First of all, do you have a long-form or a short-form UK Birth Certificate to present for apostille?
Before you start...
Ideally and in most circumstances, it is the long-form Birth Certificate that is required to be apostilled. The short-form Birth Certificate can be apostilled but ultimately, when it is presented to the requesting authority, it may be refused. It is of the utmost importance to make sure you have spoken to the requesting authority about this matter if you are planning to submit the short-form Birth Certificate for apostille.
If you do not check, you may have to submit a new application for a new apostille. Apostilles are not interchangeable, they cannot be removed and replaced on different documents.
If you ONLY have a short-form Birth Certificate, you can submit a request for a new Birth Certificate using the GRO website or you can take advantage of The Apostilles Group and place one order with one provider and we can get hold of one on your behalf in either 2 days (£75) or 15 days (£30).
Presenting the Certificate
If you have the Birth Certificate you need to have apostilled, you can take advantage of our experience and send it to The Apostilles Group for apostille using our Basic Service. Simply send us an email to info@theapostillesgroup.uk or WhatsApp us on +441822600160
You can also send them directly to the FCDO yourself and complete the process on your own.
If you have ordered a Birth Certificate or placed an order with The Apostilles Group to get one for you, we will be in touch when it arrives with us to let you know when you can expect to receive your apostilled version.
Receiving the Apostille
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office are the only authority in the UK who can issue apostille certificates. All of the 3rd party agencies, including this one, The Apostilles Group, have to use the services offered by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office which are:
- Postal Service based in Milton Keynes
- Drop Off Service based in Milton Keynes
- Premium Same Day Service based in Central London
The Apostilles Group uses both the Postal Service and the Premium Same Day Service to get your apostilles arranged. Royal Mail Special Delivery is used to transport your Birth Certificate to the Milton Keynes office and the FCO send them back using a secure, guaranteed service offered by DX. All of these costs are included in all Basic Service costs (£70 or £190).
If you are using the Premium Same Day Service to apostille your Birth Certificate, we can either collect your document from London and some surrounding areas or you can ship the document to our London office and we can take care of it from there. We have an extensive network of couriers, solicitors, notary publics, translators and other support services ready to commit themselves to getting your job completed in the quickest and most professional way possible.
Once the apostille has been issued
There are a few options available to you once your Birth Certificate has been legalised (or apostilled, it can get confusing, for more info see here).
- Scan it. We can scan it and email it to you as soon as it arrives so that you have an electronic copy as soon as it is available.
- Ship it. We can arrange to ship it to you wherever you are in the world.
- Translate it. We can arrange to have your Birth Certificate AND it's apostille translated to any of 130+ languages.
- Attest it. We can arrange attestation from many countries Embassies based in the UK.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about legalising your Birth Certificate, please don't hesitate to ask. We are available to chat on WhatsApp and Live Chat from 9am - 9pm. Emails to info@theapostillesgroup.uk and you can also call us on 0800 9788 966 free in the UK or 0044 1822 600160 lo-charge from the Rest of the World.