Overseas Corporate Services Ltd

Legalisation is very important when you run a company. Let's look at what legalisation is and why it's important for your business.

This can be a sealed order stamp or the signature of the original document. Legalisation is required if you want to use British documentation in another country. In order for a foreign country to recognise your UK Companies House public documents, it requires legalisation on the public register.

This is why it this important for foreign companies to know how legalisation works and use a professional service provider so that certain documents can officially be recognised. All signatures should be issued by a British public official provider like a registrar or notary.

The Notary Public applies the authorisation of this document, which guarantees that the signature is original. The legalisation of a private or public company is applied in the country with the document of origin. It's important to know when legalisation is required. You need to legalise your paper documents if you want to use them overseas or if someone else needs them overseas.

Make sure that you know how the process works and that you are familiar with what is required. It's helpful to work with a specialist who can effectively take care of private limited companies and the legalisation requirements. With different documents available for your business, you never know when legalisation may be needed immediately. That's why you should work with a professional team to handle this effectively.

What is an Incorporation Certificate?

If you want to create a public or private limited company in the UK, whether LLPs (Limited Liability Partnership), subsidiaries or community interest companies, you need to notify Companies House. 

Once you have had your company incorporated as a limited partnership, or any other formation you like on public record, Companies House, as a department within the UK Government, will issue you with Certificate of Incorporation documents as a confirmation statement to legitimise your operations. 

This certificate is needed to certify that your incorporation meets all of the requirements detailed in the Companies Act 2006, showing that you have had your company duly registered as per the regulations outlined in this act.

Conversely, if your company operates in a country or territory that adheres to the Hague Convention 1961, you will only need an apostille (legalisation certificate) from the Foreign Office. 

You need to have your documentation legalised by the local authority or London consulate for any other country. In some instances, your documents will need to go through a Chamber of Commerce before legalising them in the consulate. 

The London Foreign and Commonwealth Office is globally recognised as one of the leading authenticators of company documentation. 

This is especially helpful for overseas legalisation, given that the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has consulates, embassies and delegations throughout the world, meaning they can quickly process any documentation you need, with some offering a 'same day' service for a standard fee.

Company Documents To Legalise

Private legalisation firms and solicitors can provide professional advice and authenticate your Certificates of Incorporation. These apostille services can be found in the vast majority of countries, and all you need to do is send them the appropriate documents to legalise. If you conduct business or trade internationally, any other documents you have, such as trading certificates, or annual accounts for new companies, will need to be legalised for foreign authorities to accept officially.

These practices can help with numerous business ventures, such as entering into contracts with a separate legal entity requiring a little background on your business or opening bank accounts overseas. They can ensure your paperwork is thoroughly legalised so that everything runs smoothly and you can get your international company up and running as soon as possible.

Requirements of the Hague Convention

There are precisely ten pieces of information needed to create an apostille under the Hague Convention:

Incorporating a new company

The process of incorporating a new company is relatively easy. New changes to the process have made it much simpler for businesses to incorporate themselves as limited companies. 

All you need is the appropriate application form, the IN01, alongside your Memorandum of Association, Articles of Association and the relevant processing fee.

Your Memorandum of Association is the easiest of your company's articles to complete. All it details are the directors' names who want to form the private or public limited company, including at least one director and company secretary, officially announcing their intention to form the company and to have all members' liability protected.  

Private companies limited by shares require each member of the association articles to take at least one share.

Documents required to incorporate a company

Again, to officially incorporate your company, you will need the following documents:

These are relatively easy to gather together, especially if you have a professional company formation advisor on hand. You can also follow model articles to help you fill in all the required information correctly.