Legalisation of Police Clearance Certificates can be a complex subject for Notaries as well as for the general public.  As a Notary Public firm working in London, MD Pryke Notary Public, are often asked to clarify which types of certificate require legalisation, and which can be processed without Notarial involvement.

Essentially, there are three distinct types of Police Clearance Certificate in the United Kingdom and their legalisation requirements vary.

The Subject Access Letter does not require the signature of a Notary to be legalised, as a signature from an officer of the Criminal Records Bureau will suffice.  The Foreign and Commonwealth office hold the signatures of the relevant officers on their database for future reference.

The Police Certificate for use in Immigration matters is relevant only for the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa and does not require additional legalisation or further certification of any kind, therefore a Notary will not be required.

In Scotland, however, the Criminal Records Bureau issue a document called Disclosure which must be certified by a Notary Public (or a practising Solicitor, Barrister, or certain types of Legal Executive) before they can be legalised.

Should you require further information concerning any aspect of Legalisation, Notary Services in London, or the Notarial process in general, please contact MD Pryke Notary Public on 0207 6364422 or via the contact form on our website.