The UK Legalisation Office is now able to receive documents digitally. This will mean the UK Government can issue electronic ‘e-Apostille’ certificates, which enable a quicker, cheaper and more efficient service.

Previous to the introduction of the e-Apostille, people had to send their physical documents to the UK Legalisation Office and receive the documents back several days later with an Apostille attached.

Chris Ward, Head of Public-facing Services at the FCDO, said:

“This is an exciting development which will provide a much more efficient user experience. A digital Apostille solution has been many years in the making, but this new system is capable of providing a fully digital service.”

He added: “We want to continue to provide the best possible service to our customers and will develop the system further to meet a range of user needs.”

The first UK e-Apostille was issued last year as part of a pilot initiative. Now, the option to apply for an e-Apostille is available to more customers.

To get an e-Apostille, applicants will need to have their documents signed using either an Advanced Electronic Signature, or a Qualified Electronic Signature, which offer high levels of validation. To find out more about this, and how we can issue you with a QES, contact us today.

The Apostille is issued as an attachment to a PDF and has the documents the certificate relates to also attached.

Customers will still have the option of a paper apostille, and some documents (such as police record documents) will continue to require a paper-based Apostille. This is due to specific security reasons.

Furthermore, not all countries accept e-Apostilles. For this reason, paper-based apostilles might be the best option for you. We recommend you check that the country you intend to use your document in does accept e-Apostilles.