It is common for foreign jurisdictions to request British birth, marriage, and death certificates for certain administrative procedures.
For example, a birth certificate may be requested as evidence that an individual is entitled to citizenship based on the origin one of their parents or grandparents. The birth certificate then functions as proof of this familial relationship.
Similarly, a marriage certificate may be needed to show that a couple are legally married under English law, for example where a spouse would be entitled under their partner’s pension. Other examples would include overseas adoptions or visa applications.
Death certificates are commonly needed for court/probate proceedings, particularly regarding the release of the deceased’s overseas assets to family members.
In many cases, these documents need to be notarised and/or legalised to evidence their authenticity.
What is the difference between notarisation and legalisation and what do I need?
Notarisation, in this context, refers to the confirmation of a document’s authenticity by a notary. Legalisation refers to a formal confirmation by a state that a particular document was issued by one of its public officials, for example a notary.
Usually UK birth, death and marriage certificates can be legalised ‘directly’ (i.e. without notarisation), as they are signed by a registrar, i.e. a public official.
Countries party to the Hague Convention usually accept certificates legalised by means of an apostille from the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. Where a country is not a member of the Convention, additional legalisation steps, usually certification by a consulate, may be required. Some consulates only accept birth, marriage and death certificates that have been notarised. Some foreign authorities also insist on notarisation, regardless of whether or not this is required for legalisation. Requirements should be checked carefully with the requesting party, and we will be happy to help you navigate the process.
As stated, any birth, marriage and death certificate bearing the signature of a registrar is eligible to be apostilled. Please note that due to Crown Copyright, we are unable to notarise photocopies, scans or photographs of UK-issued birth/marriage/death certificates and can only process register-issued certified copies. Equally, only copies issued by the general register can be apostilled. Should you require our assistance with obtaining register copies, please do get in touch.
The apostille process usually takes 2-3 working days and we can arrange this for you. In rare instances, a registrar’s signature will be missing in the records of the Foreign Office, particularly on very old or very new certificates. This will only come to light once the document has been submitted and rejected. Where this occurs, we can quickly and efficiently resolve this issue for you.
Should you require our assistance with the notarisation and/or legalisation of a UK birth, marriage or death certificate, or you would like more information about the process, feel free to give us a call on 020 3668 6626 or to send an email to info@vpnotaries.co.uk.