An apostille proves a signature is genuine. About the contents of the paper it says nothing at all. And the Legalisation Office can only stamp a signature it now holds on record. Yours is not on that list. Ours is not either. That one fact decides the order all of it has to happen in.
So the first question is never what to translate. It is what to send, and when. Some company papers go straight to the Legalisation Office. Most business papers cannot, and need a notary first. Get that order wrong and the government fee is spent, because it is not refunded.
Pricing for apostille business translation services opens at £42 per document. Send us the request letter you were given. We map the order back to you, free, the same day. We are not a Legalisation Office registered provider. Where the fast channel matters, we say so and co-ordinate one.
Every apostille order includes
Holding an request that says apostille, and unsure whether to translate before or after? Forward it. You get the running order back in writing. Steps you do not need are crossed off.
Not every paper takes an apostille, and not every one that does needs the same preparation. The split below is the part that saves money. Anything in the left group can move quickly. Anything in the right group has a lawyer standing between it and the Legalisation Office.
These carry a seal the Legalisation Office now recognises. They go in as they are. That cuts a whole party and some days out of the job.
What we add: the translation, and the apostille wording if your destination wants it.
The Legalisation Office cannot verify a director, a translator or a witness. So a lawyer already on file has to stand behind it first.
What we add: the translation, then we brief the lawyer, then it is filed.
No one plans for this. A form came, or someone abroad refused what you now sent. There is a date attached to it. The triggers below are the ones we see week to week. Find yours, because the trigger often tells us the running order on its own.
The foreign registry wants proof your entity exists. Incorporation papers often travel first, and they travel fastest.
Compliance abroad lists each item and how it must be legalised. The list rarely bends and the account waits on it.
A power of attorney is privately signed, so it needs a lawyer before filing. Plan a few extra days for it.
Public buyers set out the exact authentication they want. Missing one step removes the bid, what the price offered.
Treaty relief and licence applications turn on a current certificate. These carry short shelf lives at the far end.
A notary there will want your company papers legalised before completion. Somebody else has now fixed the date.
Who usually raises it: Company Secretaries, Formation Agents, In-House Counsel, Group Finance, Expansion Leads and Bid Teams. Each of them is working to a government appointment.
There are 2 running orders and only 1 of them is right for your destination. Both produce a stamped, translated bundle. Only 1 gets accepted. A failed filing does not get the government fee back. So this is the costliest thing on the page to guess at.
| Running Order | What Happens | Use It When |
|---|---|---|
| Apostille, then translate | The English original is legalised, then the whole thing including the apostille wording is rendered | The far end asked for a legalised original and will read a translation beside it |
| Translate, certify, legalise | We translate, a lawyer certifies the work, and their signature is what carries the apostille | The far end wants the translation itself to be the legalised item |
Each route puts a different signature on the page. The office only stamps names it holds. Swap the steps and the right one never appears.
It is printed in English, with French and Spanish headings. Many authorities want it in their own language too. That is a small job and a common oversight.
Whoever asked has nearly always written the answer down. They just did not explain the wording. An hour at this end reads it, and you are charged nothing for that.
Where it goes wrong: a bundle is translated well, then sent off on its own. The filing is refused because no recognised signature sits on it. The work was fine. The sequence was not.
This is where real money moves. A lawyer in the chain adds a fee and some days. Drop them where the rules allow and the job gets cheaper and faster. Drop them where the rules do not allow it. The whole filing is refused and nothing comes back.
The seal on the paper is known to government. Nothing gets added before filing. Only 2 fees apply: the translation and the government charge.
Works because:
Typical saving against the other column: 1 fee and some working days.
A name the government knows has to appear on it first. That is the whole purpose of the step, and it cannot be worked around.
Needed because:
We hand the lawyer their briefing, forward the papers in advance, and fix the appointment.
The government now issues an electronic version. It is cheaper than paper, far quicker, and needs no courier at either end. It also carries hard limits that catch people out. And the fee is gone if a filing fails. Read all 4 rows before you choose it.
| Point Of Difference | Paper | Electronic |
|---|---|---|
| What arrives | A printed certificate fixed to the original | A PDF with the certificate bound into the file |
| Signature required first | Wet ink from a recognised signatory | A qualified or advanced digital signature, lodged with the government |
| Speed and cost | Slower, dearer, plus courier both ways | Quicker and cheaper, with no postage at all |
| Whether it is accepted | Taken everywhere inside the scheme | Uneven by country, and by document type within a country |
The digital version only works as a file. Print it and the recipient has a picture of a certificate with nothing behind it. Send the PDF, or order paper instead.
The digital route needs a lawyer whose e-signature is on file with government. Not many are. That, not the technology, is what limits this route.
Acceptance differs by country and keeps changing. One email to whoever asked for this settles it. We will draft that email for you if it helps.
Our position: we quote both routes side by side. Then we say which we would pick, and why. We will not push the digital one just because it is faster. A refused filing costs more than the days it saved.
Five stages. Stage 1 is the one that pays for itself, because it decides all of it after it. We work out the running order first. Before a word is translated, and before a thing is posted. That reading is free and it comes back the same day.
Send the document that asked for this. Say where it is going. List what you hold. The running order returns in writing that day, free.
Items that can go straight through are separated from items needing a lawyer. The quick half stops waiting on the slow half.
A named linguist works, a second checks it, and you read the wording. Nothing is filed while a term is still in question.
Paper or electronic, whichever the far end takes. You get the reference. We chase it and tell you the moment what slips.
Tracked back to you, or emailed if digital. Where the destination wants the certificate wording in their language, it comes with it.
Your total is decided by 2 things, and we control just 1. Government charges stack on later and get revised now and then. That is why none appear here. Treat each row as a starting point for that step. You pay only for steps your route really uses.
| Step | What Usually Happens In It | Wait It Usually Adds | Rough Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Translation, certified | Rendered, checked by a second linguist, signed and stamped | 1–2 working days | £42 / document |
| Lawyer certification | Briefed and booked, where the paper cannot go direct | 2–4 working days | £75 + their fee |
| Paper filing handling | Prepared, filed, chased and tracked back to you | Government tier decides | £55 + government fee |
| Electronic filing handling | Digitally signed by a lodged signatory, then filed online | Shorter, when eligible | £48 + government fee |
| Certificate wording rendered | The certificate on the front put into the reading language | Same day, alongside | £28 / certificate |
| Consular step later | Lodged with the relevant mission once legalisation is done | Set by that mission | Quoted per country |
| Full corporate batch | A dozen or more items prepared and lodged together | 5–8 working days | £0.09 / word |
Worth knowing before you budget. Paper and digital tiers carry different government charges, and the office revises them. Lawyers price their own act. Consulates price theirs. All three are passed through at cost, itemised separately, with the receipt available on request.
One or two push it upward. Most pull it down, and the opening pair pull hardest. All 9 are weighed against your real list and the request attached. Page totals do not come into it. An hour spent reading is what keeps the figure firm.
Every item that skips the lawyer removes a fee and some days. On a company bundle this is often the largest single saving available.
A lawyer attending once for a dozen items works out far cheaper per item. Handing over the complete list early is what allows that.
The digital tier is cheaper and quicker. It only works where the signatory qualifies and the far end takes it. We price both and recommend one.
A small line, easily missed. It is also why more than a few bundles come back. Cheap to add, expensive to forget.
Certificates and resolutions recycle large passages between them. Whatever repeats is billed once for the whole batch rather than item by item.
Countries beyond the scheme insert a consulate carrying separate charges, opening hours and habits. Nothing else in a quote moves around this much.
VAT sits outside every number here. Each is a starting point, not a fixed charge. Companies legalising paperwork all year can lock a yearly rate. Your own references route through, and one statement arrives monthly.
Every pair, travelling either way. The countries appearing under this take more legalised British paperwork than anywhere else we deal with. Alongside each one sits the local habit that dictates the sequence. Rules move, so we confirm yours at quoting rather than reading it off a table.
| Destination | The Habit That Shapes The Order |
|---|---|
| Spain | Often wants the original legalised first, then rendered by a translator sworn there |
| Italy | Leans on a version sworn before a court officer, so the British chain is prepared around that |
| France | Expects the certificate and the paper readable together, in one bound filing |
| Germany | Registries check the appointment behind the signature, so the sequence is inspected closely |
| Poland | Frequently asks for the certificate wording itself in Polish alongside the document |
| Netherlands | Comfortable with digital filings more often than most, though not for every filing |
| UAE | Adds a consular step after legalisation, and the Arabic version is expected with it |
| Saudi Arabia | Company papers are read closely and the ministry sets its own order of steps |
| China | Rendered into simplified characters, and a seal from the agency is commonly looked for |
| Brazil | Expects a locally registered translator, and Portugal does not accept the same thing |
Also covered week to week: Danish, Japanese, Romanian, Hebrew, Turkish, Korean, Swedish, Ukrainian, Czech, Thai, Norwegian, Greek, Russian, Hungarian, Vietnamese, Portuguese.
No item under this is a wording problem. Every one of them is a sequencing failure or a format failure. Every one of them burns a charge that never comes back to you. Worse, you only find out weeks later, and the office will not say which part of it failed.
The work was accurate and right certified by us. It still comes back. Our signature is not one the government holds. So there was nothing on the page it could verify.
Translated first when the original had to be legalised first, or the reverse. Both routes end with a stamped bundle. Only the one the far end named will be taken from you.
The electronic service only reads a file signed electronically by a recognised signatory. A scan of a signed sheet is not that, however clean it looks.
Someone printed the PDF and posted it, reasonably enough. On paper there is nothing left to check. The recipient is holding an image, and they will say so.
Acceptance varies by country, and inside a country it can vary by document. Choosing the electronic route to save days can cost the whole filing instead.
The bundle came legalised and rendered. The certificate on the front was still unreadable. Small oversight, same result, whole set sent back.
Name a list of steps to most suppliers here. They will quote every one back. An hour proving you need fewer is time better spent. What that approach yields day to day appears under this. It is also why a second filing tends to land back here.
The sender has almost always set the sequence out now, in vocabulary they left unexplained. That reading is free, and it settles every decision downstream.
That advice removes a fee we would otherwise earn on. It is also the fastest, plainest proof that this desk has run the process before.
Some firms hold a faster government channel. We do not. Where that channel matters to your date, we say so. Then we arrange one, rather than quietly losing you days.
Paper against electronic, with the recommendation and the reason attached. We will not push the quick one if the far end may refuse it.
It is a small job at the end that plenty of suppliers skip. Skip it and the finished bundle comes back. Someone could not read the front page.
A single company name, spelled a single way, with officers matching across every sheet. Officials abroad may not treat two versions as one entity. So it is settled before the batch is lodged.
A filing carries whichever wording we put in front of it. So who produced that wording matters. You are owed the name before instructing anyone. Whoever appears under this carries most legalisation batches on this desk. Name them and the batch is theirs, subject to the diary.
[Credential, e.g. MITI, Dip Trans, or a corporate services background]
Pairs: [languages] · [number] years across legalisation batches · Works out of [location] · Arrived from [a company secretarial role, perhaps].
Usual desk: [document types]
[Credential]
Pairs: [languages] · [number] years across [specialism] · Works out of [location] · Arrived from [role].
Usual desk: [document types]
[Credential]
Pairs: [languages] · [number] years across [specialism] · Works out of [location] · Arrived from [role].
Usual desk: [document types]
No one here renders out of their first language. Corporate and legal paperwork is what each of them came from, not general text. Signed NDA terms bind all of them. Say the word and samples reach you ahead of any request.
Written and checked by [Name], [MITI, Dip Trans], Head of Legalisation at Business Translations UK.
Last reviewed: · Next review: [Month Year]
Real batches we ran, each naming the destination, the split between direct and lawyer-first items, and the days it took from instruction to stamped return. Find the one nearest your own list.
All 10 under this came in by phone. Almost always from someone holding an emailed demand, with the date already fixed. None is a definition-hunting question about legalisation. Every one of them belongs to a company holding paperwork. Anything else on your mind? Send it through WhatsApp.
It turns on what the far end asked for. Guessing is the expensive option. Some want the English original legalised and a translation beside it. Others want the translation itself to be the legalised item. Forward the request and we will name which one it describes, free, the same day.
Often not, and that is where the saving lives. A sealed registry document carries a mark the government now knows. It goes in as it stands. Send us the list and we will mark which items go direct and which cannot.
Sometimes, and 2 things decide it. Your paper has to be signed electronically by a signatory the government has on file. The receiving authority has to accept digital filings. Both conditions have to hold. We verify them ahead of quoting, not later.
That moves with demand and shifts through the year. So the window we quote is a realistic one, never the best case. Some tiers exist and some are restricted. We tell you which are open to your job and the moment what slips.
No, and you should ask everyone that. Registered firms reach a faster government channel. We submit on the standard route. Where your date needs the quicker one, we say so. A registered submitter is brought in for that step, rather than quietly costing you days.
The government charge is not sent back, which is why stage 1 matters so much. Forward us the papers plus what accompanied them back. Rejection notes tend to give away the failing step without setting out to. Frequently most of the work survives and only one element is rebuilt.
Yes. Sealed copies can be ordered from the registry and fed into the same batch. It saves a round trip and keeps the spellings consistent from the start. Flag it when we quote, since it moves the price and the calendar together.
Certificates carry no expiry. What runs out is the reader’s tolerance. Plenty of institutions take only paperwork raised inside a recent window. That condition is theirs to set. Give us the window you were handed and we build the calendar backwards from it.
Yes, and plenty of firms prefer that. We deliver the translation in the form your solicitor wants and liaise with them directly. You settle their fee yourself. Confirm 1 thing first. Their signature has to sit on the government’s records, or the filing fails.
No more than 3 on our side. The linguist, the second reader, and your co-ordinator. A lawyer sees strictly what the act demands of them. Confidentiality is signed off before any file opens. Public engines are never touched. Written confirmation of deletion follows the matter closing.
Language work and co-ordination are what we sell. No one at this desk is a solicitor, a notary or a government official. With the Legalisation Office we stand just where any other applicant stands. Certification is performed by independent lawyers. Whether a filing succeeds rests with the office receiving it.
Send the document that asked for this. Say where it goes. List what you hold. Back comes the running order and the items skipping a lawyer. Both routes costed, with a workable date. No charge is raised until the completed bundle is in your hands and signed off.