Ukrainian police certificate for a child under 14

An apostille is an official certificate, complete with a stamp, that the Legalisation Office of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) places on a UK public document after comparing the signature or seal with the records held by that office. A document counts as legalised when a public official in the UK issued it, or when such an official — a notary or solicitor, for example — has certified it. The examples given on gov.uk are a contract, a power of attorney and a qualification certificate copy that has been certified.

Paper or electronic: two ways to apply

There are two types, and an application for either is made online. The paper-based type means sending the documents by post; a registered business can instead bring them in person. The e-Apostille is the electronic version and covers a PDF that a notary or solicitor in the UK has signed electronically.

Whichever route looks better, ask the authority that will receive the document first, because some of them want paper even in cases where an e-Apostille exists.

Documents the e-Apostille does not cover

The electronic option is closed to several categories:

• marriage, civil partnership, birth, death and adoption certificates, plus anything else issued by the General Register Office;
• ACRO police certificates that relate to England and Wales;
• DBS certificates, which also concern England and Wales;
• disclosure certificates issued in Scotland or Northern Ireland;
• fingerprint certificates.

Anything in these groups has to go through the paper-based process.

What each option costs

Fees are charged per document:

Courier charges come with every paper-based apostille, and there is no refund when a document turns out to be impossible to legalise.

How long the wait is

Police certificates and children’s documents

Because ACRO police certificates and General Register Office certificates — birth and adoption certificates among them — sit outside the e-Apostille, a family assembling papers that concern a child should plan for the paper-based route from the start, budget for the courier or postage it involves, and confirm with the authority that will receive the document which format it accepts.