I am getting married abroad and have been told that my Deed Poll and birth certificate must be legalised. What is legalising and what do I need to do?
The legalisation of documents, such as deed polls and birth certificates, is handled by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London for the purpose of confirming a document’s authenticity, thus enabling them to be accepted by foreign countries. Firstly, you need to take your deed poll and birth certificate to a solicitor for authenticating. The solicitor will write on your documents “I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of this document.” The solicitor will sign and print his/her full name under this statement. You should expect to pay about 5 per document for this service but do ask first. You then need to send your documents to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. For further information please click on this link to visit the FCO’s website. The legalisation fee is 12 per document (as at July 2002).
Related Questions
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