Apostille without Solicitor’s Certification / Notarisation

Apostille without Solicitor's Certification / Notarisation

Apostille without Solicitor’s Certification / Notarisation

Navigating Legalisation: Understanding Documents That Do Not Require Solicitor Certification / Notarisation

Original documents or certified copies issued by an official authority, or has been verified by authorised officials or registrars, can be legalised directly without further notarisation/solicitor certification.

In this article, we’ll explore the types of documents that do not require solicitor certification / notarisation to obtain the apostille.

1. Government Issued Certificates:

  • Original documents or a certified copy from either the General Register Office (GRO) or local register office, such as birth certificate, death/coroner certificate, marriage certificate, civil partnership certificate, certificate of no impediment, adoption certificate, stillbirth certificate.

2. HMRC Letters

  • Letters from the HMRC that contain a wet ink stamp from the issuing authority or signed by an HMRC Officer can be legalised without solicitor certification.

3. Home Office Documents

  • Documents from the Home Office such as immigration status documents, UKVI settlement letters, travel documents with a hand signature from them do not need to be certified prior to legalisation.

4. Court Documents:

  • Legal documents such as judgments, orders, and divorce decrees that contain a court stamp/seal/signature would confirm the court issued the document or it is an original from their records, allowing for apostille issuance.

5. ACRO Police Clearance

  • Additional certification for ACRO police certificate is not required if it was signed by an ACRO police officer.

 

6. Medical Documents

  • Medical-related documents issued and signed by a GMC-registered doctor, such as a Medical report, test results, fit/sick note, doctor’s letter is sufficient for it to be accepted for an apostille. This is prevalent in cases where you are applying for a work visa abroad and the local authorities there would request for an original medical certificate to be legalised to verify that you are healthy. 

 

7. Commercial Documents

  • Company documents, if they are received directly from Company House and contain a wet-ink signature from a Companies House registrar, do not need further certification by a solicitor / notary public as they act on behalf of the UK government authority.

 

If you have any uncertainties about the details of your documents, it’s always worthwhile to reach out to us. We are more than happy to assist by addressing even the most basic questions. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any inquiries about whether your documents require certification by a solicitor or notary public.