Apostille vs. Embassy legalisation for Ghana
Ghana does not accept an apostille, so the certificate you need cannot be completed with the Hague shortcut. Instead the document must go through the Ghanaian embassy or consular service, where a stamp confirming authenticity is applied. This means the usual apostille for Ghana route is not the right choice, and you should plan for the longer embassy legalisation chain that the Ghanaian authorities require.
Ghana's Hague status & what it means
Ghana is not listed as a party to the Hague Convention, so its officials do not recognise an apostille as proof of authenticity. Because of that, you must follow the full embassy route. When you wonder what you need for an apostille for Ghana, the answer is that the apostille step is skipped entirely; you move straight to obtaining a consular legalisation after the UK‑wide certification stage.
The Brighton → Ghana route step by step
First, obtain a fresh certified copy of the civil record from the Brighton & Hove Register Office, which works by post and does not have a public counter; the address is "Town Hall, Bartholomew Square, Brighton BN1 1JA". Next, send that certified copy to the FCDO Legalisation Office at "PO Box 6255, Milton Keynes MK10 1XX", where the office checks the copy and places an apostille from United Kingdom to Ghana if the destination were a Hague member. Because Ghana is not, you then forward the apostilled (or simply certified) paper to the Ghanaian embassy in London for the final consular stamp.
Cost & timing for this route
The Legalisation Office charges an official fee of £45 per document for standard postal handling, or £40 per document for next‑day service if you are a registered business. After the UK side is completed, the Ghanaian embassy charges its own fees, which vary and are not listed here. Typical turnaround on the UK side is up to 25 working days, while the embassy stage can add extra time depending on their workload.
Destination‑specific requirements
For a document intended for Ghana, the receiving authority expects a consular legalisation rather than a simple apostille. You must supply the embassy with the certified copy, the UK apostille (if the document originated from a non‑UK source), and any translation into English that the embassy requests. The embassy may also ask for a sworn oath confirming the content of the paper; this oath is signed in front of a UK court clerk before it is sent for the final legalisation step.