In the UK most marriage certificates are issued by the local registry office or religious official (vicar, priest etc.). The marriage certificate is an official record of the marriage ceremony. A copy is kept as a permanent record by the General Registrars Office (GRO) and an ‘official copy’ is issued to the newly married couple.

A marriage certificate is typically a red document, but it is normal for a green copy to be issued subsequently from the GRO. We can process either red or green copies of marriage certificates as long as they have been supplied by your local registry or the GRO. Please send us whichever document you want the apostille attached to.

Please note that we cannot issue an apostille on a photocopy of your marriage certificate. All certificates must be genuine registry documents.

If you were married in the UK it is possible that you will need to get an apostille on your marriage certificate at some point. A marriage certificate may need to be legalised for several reasons-

Proof of marriage
Changing your name to your married name
Organising a wedding blessing in another country
Registering a marriage in another country
Adopting a child from another country
If previously married and now divorced you may need a copy of the marriage certificate to be issued with an apostille along with your decree absolute

Contact us or download an order form to legalise your documents for use outside the UK.