News and updates
FCDO e-Apostille at £35: which documents qualify
The electronic apostille costs £35 and turns round in about two working days, against £45 and up to 25 working days on paper. GRO certificates, ACRO and DBS are not eligible.
Two prices, two speeds
The FCDO Legalisation Office charges £45 to apostille a paper document, with a service time of up to 25 working days plus postage each way. The electronic apostille costs £35 and is quoted at up to two working days. There is also a next-day business service at £40 and a premium urgent service at £100. For anyone sending UK documents to Türkiye against a court date or a consulate appointment, the cheaper option being the faster one is unusual enough to be worth planning around.
What cannot go through the electronic route
The exclusions catch exactly the documents Turkish authorities ask for most. GRO certificates — birth, marriage and death — are paper only, as are ACRO police certificates, DBS certificates and fingerprint certificates. Court documents, Companies House documents, government documents bearing a recognised signature, doctors' medical certificates and copies certified by a notary or solicitor are eligible.
Where the translation goes
An apostille certifies a signature or seal, not a text, so it is applied to the UK original first and the Turkish translation is produced from the apostilled document. A translation can itself be apostilled only after a UK notary or solicitor has certified it, which is a separate and more expensive path most people do not need. If we arrange legalisation through a partner we pass the FCDO fee through and add £20; you are equally free to apply yourself. See the FCDO Legalisation Office page and the guide to apostilling UK documents for Türkiye.