What is Legalisation?

When legalising documents, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) (via a Local Authority (in the UK or abroad)) quite often request that original documents (and sometimes copies) have been certified by a solicitor as being an original or a true copy. This means that a signature, seal or a stamp that is made by a UK public official on the document is confirmed as being genuine by the UK government. Certified Copies

With certified copies, you should ensure that whoever is asking you for legalised documents or documents with an apostille will accept the copies rather than the originals. You will then know whether or not to have the original certified.

We can assist with certifying the following original documents, or certify copies of them: • Birth Certificates
• Marriage Certificates
• Civil Partnership Certificates
• Death certificates
• Certificates of No Impediment to marriage
• UK Country Court documents
• Name Change Deed Polls signed by a solicitor or notary
• Divorce Documents e.g. Decree Absolute
• Affidavits, Deeds & Wills signed by a solicitor
• Company documents and certificates issued by Companies House
• HMRC letters and tax documents.
• Power of Attorney & Letters of Authorisation witnessed by a solicitor or notary
• National Identification Certificates
• Criminal record checks, Disclosure Scotland, ACPO, ACRO
• UK Border Agency letters
• Degree Certificates that are issued by the UK
• Teaching certificates
• Professional Qualifications, i.e. Law Degrees, Medical Degrees, post-graduate qualifications
• Diplomas
• A Level Certificates
• Powers of Attorney
• Passports
• Driving licences
• Permits & Identity Documents
• Naturalisation Certificates
• Baptism & Confirmation Certificates
• Letters of Administration
• Wills
• Boatyard and shipping documents

Please note that we can only certify original documents relating to birth, marriage, death and civil partnerships if they are issued by the General Registry Office (GRO) or local Registry Offices in the UK.

For any type of certification, the original documents must always be provided to us.

Once documents have been certified as originals, or true copies of the original and sent to the FCO, the FCO then send the legalised documents to whichever embassy requested them, or they may give the apostille to you directly. The FCO can send everything to the following embassies (included but not limited to):

Albanian Embassy, Algerian Consulate, Algerian Embassy, Australian High Commission, Austrian Embassy, Bahamas High Commission, Bahrain Embassy, Bangladesh High Commission, Barbados High Commission, Belgian Embassy, Bolivian Consulate, Botswana High Commission, Botswana High Commission, Brazilian Embassy, Brunei Darrusalam Commission, Cameroon High Commission, Canadian High Commission, Chinese Embassy, Consulat De France, Consulate, General Of Egypt, Consulate General Of Greece, Consulate General Of Panama, Consulate General Of The Kingdom Of Morocco, Consulate General Of The, Republic Of Poland, Cypriot High Commission, Dominica High Commission, Ecuadorian Embassy, Embassy, Embassy For The Dominion Republic, Embassy For The Republic Of Cuba, Embassy For The Republic Of Equitorial Guinea, Embassy Of Belarus, Embassy Of Chile, Embassy Of El Salvador, Embassy Of Ethiopia, Embassy Of Fiji, Embassy Of Iceland, Embassy Of Israel, Embassy Of Latvia, Embassy Of Paraguay, Embassy Of Spain, Embassy Of Sweden, Embassy Of Switzerland, Embassy Of The Arab Republic, Embassy Of The Cote D’Ivoire, Embassy Of The Czech Republic, Embassy Of The Islamic Republic Of Iran, Embassy Of The Kingdom Of Bahrain, Embassy Of The Kingdom Of Morocco, Embassy Of The Kyrgyz Republic, Embassy Of The Republic Of Croatia, Embassy Of The Republic Of Hungary, Embassy Of The Republic Of Kazakhstan, Embassy Of The Republic Of Korea, Embassy Of The Republic Of Liberia, Embassy of the Republic Of Macedonia, Embassy Of The Republic Of Mozambique, Embassy Of The Republic Of Poland, Embassy of the Republic of Serbia, Embassy Of The Republic Of Serbia, Embassy Of The Republic Of Slovenia, Embassy Of The Republic Of Uzbekistan, Embassy Of The Republic Of Yemen, Embassy Of The Russian Federation, Embassy Of The Slovak Republic, Embassy Of The State Of Eritrea, Embassy Of The State Of Qatar, Embassy Of The Sultanate Of Oman, Embassy Of The Syrian Arab Republic, Embassy Of The Union Of Myanmar, Embassy Of Ukraine, French Embassy, Gambia Embassy, Georgian Embassy, Ghana High Commission, Guyana High Commission, High Commission For Saint Lucia, High Commission For Saint Vincent & The Grenadines, High Commission For St. Christopher & Nevis, High Commission For The Republic Of South Africa
High Commission Of The Maldives, High Commission Of The Republic Of Namibia
Honduras Consulate, Irish Embassy, Italian Consulate, Italian Cultural Institute, Jamaican High Commission, Japanese Embassy, Jobcentre Plus, Jordan Embassy
Kenya High Commission, Kingdom Of Swaziland High Commission, Korean Consulate, Kuwait Embassy, Lesotho High Commission, Luxembourg Embassy
Malaysian High Commission, Malaysian High Commission Student Departmant
Malta High Commission, Mauritius High Commission, Mexican Consulate, Mexican Embassy, Mongolian Embassy, New Zealand High Commission, Nigeria High Commission, Norwegian Embassy, Office Of The High Commissioner For India
Papua New Guinea High Commission, Philippine Embassy, Philippines Tourism & Cultural Office, Portuguese Consulate, Qatar Embassy, Republic Of Azerbaijan Embassy, Romanian Cultural Institute, Royal Embassy Of Saudi Arabia, Royal Netherlands Embassy, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Royal Thai Embassy (Consular Section), Rwanda Embassy, Senegal Embassy, Sierra Leone High Commission, Singapore Embassy, Tanzania House, The Afghanistan Embassy, The American Embassy, The Argentine Embassy, The Bulgarian Embassy, The Colombian Embassy, The Consulate Of Ukraine, The Embassy Of Finland, The Embassy Of Greece, The Embassy Of Guatemala, The Embassy Of Sudan, The Estonian Embassy, The German Embassy, The High Commission For Pakistan, The High Commission For Sri Lanka, The Indonesian Embassy, The Iranian Consulate, The Lebanese Consulate, The Lebanese Embassy, The Peruvian Embassy, The Romanian Embassy. The Royal Danish Embassy , The Royal Nepalese Embassy, The Royal Thai Embassy, The Spanish Consulate, The State Of Kuwait Embassy, The Tunisian Embassy, Tonga High Commission, Trinidad & Tobago High Commission, Turkish Consulate General, Turkish Embassy, Uganda High Commission, United Arab Emirates Embassy, Venezuelan Consulate, Venezuelan Embassy, Vietnam Embassy, Zambian High Commission, Zimbabwe High Commission.

Please call us on 0207 183 0084 or email us on legal@olaleslie.com to arrange a mutually convenient time to have your documents certified; we are always happy to assist. We can also assist you with any required Statutory Declarations.

Ayesha Leslie, Partner
Ola Leslie Solicitors
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