Standanista

Month old thread but thought I'd chuck in my experience cos using a notary or agent is silly money, £220 is a rip off.
1. Get a colour photocopy of certificate.
2. Take the copy and original to any common or garden high street solicitors (not notary).
3. Get them to stamp and sign the COPY as a certified copy of the original (cost me £10 last year in Lincolnshire pounds, Spalding) and make sure the solicitor's details and phone number are on the stamp as they do check.
4. Send the stuff off to HMG in Milton Keynes as described above. £30 per document from fading memory but prices on website anyway.
5. When you get it back, take it to the UAE Consulate in South Kensington to get their sticker put on the back, turnaround time same day. 2014 price was £30 per doc (just checked receipt) plus beer money while in pub waiting.
QED, about £70 a document. Still not cheap, but better than £220 and once it's attested by MK, you only need to do stage 5 above for other countries.

MissAhing

Very helpful, so jus to clarify, is there no way of going to the UK embassy in person?

Standanista

That is how to do it from within the UK. Dunno how it's done from overseas sorry but check above links.

Beakersful

The method I posted was the overseas method. Find your notary, email with them, send them your docs and wait for them to be returned in a couple weeks.

You forgot to include the train ticket to London in your cost (plus other expenses getting from home to station, station to embassy and reverse), the train ticket alone is £120 from the city I lived in last making your version £190+, and requiring you to personally take time out (time is money!) to visit all these locations and/or post things whilst hoping everything goes smoothly (as opposed to just paying people who do this sort of thing regularly and can dot the i's and cross the t's without error.)

Whilst I'm generally against paying people with wasta to get things done when you can do it yourself, this isn't a deal breaker situation.

Standanista

If a notary suits your situation and wallet then by all means go for it, I'm not trying to make this into a pissing contest. I'm just passing on info for folk in the UK who find themselves needing their stuff attested, for whom the DIY option may be better and cheaper.

More advice: book your train ticket in advance via National Rail Enquiries and save on the £120 as well as on a notary. Or better still, get a bus (advance purchase) and walk up to South Ken from Victoria Coach Station. Or even better still, hitch hike! ("Here to help.")