Personal Documents

What is attestation of a personal document?

Attestation, otherwise known as legalisation, is the process of taking a document issued in one country and making it legally recognised in another. The steps involved will vary greatly dependent on several factors, including the country of issue, its destination country and the purpose of the attestation.

We can help you with the attestation of any birth, marriage and death certificate issued anywhere within the UK and Ireland. This covers the document types:

To order the attestation of a personal document online, start by Choosing a Country

How do I submit a personal document for attestation?

To attest any personal documents for use overseas, you must always present the original document. Photocopies of a personal document, even if certified by a solicitor or Notary Public, will not be accepted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). This is due to this document type being issued by the government. The only exception to this rule is Islamic Marriage Certificates, which must first be certified by an FCO registered solicitor.

Please note - There can sometimes be problems verifying older birth, marriage and death certificates. This can happen if there are difficulties locating a sample signature of the registrar who signed the document. If time delays are likely to cause significant difficulties to your schedule, you would be advised to seek to have a duplicate issued of the document and have the attestation process carried out on that version.

Some of our customers prefer to keep their original documents clean and request an official replacement for the legsliation process. We offer an official duplication service should you need it for replacement birth, marriage and death certificates.

Although we do not re-issue UK Divorce documentation, we can advise you how to get replacements of these documents if required. You can find further information on our Divorce Documentation section here.