fair by giving clients the option of having their document simply notarised or notarised and legalised, rather than including legalisation within a single higher fixed fee.
I am a member of the Notaries Society which operates a formal complaints procedure supervised by The Faculty Office. The complaints procedure is available on request.
Payment can be made by cash or bank transfer. Cash payments cannot exceed £350. Credit and debit cards are not currently accepted.