No — not all documents require solicitor certification.

Documents issued by UK government departments (e.g., birth or marriage certificates, HMRC letters, criminal record checks) are already considered official and can go directly to the FCDO for Apostille.

However, private or company documents, as well as copies, usually need to be certified by a solicitor first to confirm their authenticity before the Apostille can be issued.

Solicitor certification is typically completed the same day your documents arrive.

At 12Apsotilles, we offer express options, ensuring your documents can be certified and ready for Apostille submission within 24 hours.

Processing time may vary slightly depending on the document type, but our in-house solicitors ensure fast and compliant certification.

In most cases, a certified copy is sufficient — your original document does not need to be altered or marked.

The solicitor will review the original, make a high-quality copy, and certify it as a true copy of the original.

However, certain legal or academic documents may require certification of the original, especially if requested by foreign authorities or embassies.

Our team can advise you on the correct form of certification for your specific case.

Yes. Solicitor certification is widely accepted as the first step in document legalisation for non-Hague countries.

Once your document has been certified by a UK solicitor, it can then be apostilled by the FCDO and legalised by the relevant embassy or consulate.

This process ensures your document is officially recognised abroad and meets the authentication standards required by foreign authorities.