Death certificates are an unfortunate matter to have to deal with, but an important document to obtain and have legalised for various personal or business matters. They prove a deceased person’s identity and portray key information about where, how and when they passed away.
If a deceased person has assets, bank accounts or other business or personal assets in another country, you are likely to require a death certificate apostille, which legalises the document for use abroad. Death certificate apostilles are important to obtain for various reasons such as resolving someone’s estates, buying or selling their property, or executing a will.
MSC Notaries offer apostille stamps and professional, hassle-free services for the legalisation of important personal documents including death certificates.
Who can legalise a death certificate?
You must obtain an apostille certificate from the country where the document originates for your document to be legalised for use in any other country that recognises the Hague Convention.
If a death certificate you need legalising originates from the UK, you will need the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) to provide an official apostille stamp for your document. It can be easier to use a dedicated apostille service like the one offered by our team at MSC Notaries, who can handle the entire process for you to ensure it is as efficient as possible.
What death certificate apostille services do we offer?
Apostille only. Our apostille service requires you to provide us with an original or official replacement copy of the death certificate that you would like to have apostilled. From there, we arrange the entire process of having an apostille certificate added to your document and provide you with your fully legalised document.
Replacement document and apostille. If you aren’t able to provide the original copy of a death certificate, we also offer a replacement document and apostille service. We can handle the entire process of ordering a new death certificate from the registrar or coroner’s office and then provide you with an apostille stamp so it is ready for use abroad.
We offer a priority service for replacement certificates at £60 (2-3 working days) or a standard service at £30 (15-20 working days). Apostilles can then be added for £54 for one document via the normal service (3-7 working days) or £153 for express service (1-2 working days).
MSC Notaries can provide apostille stamps for death certificates from:
England
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Our team are passionate about providing quality, efficient and affordable notary and apostille services for our clients, whether you need a document legalising for business or personal use. To find out more about our specific prices or alternative services, get in touch below.
What will you need to have a death certificate legalised?
To have a death certificate apostilled, you will need an original copy. If you don’t have access to an original, you will need to obtain an official replacement document from a registrar or coroner. Photocopies or scans of documents cannot be used or accepted for an apostille; they can only be attached to an original certificate.
When you obtain an apostille, a document with a raised seal is attached to your certificate, whereby each apostille seal has a unique serial number that’s used to validate it by authorities abroad.
FAQs
When do you need an apostille for a death certificate?
A death certificate apostille is required when an overseas authority (outside of the UK) has requested a copy of a death certificate for a certain reason. Death certificates may be requested by various kinds of organisations including government bodies, courts, banks or solicitors.
Apostille certificates have been required for all public documents including birth, marriage and death certificates since 1965, when the Hague Convention was enacted. The convention requires any public document issued by a country that is a member of the convention to be legalised before use in another member country.
Why do you need an apostille for a death certificate?
A death certificate can be requested for various personal, business or legal reasons such as:
Register a death and registering a death abroad
Make a claim on a pension in a bank account abroad
Resolve an estate of a deceased person’s assets or bank accounts abroad
Purchasing or selling a deceased person’s property owned abroad
Make a claim on insurance abroad
Executing a will or inheritance procedure abroad
If a death certificate is requested for one of the above reasons, it will require an apostille stamp to prove its legitimacy or it may not be accepted. Usually, an apostilled death certificate is sufficient for foreign use, however, in certain circumstances, you may also need an original copy of a will and/or probate documents apostilled.
Enquire about death certificate legalisation
To enquire about our death certificate apostille and legalisation services, you can get in touch via email to info@mscnotaries.com, use our enquiry form or call us at one of our offices in London or Harrow and we’d be happy to assist.