Registered office & company formation · England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland +44 (0)20 0000 0000 [email protected] Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm

Home/Filing services/Apostilled documents

Apostille and certified company documents

Getting UK company documents legalised for use abroad — for a foreign bank, registry, tender or subsidiary.

An apostille is a certificate confirming that a UK official signature or seal is genuine, issued under the Hague Convention. Countries outside the Convention need consular legalisation instead, which takes longer and costs more.

When it is due

Whenever an overseas institution asks for legalised documents. Allow time: it involves a notary or solicitor and the Legalisation Office.

What we do

  • The right documents identified for what the overseas institution actually asked for
  • Certified copies obtained, or documents notarised where required
  • The apostille obtained from the Legalisation Office
  • Consular legalisation arranged where the destination country is outside the Hague Convention
  • Courier to an overseas address

What happens if it is not done

The usual failure is legalising the wrong document, or one that is too old — many institutions will not accept a certificate issued more than three or six months ago. Ask them for their exact requirement in writing first; we will help you read it.

Questions

How long does an apostille take?
It depends on the Legalisation Office and on whether a notary is involved. We will give you a realistic range for your documents rather than a headline figure.
Which documents can be apostilled?
Typically the certificate of incorporation, the articles, a certificate of good standing, and board resolutions — usually via a certified or notarised copy.
Does an apostille translate the document?
No. Where a translation is needed it is separate, and often has to be certified too.

Related

  • Confirmation statement — The annual filing that confirms the information Companies House holds about your company is correct. Due every year whether or not anything has changed.
  • Identity verification — Directors and people with significant control must have a verified identity. We verify you as an authorised corporate service provider.
  • Director appointments and resignations — Filing an appointment, a resignation or a change of a director's details at Companies House, with the statutory registers updated to match.
  • Change of company name — Changing a registered company name by resolution, with the new certificate issued by Companies House.
  • Issue of shares — Allotting new shares — to bring in an investor, reward a joiner, or restructure who owns what — with the return of allotment filed at Companies House.
  • Transfer of shares — Moving existing shares from one holder to another — stock transfer form, board approval, register of members and the next confirmation statement.

Apostilled documents

£95 + VAT

No Companies House fee applies to this filing.

Plus the Legalisation Office fee at cost.

Ask us to handle it

Every fee is on the pricing page. Statutory fees are passed on at cost.

All filing services

Enquire

Apostilled documents

Tell us the company number and what needs doing. If it is already late, say so — that changes the order things have to happen in, not whether we will help.

Apostilled documents enquiry

Tell us what you are trying to do and we will reply with what is involved. No obligation, and we will say so plainly if what you need is not something we do.

Permanent once registered — it cannot be moved later.
We use what you send to reply to you, and we keep it for as long as we need to. See the privacy notice.

Start with the name.

Run it through the checker — statutory rules first, then the Companies House register — and we will tell you plainly what stands in the way. Nothing to pay to find out.

Check a company name