Edward Young Notaries & Lawyers provides apostille legalisation services in Central London for UK legal documents — including birth, marriage and death certificates, court documents, educational certificates and other Foreign Public Documents. Regulated by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the practice offers Standard, Priority and Next Day Apostille Service for documents accepted in 124 Hague Convention countries.
Apostille London: Next-Day & Express Service
Fixed-fee apostille legalisation from £60 + VAT. FCDO-registered notary in Central London. Standard, Priority and Express Next Day Apostille Service available for all UK documents.
Mon–Fri 09:00–17:30 · 19 Wigmore Street, London W1U 1PH
How Much Does an Apostille Service Cost?
All fees are fixed. No hidden charges. Discounts available for multiple documents.
Standard Service
£60
+ VAT per document
10 working days
- FCDO apostille stamp applied
- Suitable for most applications
- All UK document types accepted
- Includes handling & submission
Priority Service
£80
+ VAT per document
5 working days
- FCDO apostille stamp applied
- Faster turnaround time
- All UK document types accepted
- Includes handling & submission
Express Next Day
£100
+ VAT per document
Next working day
- Next Day Apostille Service
- Fastest available option
- Short notice accepted
- Call to confirm availability
FCDO Government Fee: A separate fee of £40 per document is charged by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for the official apostille certificate. This is in addition to our service fee and is payable to GOV.UK directly. Ask us about multi-document discounts when apostilling more than two documents in the same submission.
Get a Quote for Your Apostille
Tell us what documents you need apostilled and we’ll confirm pricing and turnaround times within the hour. No obligation.
What Types of Documents Can Be Apostilled?
We can arrange apostilles for the full range of UK documents — personal documents, legal documents and company documents alike.
Not sure whether your document qualifies? Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland documents are all eligible. Send us the details and we’ll confirm straight away. You can also read our guide on what an apostille means and how it works.
How Does the Apostille Process Work?
Three straightforward steps — we handle the entire process from submission to FCDO return.
Send Us Your Documents
Contact us by phone or email to confirm your document type and the destination country. Drop your original documents into our Central London office at 19 Wigmore Street, or post them to us by tracked delivery. We’ll confirm the service tier and time scales before we start.
We Submit to the FCDO
We check whether your documents need notarisation or solicitor certification before submission. Where required, our notarial services team prepares a certified copy or notarises the document. We then submit to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on your behalf, managing the entire process so you don’t have to.
Receive Your Apostilled Documents
Once the FCDO has attached the apostille stamp, we return your legalised documents by secure post or you can collect from our Wigmore Street office. For the Next Day Apostille Service, documents are typically returned by the next working day, ready for submission to the destination country authority.
Why Choose Our London Apostille Service?
A notary-led apostille service from a regulated UK notary practice with years of experience.
- Faculty Office Regulated — notarial services regulated by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the competent authority for notaries in England and Wales
- FCDO-Registered — direct access to FCDO submission channels for standard and express apostille legalisation services
- Central London Location — 19 Wigmore Street, W1U 1PH, near Bond Street tube, for easy document drop-off
- Fixed-Fee Pricing — no hidden charges; total cost confirmed before we begin. Discounts available for multiple documents
- Next Day Apostille Service — fastest standard turnaround available Mon–Fri; same-day may be possible for urgent cases — call to discuss
- Notarisation on Site — where documents need notarisation before apostille, our UK notary can do this in the same appointment
- All Document Types — personal documents, legal documents, educational certificates, company documents, court documents and ACRO police certificates
- Consular Legalisation Services — for documents going to non-Hague Convention countries, we also handle the full Consular Legalisation process via the consulate
- e-Apostille Service — electronic apostilles (e-Apostille service) available for certain UK documents from 2024
- STEP Qualified & ACSP Registered — member of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) and registered with the ACSP
What Our Clients Say About Our Apostille Service
Rated 5 stars on Google. Leave a review
“I needed an apostille on my birth certificate for a visa application at very short notice. Edward Young sorted the Next Day Apostille Service and had my documents back within 24 hours. Brilliant service.”
“We needed several educational certificates and a marriage certificate apostilled for an overseas employment contract. Fixed fee, no hidden costs, and the turnaround time was exactly as promised. Highly recommend.”
“Professional notarial services with clear communication throughout the entire process. They explained exactly which documents needed notarisation before the FCDO apostille stamp and made the whole thing straightforward.”
“Used them for ACRO police certificates and a court document for international use. Central London office was easy to get to and the team was knowledgeable about exactly what the destination country would require.”
What Is the Hague Apostille Convention?
The Hague Apostille Convention (formally the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961) is an international treaty that simplifies the authentication of documents for use abroad. A document that bears an apostille — an official certificate issued by a competent authority in the issuing country — is automatically recognised by all 124 signatory countries without further verification by a Consular Officer.
In the United Kingdom, the competent authority for issuing apostilles is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), formerly the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The FCDO issues the apostille stamp — now increasingly issued as a paper-based apostille or, for certain documents, an e-Apostille service — to authenticate the signature of a public official on the original document.
For documents going to countries that are not signatories to the Hague Apostille Convention, a different process applies: Consular Legalisation Services, involving both the FCDO and the relevant consulate. Our team will confirm the correct process for your destination country.
For more detail on the Convention, see the Hague Conference on Private International Law and the GOV.UK guidance on getting a document legalised. For a full explanation of what an apostille is and how it differs from other forms of authentication, see our guide: what is an apostille?
Apostille vs. Legalisation: Which Do You Need?
- Hague Convention Country? → Apostille only (124 countries)
- Non-Hague Country? → Embassy Legalisation (FCDO + consulate)
- Original document? → May go direct to FCDO
- Photocopy or translation? → Notarisation required first
- Company document? → Usually needs notarisation or solicitor certification
- ACRO / criminal records? → Special handling — call us
- Not sure? → Send us the details
Call us on +44 20 7499 2605 and we’ll confirm the right approach for your destination country and document type at no charge.
What If My Document Needs Embassy Legalisation Instead?
Not every country is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention. If your document is destined for a non-Hague country — such as China, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar or many other Gulf and Middle Eastern states — an apostille alone will not be accepted. Instead, your document will need to go through the full embassy legalisation process.
Embassy legalisation (also known as consular legalisation) is a multi-step process. First, the document may need to be notarised by a UK notary. It is then authenticated by the FCDO. Finally, it must be legalised by the embassy or consulate of the destination country. A Consular Officer at the embassy will stamp and certify the document for use in that foreign jurisdiction.
The time scales for embassy legalisation vary by country — some embassies process in a few working days, others take several weeks. The UAE is one of the most common destinations requiring full embassy legalisation and MOFA attestation, particularly for employment contracts, educational certificates and personal documents. We manage the entire process on your behalf, including scheduling embassy appointments where required, so you don’t have to navigate each step yourself.
For full details on the process, turnaround times and pricing for specific countries, see our dedicated page: Embassy Legalisation Service.
Common Non-Hague Countries
- China — embassy legalisation required
- UAE — embassy legalisation + attestation
- Saudi Arabia — MOFA attestation after FCDO
- Qatar — embassy legalisation required
- Kuwait — embassy legalisation required
- Thailand — embassy legalisation required
- Canada — authentication by Global Affairs Canada (separate process)
Send us the details or call +44 20 7499 2605 — we’ll confirm which process applies to your destination country.
Frequently Asked Questions About Apostilles
Edward Young Notaries & Lawyers
📍 19 Wigmore Street, London W1U 1PH
✉️ notary@notarypubliclondon.co.uk
🕐 Monday–Friday, 09:00–17:30
Edward Young Notaries & Lawyers is a notary practice providing apostille legalisation services, notarial services, Statutory Declarations and consular legalisation from Central London. With years of experience in UK document authentication, we handle the entire process from submission to FCDO return. Contact us to discuss your requirements.
Regulation & Memberships
- Regulated by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury
- Member of The Notaries Society
- STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) qualified
- ACSP (Anti-Money Laundering Supervisory Body) registered
- Non-practising solicitor · England & Wales
Ready to Get Your Documents Apostilled?
Fixed fees. Confirmed turnaround times. Faculty Office regulated notary in Central London. Standard, Priority and Next Day Apostille Service available Monday to Friday.