When a UK company opens or manages a bank account abroad, the overseas bank will usually carry out checks on the company and its directors.
These checks help the bank confirm who controls the company, who is authorised to act and whether the company meets compliance requirements. In many cases, director documents may need certification, legalisation, translation or embassy attestation before they are accepted.
Why overseas banks ask for director documents
Overseas banks have strict onboarding and anti-money laundering checks.
They may need to verify the identity, address, role and authority of each director before opening an account or approving account changes.
Even if the director’s documents are valid in the UK, the bank may not accept simple scans or photocopies for international use.
Passport copies
A passport copy is one of the most common director documents requested by overseas banks.
The bank may ask for a certified copy of the photo page, sometimes with specific wording confirming that the copy is a true likeness of the original document holder.
Passport copies usually need solicitor or notary certification before they can be legalised.
Proof of address
Banks may ask directors to provide proof of residential address.
This can include a recent utility bill, bank statement, council tax bill, mortgage statement or official letter.
The bank may have strict rules on document age, often requiring proof dated within the last three months. Digital statements may need certification before legalisation.
Director appointment evidence
An overseas bank may ask for evidence that a person is officially a director of the UK company.
This may include Companies House appointment records, a company extract, confirmation statement, board records or a director register.
Printed or internal company records often need solicitor or notary certification before legalisation.
Board resolutions and signing authority
If a director is opening an overseas bank account or managing banking arrangements, the bank may ask for a board resolution.
This document should confirm that the company has approved the account opening and authorised the director or representative to act.
As an internal company document, it usually needs certification or notarisation before legalisation.
Shareholder and ownership documents
Some banks also ask directors to provide ownership information.
This may include shareholder registers, share certificates, PSC information, ownership structure charts or group structure documents.
These documents help the bank identify beneficial owners and understand who controls the company.
Tax and compliance forms
Overseas banks may ask directors to complete or sign tax and compliance forms.
This can include tax residency declarations, FATCA or CRS forms, source of funds statements, sanctions declarations or politically exposed person declarations.
If these forms are signed in the UK for use abroad, the bank may require notarisation, certification or legalisation.
Translation and embassy attestation
If the overseas bank does not accept English documents, certified or sworn translation may be required.
For countries outside the Hague Apostille Convention, UK legalisation may not be the final step. Embassy or consular attestation may also be required.
This should be confirmed before preparing documents, as banking deadlines can be affected by additional legalisation steps.
Confirm the bank’s exact wording
Banks often have very specific document requirements. They may reject documents if the certification wording, date, stamp, signature or document age does not match their internal rules.
Before arranging certification or legalisation, ask the bank for a written checklist and any required wording.
If overseas banks have requested director documents for a UK company, 12 Apostille can review the bank’s requirements, confirm the correct preparation route and help manage certification, legalisation or attestation where needed.