Certify and Legalise Documents
Occasionally, you may be asked to provide documents that need to be certified as true copies of the original. Certify a document as a true copy of the original by getting it signed and dated by a one of our Solicitors.
We are recognised by the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) for legalisation of documents and often certify documents with them. Your can find more details on how to legalise a document on the www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised.
How we certify a document.
Take the photocopied document and the original and certify the copy by:
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writing ‘Certified to be a true copy of the original seen by me’ on the document
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signing and dating it
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printing their name under the signature
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adding their occupation, address and telephone number
The types of documents we can certify:
UK Educational Documents: All educational documents can be signed by our solicitor and will either confirm that the document is original if that is the case, or a true photocopy. If you are living overseas it may be possible for the British Council in your country to certify the document instead. You should check with the local British Council office to see if they offer this service.
UK birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates: We can only certify original or certified copies of certificates issued by the General Registry Office (GRO) or local Registry Offices in the UK.
Passports: We can certify passports of any nationality. We can also certify photocopies of the bio data page of British and foreign passports in the UK as being true photocopies of the original documents.
Change of name deed poll: All change of name deed poll documents (originals as well as copies) can be certified and countersigned by one of our solicitors.
Religious documents: We can certify the following religious documents originated in the UK as being true copies of the original documents:
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Islamic Marriage and Divorce Certificates issued by UK mosques
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Jewish Divorce Certificates issued by a Jewish Court
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Baptismal Certificates of any denomination.
UK court (county court) documents: Original documents issued by UK courts can be countersigned by one of our solicitors.
Powers of attorney, wills, affidavits, declarations and notarial acts: Originals of these documents can be legalised if they have been signed in the UK by the individual(s) concerned and the signature(s) witnessed by one of our solicitors.
Certificates of incorporation and other documents issued by Companies House: We can legalise originals of these documents only if they have been signed by an official of Companies House.
The process to certify a document:
The procedure to certify documents is as follows:
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Bring your original documents to the office. You do not need an appointment but it is best to call before you come.
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You will be seen by one of our solicitors who will be happy to copy and certify your documents.
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We charge £10 per page for any document / item that requires certification as a true copy of the original and/ or administering any oaths.
Please note, we do not have a debit/ credit card reader and can accept payments in cash.
We also retain a copy of any document or affidavit we attest on your behalf and retain the same for a period 6 months. After which the documents are destroyed from our records.