FCDO Legalisation Office
The FCDO Legalisation Office is the department within the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office responsible for issuing paper apostilles and e-Apostilles for UK documents intended for international use. It is the only authority in the United Kingdom with the legal power to issue apostilles under the Hague Convention. The office operates from Milton Keynes and processes both traditional paper apostilles and electronic e-apostilles for documents from England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
The Legalisation Office verifies signatures, seals, and stamps on UK public documents by checking them against databases of registered officials and solicitors. For e-Apostilles, the office verifies electronic signatures from FCDO-registered solicitors before issuing digital apostille certificates. All apostilles issued by the FCDO can be verified through the official government verification portal, providing public confirmation of authenticity.
The FCDO Legalisation Office cannot apostille documents from other countries or documents that lack verifiable signatures from UK authorities or FCDO-registered solicitors. The office also maintains the private database of registered solicitor signatures used for e-apostille verification.
Sole Authority
The FCDO Legalisation Office is the only UK authority that can issue apostilles. No other government department, solicitor, or notary can issue apostilles for UK documents.
Location and Processing
The office operates from Milton Keynes and processes all UK apostille applications. The previous London office no longer offers apostille services. The Milton Keynes office is not directly accessible to the public. Only registered service providers like ourselves can actually visit the legalisation office.
Verification Database
The FCDO maintains databases of registered signatures and seals from UK officials and solicitors, which it uses to verify documents before issuing apostilles.