Apostille Service Overview: What You Need to Know

It is likely that at least once in your life, you will require an Apostille Service. Apostilles refer to the legalisation that will indicate that a particular document is authentic and this process of document legalisation is authenticated by means of an apostille stamp.What is the Apostille Certificate?The Apostille certificate refers to the small certificate attached to the back of a document and duly embossed with the stamp of the issuing party. Such certificate verifies that the document is authentic and has undergone checking by authorities in the country of origin of the person or entity. If there is an apostille certificate, authorities will then accept the documents with full confidence and no questions asked. These documents are processed in the legalisation office, which verifies the identity and other details of the person. Once the Apostille certificate is attached, then the documents are considered valid for use in other countries.

The UK legalisation office issues Apostilles, and they handle UK-sponsored documents. So, if you will be working overseas, for example, and your foreign employer is requesting that you legalise your papers to ensure that they are authentic, then you will need to use an Apostille service for this. Many companies and schools require that documents be legalised through an Apostille certification because this helps lower the instances of fraud, which is already quite common nowadays. An Apostille ensures the authenticity and legality of documents presented by individuals who are going out of the country, particularly in countries that participated in the Hague Convention of 1961.The format used in any Apostille certificate is as follows: Name of the issuing country The name of the person who signed the document The designation of the person who signed the document Seal details on the document Place and date of issue Issuing authority Apostille Certification number Issuing authority stamp Signature of the issuing authority representative Here are some examples of documents that need to be legalised: Birth, Marriage and Death certificates Certain qualification papers when applying for work overseas Business bank account applications Business documents needed for doing transactions and trade in other countries Educational documents and files of students who want to study Certified Translation of Birth Certificates abroad Issuance of power of attorney for those who are interested to buy a property Filing of legal agreements and contracts entered abroad Request of change of name by deed poll Criminal record clearance or CRB's This is not an exhaustive list.The process of applying for an Apostille certification can be a bit complicated and time-consuming especially for those who have never tried it before. The good thing is that you can simply pay for the service, and the agency will do all the hard work for you. There are many websites that offer Apostille services in the UK, and if you need one for your documents, then it may be best to find a reliable service provider to process the certification of your documents.