The UK's internal legal geography creates some document-handling differences that most people ignore. If your documents come from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, or the Crown Dependencies, there are specific things you need to know.
Scottish civil registration documents birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates are issued by National Records of Scotland (NRS) rather than the General Register Office. You can order them through the ScotlandsPeople service online or in person at the NRS offices in Edinburgh.
The key practical difference: NRS-issued certificates carry the signature of the Registrar General for Scotland, which the FCDO verifies separately from the Registrar General for England and Wales. In practice, this means NRS certificates are fully apostille-eligible and the process is identical you simply send the certificate to the FCDO as you would any other public document.
Scottish notarial practice differs slightly from England and Wales. Scottish Notaries Public are solicitors who have been admitted as notaries, rather than standalone notarial practitioners. Their certifications are fully valid for apostilling purposes. The Society of Notaries of Scotland maintains a directory.
For Scottish educational certificates from University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, and other Scottish universities the apostille process is the same as for English universities. The FCDO holds seals and signatures for all established UK universities.
Welsh documents present one specific issue: official documents may be in Welsh, bilingual Welsh-English, or English-only.The FCDO can apostille documents in Welsh Welsh is a recognised official language and Welsh public documents are valid for apostilling. However, for use with Spanish authorities, you will need a sworn translation of the Welsh content.
A translator translating from bilingual documents should work from the Welsh text if that is what the official document contains, though in practice most will work from whichever language version is clearer. Welsh civil registration certificates are issued through the same GRO system as English certificates and carry the same signatures, so there is no procedural difference in the apostille process.
Northern Irish civil registration documents are issued by the General Register Office for Northern Ireland (GRONI). Birth, marriage, and death certificates from GRONI are fully apostille-eligible through the FCDO in the same way as GRO documents.
For educational certificates from Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University, the FCDO process is identical to other UK universities. Northern Irish notaries operate under a different system from England and Wales. The Law Society of Northern Ireland can assist with finding a notary if notarisation is needed before apostilling.
This is a point where people regularly make costly mistakes. Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man are Crown Dependencies they are not part of the United Kingdom. The FCDO does not apostille documents issued by these jurisdictions.
Each Crown Dependency has its own competent authority for apostilles under the Hague Convention:
If you hold a birth certificate, marriage certificate, or other official document issued in Jersey, Guernsey, or the Isle of Man and need to use it in Spain, you must apply to the relevant Crown Dependency authority not the FCDO. Sending these documents to the FCDO will result in them being returned.
Gibraltar: Gibraltar occupies a unique position it is a British Overseas Territory geographically on the Iberian Peninsula, and it has its own apostille arrangements. Documents issued in Gibraltar are not apostilled by the FCDO. The Supreme Court of Gibraltar serves as the competent authority for Gibraltar apostilles.
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