Criminal Record Checks Legalisation in London, UK

What is a Criminal Record Check?

A criminal record check is a record of a person’s criminal convictions and cautions carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service in the UK. Criminal record checks, which are also known as DBS checks, are an essential requirement for people applying to work with children or vulnerable adults. The information provided in these documents is used to determine a candidate’s ability for a role in teaching, healthcare, social welfare or any other such sensitive fields. The DBS checks are also required if you are planning to adopt a child. These checks can also be sought by an employer for a prospective employee for any role. 

The DBS checks are used for providing information to an organisation or an employer and are, therefore, carried out on their request. While this document is recognised in the UK, it needs to complete the legalisation process for the criminal record check to be accepted by employers based abroad.

The process of getting a criminal record check or a DBS check involves the following procedures:

  • The employer gets a DBS form from the Disclosure and Barring Service, which is a registered umbrella body for issuing criminal record check documents.
  • The form is filled by the employee and returned to the employer, along with identity proof documents.
  • The employer sends the filled form with the information to the DBS.
  • The DBS carries out the relevant checks.
  • The DBS certificate is issued to the employee, who can then present it to the employer as proof of there being no criminal convictions.

A person can also get a DBS check without involving his employers. This can be achieved by contacting Disclosure Scotland. You do not need to be a resident of Scotland to use this service. The agency also offers three types of background documents, namely, the basic, standard and enhanced Disclosures, which are effectively the same as the DBS criminal record checks.

When you access the services of Disclosure Scotland, you receive a basic disclosure document, which includes only unspent convictions. (Spent convictions are convictions that have reached a period predefined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Such convictions are removed from the individual’s criminal record. Convictions that have not reached the predefined time are known as unspent convictions. Such convictions will show up during a criminal record check). 

Since only unspent convictions appear on Disclosure Scotland’s disclosure document, employers will still need to complete their own checks before making a hiring decision. A DBS or criminal record check is initiated by the employer only after a candidate has been found to be suitable on all other fronts and meets the requirements for a job. Although there is no expiry of a DBS check, an employer can decide when they require a new one. They can also use the DBS update service to carry out any additional checks on a DBS certificate.

The certificates for criminal record checks need to be legalised, when you apply for a job abroad and require a work visa. Legalisation is the process of authenticating the documents for international use.

The process of criminal records check documents legalisation requires only an apostille certification if the documents are to be presented in a country that is a signatory to The Hague Apostille Convention. However, if a country is not a signatory to The Hague Apostille Convention, there is an additional requirement of submitting the apostilled copies for consular legalisation.

The DBS certificates also require attestation, verification and ratification by a solicitor before they can be submitted for apostille certification to the FCO in UK.

Please see the process as below that we follow:

STEP 1

Send Us the
Original Document

STEP 2

We quality check
documents internally

STEP 3

The document is
solicitor certified and then
Apostilled 24 hours.

STEP 4

If required, we take the
document to the required
embassy for legalisation

STEP 5

Documents Returned
Back to you Domestically
or Internationally

Criminal Record Checks

Legalisation

Processing Time:  Please see pricing page

Please use the dropdown menu’s for your document requirement. The pricing and document type will be generated after pressing the button below. Please note that to complete your order you will need to use the dropdown menus per document order. After the pricing table, you will then be taken to our order page. Following this you will be sent to our upload page to upload the documents which you can also complete later.

Service Inclusions:

Start Legalisation Order

The button above will redirect you to our legalisation order form via our main RLS website. You will be able to select your service, your return address and method and make payment via it.

After making your order, we advise you contact our legalisation consultants by emailing your requirement to: applications@rapid-visas.co.uk.

Conclusion

Criminal record check documents are required to prove that you do not have a criminal record. These documents are generally required by prospective employers to ensure that the applicant is suitable for the concerned job. The DSB criminal record checks are essential for people applying for jobs in the teaching, healthcare or other fields that involve children, the elderly or people who are ailing.

The criminal check records require legalisation for their acceptance in a foreign country. The process involves getting the documents attested or notarised by a notary public or a registered solicitor before being submitted to the FCO UK for apostille certification. The process includes an additional step of consular legalisation if the document is to be presented in a country that has not signed the apostille convention.

Legalisations.org.uk can complete the entire process on your behalf, which ensures that you do not need to visit any government or consular offices. Our staff is well-versed with the process of legalisation of criminal record checks and will pre-check your documents for format and get them attested from a solicitor before submitting them for apostille certification from the FCO UK. We will also take care of the submission and collection of your documents for embassy legalisation. You can choose our standard package, which ensures that the process is completed in 6 business days, or the express package, which completes the legalisation process in 2 business days. We can return the legalised documents to you via courier or you can collect them from our offices in London.

For any queries regarding the process, send an email to info@legalisations.org.uk. You can also call us at 0845 224 9482.

The Most Common Documents We Legalise

Standard Personal Documents

Corporate Business Documents

Educational Documents

Frequently Asked Questions

Criminal record check or DBS documents have to be legalised before they can be submitted to foreign employers or for work and business visa applications in a foreign country. Legalisations.org.uk can assist with every step of the process of getting a criminal record check apostille from the FCO. Our expert team will pre-check your documents for their content and format to ensure no problems arise later. The team will submit the documents on your behalf to the FCO office. They will also collect the apostilled documents and send them back to you or submit them for consular legalisation, if required.

The process of criminal record check documents legalisation can be completed in following steps:

1) Contact us with all your requirements via email at info@legalisations.org.uk. You can also call us at 0845 224 9482. Our agents will advise you regarding the process and its requirements. They will also update you about the available packages.

2) Send us the original documents by courier or drop them off personally at our London office.

3) Our experts will pre-check the documents and then get them attested by our in-house solicitor.

4) The attested documents will be submitted to the FCO Office in London for apostille certification.

5) Our staff will collect the criminal record check apostille from the FCO and if required, submit them to the concerned embassy for further legalisation. However, if the documents do not require further legalisation, they will be returned back to you after apostille certification is completed.

6) The legalised documents will be collected from the concerned consulate, and returned to you via courier. You can also choose to pick up your documents from our office.

The experienced team at Legalisations.org.uk will ensure the smooth and efficient completion of the process.

The cost of criminal record check apostille legalisation includes the service fees charged by the FCO UK. The FCO charges a service fee of £75 for the apostille certification of criminal record check documents. Our charges depend on the package selected by you. Legalisations.org.uk charges a service fee of £105 (+ VAT) for its standard package and £135 (+ VAT) for the express package. The standard package commits to complete the process in 6 business days, while the express package completes the criminal records check apostille within 2 business days.

Our service fee for both the packages includes the cost of attestation, verification and ratification of your document by our in-house solicitor. Our services are available at competitive rates and include pre-checking of your documents, getting them attested, submitting them for FCO apostille and also consular legalisation, if required.

The expert team at Legalisations.org.uk will ensure the smooth completion of the process of criminal record checks document legalisation

If you are based in the United Kingdom, you can either personally drop your criminal record check documents for legalisation at our London office or send them via post or courier. We can return these documents once the legalisation process is complete by courier. You can also choose to collect them personally.

If you reside outside the UK, you can use the international delivery services of DHL or UPS for safe delivery of your documents.

Yes, you can utilise our services from anywhere. For this, you will need to send the original criminal record check documents to us via the international courier services of DHL or UPS. We also request you to mail us the scanned copies of the documents to be legalised. This will help us to verify them in advance and avoid any kind of delays later.

We also request you to check with the authorities in the country in which you wish to present your documents about the requirement for embassy legalisation. The process of criminal record check documents legalisation involves only apostille certification by the FCO UK, if the documents are to be presented in a country that has signed the apostille convention. However, in countries that have not signed the apostille convention, the legalisation process involves another step of consular legalisation.

Criminal record check documents can be apostilled by the FCO UK. Before they are submitted for apostille certification, these documents need authentication, verification and ratification by a notary public or a registered solicitor.

If the documents need to be presented in a country that is not part of The Hague Apostille Convention 1961, an additional step of consular legalisation is required. For this, the apostilled documents have to be submitted to the embassy of the country in which the documents need to be presented.

We will get your criminal record check documents attested and authenticated by our in-house solicitor, before submitting them to the FCO UK for an apostille. Our team will also collect the apostilled documents and submit them for consular legalisation, if required. We can also arrange for the return of your legalised documents by courier.

An apostille is a government issued certificate that confirms the signature, seal or stamp on a UK-issued document. This indicates that the document is genuine and makes it acceptable in a foreign country. In the UK, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the competent authority to issue an apostille certification to UK originated documents.

The certificate carrying an embossed seal and bearing the government crest mentions:

1) The name of the Country: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

2) The name of the FCO official who has signed it

3) The official’s capacity as an authorised signatory

4) The seal/stamp of the authority

5) The location: London

6) The date of issue

7) Certification is by Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

8) The identification number of the document

Below is the image of the apostille certificate that can only be attached to the DSB criminal check   records document.


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