Notarial and document services abroad
Advice on legalising documents, getting married, and registering a birth or death abroad, and information on services available at UK embassies and consulates worldwide.
Notarial services
Normally a local notary abroad will be able to provide notarial services for you. Refer to our list of lawyers abroad.
If a local notary is unable to provide you with the service you need, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) may be able to offer a notarial or document service instead. Specific information about the notarial and document services we offer in each country, as well as the fees we charge, are shown in the guidance for each country.
Notarial services in Commonwealth countries
Consular staff in Commonwealth countries have no general powers to perform notarial acts, so our high commissions and consulates in Commonwealth countries cannot provide notarial services. You will need to obtain the services of a local notary instead; you may be able to find one using our list of lawyers abroad. We may be able to offer some limited document services, such as information notes.
Notarial services in non-Commonwealth countries
In some countries, if a notary is unable to provide you with a service, our staff may be able to offer some limited notarial services including:
- administering oaths, affirmations, declarations and affidavits
- witnessing signatures
- making certified copies of official UK documents
- uniting documents
- marking of exhibits for use in UK court proceedings
Document services
Getting documents legalised
Our staff cannot verify that any document is genuine; you will need to liaise with the organisation that issued the document if you need to verify it. If you need to get a UK public document ‘legalised’ or ‘apostilled’ so authorities will accept the document overseas, read our guidance on getting a document legalised.
If you need to verify an apostille certificate issued in the UK, read our guidance on verifying an apostille.
Service of documents and taking of evidence
If you need to serve documents overseas, or are involved in the taking of evidence for UK court proceedings, you may need to contact the Foreign Process Section at the Royal Courts of Justice. Each country has different requirements, and consular staff in the UK may need to be involved. For more information, read the guidance on service of documents and taking of evidence.
Registering an overseas birth or death
You must register an overseas birth or death according to the regulations in the country where it took place. That country’s authorities will give you a local certificate which, in most cases, should be accepted in the UK; though you might need to get it translated and certified if it is not in English. If you wish, you may obtain a consular birth or death registration from us, which will record the details of the local certificate in a UK format.
A consular birth or death registration does not replace the original birth or death certificate issued by the authorities in the country where it took place. There is no legal requirement for you to get a birth or death registration from us. If you do choose to register an overseas birth or death, it will be recorded in the UK with the General Register Offices or National Records Office of Scotland. You will then be able to order a consular birth or death registration certificate from the UK authorities.
Consular birth or death registrations are available for most countries, but only to British nationals who were born or died after 1 January 1983. Find out more, including which documents you will need to provide, about:
Marriage and civil partnership abroad
Our embassies, high commissions and consulates may also be able to help if you are getting married, entering into a civil partnership or registering a civil partnership conversion abroad.
Document requirements vary by country, and the process can be complicated and time-consuming. You can find more information on marriages and civil partnerships abroad and converting civil partnerships abroad.
Feedback
We welcome your views on the support we provide, to help us to identify what we do well and what we could do better. Contact us using our feedback contact form.
Alternatively write to us:
Consular Feedback Team
Consular Directorate
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH
Or telephone +44 (0)20 7008 5000
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Last updated 31 August 2022 + show all updates
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Added new guidance explaining the types of notarial and document services that the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office offers.
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Added guide for Venezuela.
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Added Armenia into the list.
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First published.