Understanding the UK's e-Apostille System
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office introduced the e-Apostille in 2022. This means that now certain electronic notarial acts can be apostilled in pdf format. Whilst the demand was low initially, it has now become popular where more jurisdictions have become aware of such documents and have adapted their systems to accept them.
Whilst electronic notarial acts do not necessarily involve seeing a client on a remote basis, clearly the convenience of seeing clients remotely means that in most cases electronic notarial acts will be issued in respect of matters dealt with remotely. This remote-electronic 'notarisation' presents great opportunities but also challenges and risks that must be addressed through the use of technology as well as the Notary's own judgement about when this method is appropriate and when it is not.
It is important to begin with the distinction between electronic notarisation and remote notarisation. In many cases remote notarisation will take place electronically. However, this will not always be the case. It is important to note the distinction between the two different concepts.
Electronic notarisation is the issuing of a notarial act in electronic form with the Notary and the client using an electronic signature and with any attachments being in electronic form. This can be performed on a remote or in-person basis (e.g. the client could attend the Notary's office and sign an electronic document on screen in his/her presence).
Remote notarisation is the issuing of a notarial act where the client has not appeared in person before the Notary. The act could be electronic or on paper (e.g. a document could be signed by the client on paper with the Notary watching via video link with the document then sent to the Notary by post to sign and seal).
e-Apostilles will only be issued in respect of the e-signatures of Notaries registered with the FCDO. It is not possible to upload original documents electronically signed or sealed by, for example, HMRC officers, Companies House officers or the courts for direct apostille. Further, certain documents cannot be included in an uploaded pdf to the FCDO (whether or not further authenticated by a Notary). This includes certified copies issued by the General Register Office (such as birth or marriage certificates), ACRO certificates, DBS certificates and equivalent Scottish and Northern Irish disclosure certificates. The reason is that the issuing authorities of these documents do not yet consider their documents to be sufficiently secure in electronic form. Therefore, any such document or any electronic notarial act that includes an electronic original or scanned copy of such a document will be rejected by the FCDO.
The FCDO will only issue an e-Apostille in relation to a Notary's electronic signature if the signature is certified to AES or QES level. Once the electronic notarial act with AES/QES signature is uploaded, the FCDO verifies the same and then issues a cover sheet to which it attaches the notarial act and the e-Apostille. This complete pdf document can then be emailed to the client/intended recipient who can then access the notarial act and the e-Apostille by either clicking links on the cover sheet or by clicking the attachments/paperclip icon to see a list of attachments.
The biggest attraction for the e-Apostille is its fast turnaround time, with the FCDO providing a 24-48 hour window to complete the process. Plus with the additional savings in postage/courier fees this provides a far more streamlined process for having your documents legalised with the Apostille. However potential drawbacks of the e-Apostille is that, at present, not all documents can be legalised in this way. Moreover many jurisdictions still do not accept the e-Apostille and insist on wet-ink signatures/hard copy documents. It is vital therefore that one checks with the receiving jurisdiction that they will accept the finalised document in electronic form with the e-Apostille before applying.