Apostille Translation Service in UK
A UK document only works abroad once it carries the right seal. We translate your paperwork and prepare it for FCDO apostille legalisation, so embassies, foreign employers and overseas courts accept it without question. Whether you're moving for work, buying a home abroad, or marrying overseas, this apostille translation covers birth certificates, degrees, company papers and more. Every copy is signed by a CIoL-registered linguist before it goes through UK Foreign Office legalisation, so your document holds up wherever you send it.
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Overseas Bodies That Ask For Apostille Translation
An apostille only helps if the translation attached to it is done right too. Below is who usually asks for this pairing, from foreign embassies to overseas banks. If you need any other document translated, take a look at our legal translation services across the UK as well.
One Legalised Copy, Accepted Almost Anywhere
The FCDO apostille is recognised by every country in the Hague Convention, so one correctly translated and stamped copy travels with you.
Why People Need Their Documents Apostilled
Nobody wants an apostille for fun — it's usually the last step before a big life move. Here are the real moments where our apostille translation for UK documents helps people and businesses get where they're going without a hitch.
Working Abroad
Foreign employers often need a legalised copy of your degree or police clearance before your work permit is approved.
Marrying Overseas
Getting married in another country almost always means showing a legalised birth certificate and a certificate of no impediment.
Studying Abroad
A foreign university checking your UK degree usually needs the transcript translated and legalised before they'll confirm your place.
Buying Property Abroad
Foreign land registries want a legalised Power of Attorney or deed before they'll let a purchase go through in your name.
Setting Up A Business Abroad
Registering a UK company's branch overseas means the local registrar needs your incorporation papers translated and legalised first.
Adopting A Child From Abroad
Overseas adoption panels ask for legalised copies of your home study, marriage certificate and background checks before approval.
Foreign Court Cases
A UK court order or contract used in a foreign court usually needs legalising first, so the judge can trust it's genuine.
Applying For Dual Citizenship
Claiming citizenship through a parent or grandparent means proving the family link with legalised birth and marriage records.
Retiring Abroad
Moving abroad for retirement often means a foreign residency office wants your pension papers and ID legalised before you settle in.
Documents We Translate And Prepare For Apostille
Different documents need different handling before an apostille can be added. Below is what we translate most often, and where a linked service on our site can help with the wider paperwork that usually travels alongside it.
Birth Certificate
Handled through our birth certificate translation service, often the very first document a foreign office asks for.
Marriage Certificate
Our marriage certificate translation service covers name changes, spouse visas and proving marital status abroad.
Degree Certificate & Diploma
Prepared through our academic document translation service, so foreign universities and employers can verify it's genuine.
Police Clearance Certificate
Handled through our police report translation service, before it goes on to be legalised for a foreign employer.
Power of Attorney
Our Power of Attorney translation service prepares this document for legalisation before an overseas property or bank deal.
Certificate of Incorporation
Prepared alongside our contract translation service, when a UK company sets up a branch overseas.
Death Certificate
Needed for probate, pension claims or inheritance cases involving property or family abroad.
Divorce Decree
Our divorce decree translation service is often needed before remarrying abroad, or to prove marital status.
Adoption Certificate
Translated and legalised so an overseas adoption panel can confirm the legal relationship between parent and child.
Apostille Translation Pricing, Document By Document
Two costs make up your total: the translation itself, and the FCDO apostille stamp on top. Below is what each part costs, so you know the full price before you send anything to us.
This is the actual apostille stamp, added on top of your certified translation.
Digital PDF Delivery
A scanned copy of your translated, apostilled document sent straight to your inbox.
Order Now →UK Tracked Post
Your original apostille ribbon and wet-ink stamp posted safely via Royal Mail Tracked.
Order Now →International DHL Express
Tracked delivery straight to your address abroad, wherever you're moving to.
Order Now →Multiple Copies Bundle
Need the same document apostilled twice, for two countries or two offices? We can do that in one order.
Order Now →Every quote already includes your Certificate of Accuracy and formatting for legalisation. See our full UK translation pricing for other document types.
Sending A Whole Document Set Abroad?
Certificates, degrees and company papers together — tell us the full list and we'll quote translation and apostille as one order.
How Translation And Apostille Legalisation Work Together
Getting a document ready for use abroad takes two steps done in the right order. Send your file, we translate and certify it, then we send it on for FCDO legalisation, and post the finished copy back to you.
Send Your Original Document
Upload a scan of your document and tell us which country it's going to, so we know exactly which legalisation route it needs.
Certified Translation First
A qualified linguist translates your document and attaches a signed Certificate of Accuracy, the way the FCDO expects to see it.
Sent For FCDO Legalisation
We submit your certified translation to the UK Foreign Office, where it's checked and stamped with the official apostille.
Legalised Copy Delivered
Your apostilled document is scanned and emailed to you, with the original posted on if you've chosen a hard copy.
Reasons Foreign Offices Refuse An Apostilled Document
The apostille process has a few extra rules that catch people out. Here are six genuine mistakes we help people avoid, so their legalised document is accepted the first time it's shown abroad.
Translation Not Attached To Original
An apostille needs the translation physically bound to the source document, not sent as two separate loose files.
Apostille Sent To A Non-Hague Country
Some countries don't accept a standard apostille at all and need embassy legalisation instead — worth checking first.
Document Issued Too Long Ago
Some countries only accept a police certificate or bank letter if it was issued within the last three to six months.
Notary Step Skipped
Certain documents need a notary's signature before an apostille can be added, and skipping this step means the FCDO will reject it.
Wrong Number Of Apostilles Ordered
Sending two documents to two different offices abroad usually means two separate apostilles, not one shared stamp.
Pages Not Bound Together
A multi-page document sent as loose sheets can be refused, since the FCDO needs to see every page securely joined.
What A Refused Apostille Actually Costs You
A rejected document abroad can mean a missed work start date, a cancelled wedding date, or a stalled property sale.
Post-review approval
Corrective turnaround
We Check The Route Before We Submit
Before anything goes to the FCDO, we confirm the destination country's rules, including cases that also need notarised translation first.
What Clients Say About Getting Documents Legalised Abroad
These are the real moves and milestones our clients trusted us to help with — jobs, weddings, universities and more.
“My visa application to a Gulf country required apostille legalisation of my UK employment history along with certified Arabic translations for the immigration office....”
“A legal matter in Brazil required my UK court documents to be apostille certified and translated into Portuguese for submission to the local court there. The court clerk...”
“The Afghan embassy in London required apostille certified translations of my UK documents before they would issue an official letter I urgently needed. The translation...”
“Adopting a child through an international process meant our UK background documents needed apostille legalisation and translation into Portuguese for the foreign...”
“Enrolling in a postgraduate course in France required my UK degree certificate to carry an apostille along with a certified French translation for the admissions office....”
“Dual citizenship through my father's home country required apostille certified translations of several UK documents submitted directly to their consulate for review. The...”
Common Questions About Apostille Translation
Real questions people search before sending a document off for translation and legalisation.
A notarised translation is signed off by a UK Notary Public. An apostille is a separate stamp added on top by the Foreign Office, confirming that notary's signature is genuine. Some countries want both, one after the other.
No. Only countries that signed the Hague Convention accept a standard apostille. If your destination country isn't a member, your document needs embassy legalisation instead, which takes a bit longer.
It depends on the document and the country asking for it. Sometimes the apostille sits on the original, sometimes on the translation, and sometimes on both bound together. We check this for you before anything is submitted.
The apostille stamp itself doesn't expire. However, some countries only accept the underlying document, like a police certificate, if it was issued fairly recently, so check that separately.
Sometimes, yes, but only if that translation already meets the FCDO's formatting rules. In many cases it's actually quicker and cheaper for us to redo the translation ourselves, so it's guaranteed to pass first time.
Only if it was later certified or notarised by a UK-based professional, like a solicitor or notary. A document issued entirely abroad usually needs an apostille from that country instead, not from the UK.
Yes, the Foreign Office offers a premium same-day and next-day service for an extra fee. We can book this slot on your behalf once your translation is ready, cutting the usual wait right down.
Each document normally needs its own apostille. The only exception is when several pages belong to one single document, like a multi-page contract, which can be bound and legalised together as one.
A plain photocopy usually can't be legalised on its own. It first needs certifying as a true copy by a solicitor or notary, and that certified copy is what the apostille then gets attached to.
Get Your Document Translated And Apostilled Today
Send your certificate, degree or legal document now. We'll confirm the price, the turnaround, and exactly which legalisation route your destination country needs. Need something else translated? See our full certified legal translation services UK range.