What Is an Apostille and Why Should I Care?

One of my solicitor colleagues recently asked me, rather charmingly:

“Why do you keep banging on about apostilles all the time?”

It’s a fair question.

What is an apostille?

An apostille is, in its simplest form, a certificate attached to a document to confirm that the signature, seal or stamp appearing on it is genuine.

The word itself comes from the French verb apostiller meaning an annotation or note added to a document. 

So why does it matter?

The modern purpose of an apostille

In modern legal practice an apostille is a form of document legalisation.

The Hague Apostille Convention 1961 (Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents) introduced a standardised system under which member countries agree to recognise apostilles issued by other member countries. Rather than going through lengthy diplomatic channels, a document can be certified once and then presented abroad with confidence that its authenticity will be recognised.

In practical terms, an apostille tells the recipient:

• Who signed the document
• The capacity in which they signed it
• Whose seal or stamp appears on it (if applicable)
• Which authority has verified those details

That means a public authority, court, bank or lawyer in another country can have greater confidence that the document is genuine.

Which documents can be apostilled?

Helpfully, public documents that already bear the signature, seal or stamp of a public official can usually be legalised directly by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). Examples include:

• Birth certificates
• Death certificates
• Marriage certificates
• Probate documents
• Court orders
• Companies House documents

Other documents are a little more complicated.

Where the document is private in nature, a solicitor or notary may first need to certify the document or witness the signature before an apostille can be obtained. For example: 

• Powers of attorney
• Deeds
• Statutory declarations
• Board resolutions
• Academic qualifications
• Certain commercial documents

The precise requirements will often depend on the country where the document is to be used.

Why should private client lawyers care?

Because international elements are no longer unusual.

A routine estate administration can involve assets in multiple jurisdictions. Attorneys may need to prove their authority overseas. Executors might need English grants of probate recognised abroad. Beneficiaries may require certified documents for banks or land registries in other countries.

What appears to be a straightforward UK matter can quickly become an international one.

Knowing at an early stage that a document may require legalisation can save clients considerable time, expense and frustration later on.

What if the receiving country is not a party to the Hague Convention?

This is where things become more interesting. Or more of a headache depending on your point of view. 

If the destination country is not a Hague Convention member, an apostille alone may not be sufficient.

Instead, the document may need to go through a further process of legalisation involving the relevant foreign embassy or consulate after certification by the UK authorities. Depending on the jurisdiction, this can involve multiple stages and considerably longer timescales.

Its important to establish at the outset what the requirements in the receiving jurisdiction are. Sometimes they can appear quite outlandish to an English/Welsh qualified solicitor. And that is why I keep ‘banging on about apostilles’.

Because they tend to become important at exactly the moment a client needs a document overseas urgently.

If you would like advice on estates involving overseas assets or the legalisation of documents for use overseas, please contact Tom McInerney, at tmcinerney@se-solicitors.co.uk.