Top Reasons the FCDO Rejects Documents for Apostille

What is apostille?

An apostille is an official certification issued by the UK FCDO. It verifies the authenticity of your document, such as a Government-issued Certificates, for use in foreign countries. This certification is essential for documents that need to be recognised by authorities outside the UK.

Top reasons why the FCDO rejects documents for apostille:

Non-UK documents
Solicitor / Registrar is not registered within the FCDO databases
Incorrect certification: missing statements like ‘Certified as a true copy’ for electronic documents in PDF format
Doctors not registered within the General Medical Council (GMC)
Photocopy or laminated document (certain documents must be legalised on the original)
Notarisation errors: English, Welsh, and Northern Irish Notaries must use their registered seal and properly bind documents
No date
Unregistered educational institution

The process of our apostille service:

Submit your inquiry: Complete the inquiry form on our website or email us directly, specifying the type of document you need legalising and the country where it will be used.
Choose your service: Select your preferred apostille service option (Standard/Premium), along with solicitor certification, notarisation by notary public, embassy attestation (if required), and your preferred postage method (DHL/Royal Mail).
Payment: We will email you an invoice, which can be paid securely via the provided link
Send your documents: You could either drop the documents off during our office hours or post them to our London (Elephant & Castle) address. If posting, include the invoice reference in the envelope.
Legalisation process: Once received, we’ll arrange for solicitor certification or notarisation (if required), then submit the documents to the FCDO for legalisation or to obtain the apostille stamp.