County Court Document

County Courts deal with civil rather than criminal matters. They issue a range of important documents that may be requested by legal or other organisations abroad. These include:

• Judgments: The verdict of the County Court on a claim or civil dispute.
• Orders: A court order, which instructs individuals to either take an action or stop doing something.
• Summonses: A legal notice summoning a person or group to the County Court.

If you need to use a County Court document outside the UK, you may require notarisation to verify its authenticity. This step ensures acceptance when you present documents to foreign authorities, businesses, or organisations.

Additionally, some countries may request an apostille, a standardised form of legalisation, to confirm the document’s origin and validity. We can assist in obtaining an apostille from the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office). 

For certain countries, consular legalisation will also be required.  This is needed for countries which haven’t yet signed up to the Hague Apostille Convention.  Once your document has been apostilled, we can submit it at the consulate and collect it once done.

Whether your County Court document requires notarisation, legalisation, or both, we offer comprehensive services to facilitate its international use.

The steps required for notarisation and legalisation will depend on how your document was issued:

• An original court document stamped or sealed by the court, or signed by an official of the court

This can be apostilled directly by the FCDO, and won’t need to be notarised.  If you did want it notarised anyway, the notary can either notarise a copy or the original.  

• An original court document not stamped, sealed or signed by a court, or an official of the court

This needs notarisation before it can be apostilled. The notary will need to contact the court to verify they issued it, and can then notarise the original, or can notarise a true copy of the original. 

• A printout of your electronic court document produced from the original PDF or other electronic document.

This requires notarisation first and then an apostille.  We will need to verify where you logged in to download it from to complete the notarisation.  Once notarised we can submit it the FCDO to be apostilled.  

Yes. Once we have verified the document, we can e-notarise a copy of your County Court Document and submit it to the FCDO for an e-apostille.

Please note that an e-apostille is only available as a PDF file, and you should always check with the ultimate recipient of the document as to whether they will accept an e-apostille document.

1. 1. Reach Out to Us: Contact our team via phone or online form to discuss your requirements, and advise how your County Court Document was issued.
   2. Quote: We will provide an accurate quote and explain the next steps.  
   3. Instructing us: We will ask you to complete our Client Registration Form, and share two forms of ID. The County Court document will then need to be provided to us, either in person, by post or by email, depending on how it was issued.  
   4. Notarisation: Our experienced notaries will notarise the document according to how it was issued, and affix a notarial certificate.  
   5. Apostille (if required): If requested, we will obtain an apostille from the Legalisation office of the FCDO. Opt for our expedited service for faster processing.
   6. Consular Legalisation (if required): If needed, we can process your document at a consulate to be further attested. This is only required for certain countries.
   7. Document Delivery: Once notarised and, if applicable, apostilled, we can arrange secure delivery or you can collect the document at your convenience.

Ensure your County Court document meets international requirements by entrusting its notarisation and legalisation to our team. Contact us today to get started.