Welcome to Fatchett Legalisation’s certificate of incorporation apostille service. We specialise in providing efficient and reliable apostille services for company incorporation certificates, ensuring your documents meet international standards. Whether you need to authenticate your certificate of incorporation for trading or other legal reasons our professional team is here to help you legalise your company registration certificate. Trust our legalisation service to handle your apostille needs with precision and care.
Why use Fatchett Legalisation for your Certificate of Incorporation 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 Certificate of Incorporation Apostille Service
Certificate of Incorporation Formats for Apostille
You can get a Certificate of incorporation apostille from the FCDO Legalisation Office for the following document formats:
- Your original certificate of incorporation signed by an official of Companies House
- Your original certificate of incorporation not signed by an official of Companies House
- A photocopy of your certificate of incorporation
- A printout of your electronic certificate of incorporation produced from the original PDF or other electronic document
You may not wish to send the original document by post. Also, sending an electronic copy by email can save valuable time. However, if you provide anything but an original certificate of incorporation signed by an official of Companies House, the document must be certified by a solicitor or notary public in the UK before it can be apostilled.
When the solicitor or notary public signs the document, they must:
- have a valid practising certificate
- sign the document in the UK
- state the action they have taken e.g. witnessed, certified a copy, confirmed as original
- use their personal signature, not a company signature
- include the date of certification
- include their name and company address
The solicitor or notary public’s signature must be an original, hand-written signature. The FCDO Legalisation Office will not accept a photocopy or scan of a signature.
If they add a notarial certificate, it must be attached to the document. The certificate must also contain a specific reference to the document they have certified. If a notary public from England, Wales or Northern Ireland signs a document for legalisation, they must also stamp or emboss the document with their notarial seal.
Fatchett Legalisation has in-house solicitors and notaries to correctly handle this process for you.
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FAQ
A certificate of incorporation is a UK legal document issued when a company registers itself as an individual legal entity with Companies House. The document includes:
- Name of the company
- Registration number
- Date of incorporation
- The Registrar’s seal
To establish a company you need to register with Companies House and file the following details and documents:
- Registered office address, i.e. the official business address of your company.
- An optional company name reservation (optional). This secures your desired name beforehand.
- Memorandum of Association which define your company’s objectives and outline its share structure.
- Articles of Association which set out the internal rules governing how your company operates.
- Appointment of directors which detail the company directors, including their names, addresses, and nationalities.
For simple applications completed online, the certificate of incorporation may be issued withing a few hours of registration.
If you have previously registered a company and don’t have the certificate of incorporation, then you can obtain a copy. A scanned digital copy can be downloaded for free from the Companies House online service. Alternatively, you can order a certified paper copy online through the same service.
An apostille of a certificate of incorporation can be essential to carry out business overseas. International parties may request a verified copy of your certificate. If they are in a country that is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, apostille is the preferable method of legalisation.
In the UK, you can get a certificate of incorporation 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 certificate of incorporation, 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 original “wet ink” signed certificates of incorporation, unsigned documents or copies and print outs. However, unsigned documents, copies and print outs require solicitor certification or notarisation before submission to the FCDO.
The cost to apostille a certificate of incorporation can vary depending on the service provider, any requirements for solicitor certification or notarisation, 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 certificate of incorporation 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 certificate of incorporation in the UK, follow these steps:
- Obtain an original copy of the certificate of incorporation signed by an official of Companies House.
- 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 certificate of incorporation. 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 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 certificate of incorporation, 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 your original certificate of incorporation is not signed by an official of Companies House or if you provide a photocopy or print out of an electronic copy that has not been certified or notarised by a UK solicitor or notary who has not registered their signature with the FCDO.
The Hague Convention simplifies the process of certifying or legalising documents, such as a certificate of incorporation, for international use. An apostille certifies that a certificate of incorporation 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 documents efficiently under the Hague Convention’s guidelines.
Countries outside of the Apostille Convention will not recognise an apostilled certificate of incorporation. As of July 2024, 127 states are contracting states of the Apostille Convention, but Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, and Vietnam (North) are not. Legalisation for these countries usually involves attestation at their UK embassy. Fatchett Legalisation can advise you on alternative methods of document legalisation for non-contracting locales.
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