Apostille

Since 2016, British documents no longer require legalisation at the Consulate, as Brazil joined the “Hague Apostille Convention”.

Documents issued by countries party to the Convention no longer have to be legalised by consular representations, and need only get an apostille. In the United Kingdom, affixation of the apostille (authentication certificate) is carried out directly by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office – FCO.

Once an apostille has been issued by the FCO, the document issued in British territory is valid in Brazil.

Information regarding the issuance of apostilles on Brazilian documents to be used abroad can be found on the website of the National Justice Council  (CNJ). 

Queries can be sent to the CNJ ombudsman.

Please note!

• Documents containing apostilles from the FCO issued before 14/08/2016 shall also be valid in Brazil, as long as they are submitted after this date.

• British documents that have been previously legalised by the Consulate but do not contain an apostille shall be valid in Brazil only until 14/02/2017.

• Although it is possible to apostillise British civil registration certificates (birth, marriage, death) for posterior certified translation and transcription directly in Brazil, the consular registration is strongly recommended. The procedure is simple and can avoid future inconveniences. Please click here for further information about consular registration of British certificates.