What’s the difference between notarisation and legalisation?

Notarisation and legalization come both under the same process of getting documents applicable to use in abroad. Getting your documents notarized and legalized to use abroad can be confusing.

Many countries need just signature by a notary public to certify the document while countries signed up to the Hague Apostille convention need both notarisation as well as an apostille stamp. And non-Hague countries need documents notarized, apostilled, and legalized.

What is notarization?

Notarisation is a process, in which a notary public Central London certifies the documents baking taking into account the government process. They certify a person’s signature by checking all the identity proof to ensure that the person signing the document is the person named in the document. 

What is legalisation?

Legalization comes next, some countries require notarise documents to be legalized but not all. Many countries like including Australia, Jamaica, Barbados, South Africa, Kenya, and Canada accept documents after notarization process. 

The key difference between both is that a notary will verify the signature on the document and legalization at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office verifies the notary’s signature.

What does apostille mean?

Legalization means having the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office affix an APsotile in London stamp to the notarised document. This is called getting documents apostilled.

Apostille stamp verifies the signature and capacity of a public official and in the UK opostille can be an issue without notarization as UK certificate documents like birth/marriage or death certificates, etc.are already signed by a public official

If you are in search of notarisation, apostille services, visit white horse notary. We offer best and quick notarisation services, mobile notary service is also available with us.