15 June 2022

FCDO suspends in-person premium legalisation for members of the public

The FCDO office in London will only deal with registered notary service providers for premium service legalisation from the end of June 2022.

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

From Monday 27 June 2022 the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FDCO) will no longer be able to serve unregistered members of the public for premium services, and will only deal directly with registered businesses and their delegated couriers.

Woodcock Notary Public, as a certified and licensed notary service provider, is able to facilitate priority services with the FCDO on your behalf. Premium FCDO applications are created by notary public service providers like us and, as such, it is us that must drop off and collect the documents at the FCDO office.

Premium services allow you to have your documents legalised on the same day as they are received by the office; a considerably quicker turn around than the standard service offers, which is currently between three and four weeks.

If you want to use the premium FCDO legalisation services, you must go through a registered business, such as Woodcock Notary Public, to do so.

Why premium service legalisation is restricted

The reason for the change is that the FCDO has been experiencing increased pressures in having to deal directly with members of the public and it is no longer manageable for them to do so. Increased footfall creates long queues and slows down processing times for applications.

Please note: Anyone producing an application at the counter without being registered themselves will be turned away. In addition, the office reserves the right to request proof that anyone attending the counter is a representative of a legitimate registered business.

Going through a notary service will aid the smooth running and delivery of the FCDO’s service. We, like the FCDO, aim to offer the best service possible and wish to ensure that all our customers have access to the quick legalisation and apostille service they need.