Blake Lapthorn has notaries operating out
of its Portsmouth, Southampton and Oxford offices, whose main role
is to verify and certify the authenticity of documents,
transactions and facts in a manner that will be accepted by public
authorities overseas.
In many countries, in order for a document to
be accepted, it may also have to be 'apostilled' as well as
certified by a notary public. This will require the document
to be presented to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who will
check the credentials and the signature and seal of the notary and
affix a certificate or 'apostille' on the notarised document.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office charge for this process
and it generally takes 4-5 working days for the document to be
apostilled and returned although it can take longer.
In addition, some countries require full legalisation which
requires the document to be produced to the country's consulate in
the UK. Each consulate makes a different charge for this process
and timescales vary greatly.
Our notaries are familiar with these requirements
and will advise you accordingly although usually you will be told
by the person who requires the document what level of additional
certification is required.
Our notaries will be pleased to
organise the legalisation process for you.
It is very important that these requirements are complied with
fully failing which the document may not be accepted and the
transaction or application will be delayed.
Charges for notarising documents will typically depend on:
- the number and complexity of the documents
- whether the apostille or full legalisation is also required;
and
- whether the documents are urgently required and so couriers or
agents are used to speed up the legalisation process.
For London-based enquiries, please visit
the Notaries Society
website and they will be pleased to provide a list of
local notaries from which to choose.
