Welcome to Fatchett Legalisation’s Apostille Birth Certificate Service. We specialise in providing efficient and reliable apostille services for birth certificates, ensuring your documents meet international standards. Whether you need to authenticate your birth certificate for legal reasons, travel, study, or work abroad, our professional team is here to assist you every step. Trust our birth certificate legalisation service to handle your apostille needs with precision and care.
Why use Fatchett Legalisation for your Birth Certificate Apostille?
- FREE Document reviews.
- FREE expert advice.
- Competitive prices.
- Money-back refund guarantee.
- Highly recommended.
Also, unlike many of our competitors, we are a firm of notaries. This means:
- We have more in-house expertise than most of our competitors, and can offer fast and expert advise without having to refer you to third parties.
- Our industry regulator holds us to a higher standard than most of our competitors.
Choose your Birth Certificate Apostille Service
Birth Certificate Document Formats for Apostille
You can get a Birth Certificate apostille from the FCDO Legalisation Office for the following document formats:
- Your original UK birth certificate
- A certified copy from either the General Register Office (GRO) or local register office
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FAQ
An apostilled birth certificate is certified with an apostille stamp. The certificate and stamp ensure the document is legally valid and recognised in the Hague Apostille Convention member countries. The apostille guarantees the document’s authenticity for use in international legal matters.
A certified copy of your birth certificate is crucial for various legal and administrative purposes. You may need to apostille a birth certificate if you plan to use it in a foreign country that is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention. This makes the document legally recognised in those member countries.
Reasons to Apostille a Birth Certificate:
- Applying for Dual Citizenship
- Marriage Abroad
- Adopting a Child from Another Country
- Registering a Birth in Another Country
- International Work Visas
- Enrolling in Foreign Schools
- Inheritance Claims Overseas
- Immigration Purposes
- International Legal Proceedings
- Transferring Pension Benefits
- Global Business Transactions
In the UK, you can get a birth certificate apostilled through the Legalisation Office or FCDO-authorised service providers, such as Fatchett Legalisation. Our team is experienced in handling such requests, ensuring your document is processed efficiently and correctly.
In the UK, apostilles are issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) through its Legalisation Office. When issuing an apostille, the FCDO will affix a certificate to the original documents to show that the document and signatures are genuine. However, authorised service providers like Fatchett Legalisation can facilitate the process on your behalf, making it more convenient and often faster. For further assistance or to initiate the apostille process for your birth certificate, please get in touch with Fatchett Legalisation. Our knowledgeable team is here to guide you through every step of the process.
We can arrange apostille for long-form (extended) and short-form birth certificates. However, confirming that the relevant overseas authority will accept the short-form certificate for your specific purpose is essential. So, contact the relevant overseas authorities or seek professional legal advice to ensure compliance with their particular requirements.
The cost to apostille a birth certificate can vary depending on the service provider and the urgency of the request. At Fatchett Legalisation, we offer competitive rates for apostille services. For detailed pricing, please contact our office or visit our website order form, where we regularly update our fee structure.
The time it takes to apostille a birth certificate can vary. Typically, the process can take from a couple of working days to a couple of weeks, depending on the workload of the Legalisation Office. At Fatchett Legalisation, we offer expedited services to meet urgent requirements.
To obtain an apostille for a birth certificate in the UK, follow these steps:
- Obtain a certified copy of the birth certificate.
- Submit the document to the Legalisation Office or authorised service, such as Fatchett Legalisation.
- Pay the necessary fees.
- Wait for the document to be processed and returned with the apostille.
At Fatchett Legalisation, we can streamline this process, ensuring your documents are handled correctly and efficiently.
An apostille is a certificate attached to your birth certificate. It usually features a stamp or sticker and includes information such as the issuing country’s authentication, the identity of the official who signed the document, and the date of issue. It is designed to be easily recognisable by officials in foreign countries.
In the UK, apostilles are issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) through its Legalisation Office. When issuing an apostille, the FCDO will affix a certificate to the original documents to show that the document and signatures are genuine. However, authorised service providers like Fatchett Legalisation can facilitate the process on your behalf, making it more convenient and often faster. For further assistance or to initiate the apostille process for your birth certificate, please get in touch with Fatchett Legalisation. Our knowledgeable team is here to guide you through every step of the process.
The FCDO will not issue an apostille certificate if the signature on your birth certificate is not recognised. Rejection typically occurs when the registrar or other authorised person is not in their official database, as the birth certificate is very new or very old. Currently, there is no way to check the signature before submission.
If the FCDO rejects your certificate for apostille and the birth certificate is very new, contact the local registrar’s office and ask the person who signed the certificate to register their signature with the FCDO.
For very old certificates, order a new official replacement copy from the GRO website or local registry office. A new certificate takes around four working days and costs £11.
Alternatively, one of our solicitors can certify the birth certificate and get the apostille. However, the FCDO will then issue the apostille based on the solicitor’s signature, not the signature on your birth certificate. Some overseas authorities will not accept this. So, you should first contact the relevant overseas authorities to confirm that this would be acceptable for your intended use.
Generally, you cannot legalise a birth certificate issued in a foreign country in the UK. Foreign birth certificates must be legalised in the country where they were issued. However, there is an exception to this general rule where a foreign embassy in the UK issues a birth certificate in English. You can then have this birth certificate apostilled if it is solicitor-certified. Please note that the apostille is issued against the solicitor’s signature, not the signature of the public official from the embassy. So, you must check this is acceptable to the body you are dealing with in the foreign country.
The Hague Convention simplifies the process of certifying or legalising documents, such as a birth certificate, for international use. An apostille certifies that a birth certificate is authentic. The Hague Convention ensures that the apostille certification process is standardised across member countries.
At Fatchett Legalisation, we understand the details and requirements for obtaining an apostille for your documents. Trust our service to handle the certification of your birth certificate efficiently under the Hague Convention’s guidelines.
Countries outside of the Apostille Convention will not recognise an apostilled birth certificate. As of July 2024, 127 states are contracting states of the Apostille Convention, but Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, and Vietnam (North) are not. Fatchett Legalisation can advise you on alternative methods of document legalisation for non-contracting locales. Please note that some countries may not recognise apostilled short-form birth certificates. Other countries may only accept short-form birth certificates for specific legal purposes but demand long-form birth certificates for different uses.
A certified copy of a UK birth certificate, officially known as a certified copy of an entry of birth, is a full-length, unabridged copy of the original birth certificate that includes the following details:
- The child’s full name
- The mother’s name
- The father’s name, if registered
- The date of birth
- The place of birth
- The registration district
- Details of the parents
Certified copies of birth certificates are available for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. They can be used for a variety of purposes, including:
- Proving identity
- Applying for passports, bank accounts, pensions, and more
- Legal and family history purposes
Still have more questions?
Email us at legalise@fatchett.co.uk
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