CDN Consular Services

What CDN Consular Services does

CDN Consular Services Ltd is a privately held UK company founded in 1983, headquartered in Egham, providing consular and export documentation services to individuals, SMEs, and major corporations engaged in international trade. Its service portfolio covers export documentation (Certificates of Origin, certified invoices, EUR1, ATR), FCDO apostille and embassy legalisation, ATA Carnets, certified translations, business visa processing, and a dedicated pharmaceutical document legalisation vertical handling CPP applications and regulatory submissions to health authorities worldwide. The firm operates from offices in the UK, USA, and the Netherlands (CDN Netherlands BV) and extends coverage to 30+ countries through a network of trusted international affiliates.

The company monetises primarily through transaction-based fees: per-page pricing for translations and per-document pricing for certification and legalisation, with quote-based pricing dependent on destination country, document type, and turnaround. Its proprietary Online Certification Portal and Client Interaction Portal (CIP) provide clients with real-time submission tracking and case management. Distribution combines direct sales via dedicated email-based service contacts (department-specific addresses for Exports, Translations, Passports & Visas, Carnets, Legal, Healthcare, International, and Regulatory Submissions) with channel partnerships through Chambers of Commerce (Arab British, Thames Valley, Dublin, Dutch KVK) and direct embassy courier operations for visa and legalisation services. The core technology stack is operational rather than AI-driven, and the business model is a long-tail mix of small transactional orders rather than concentrated enterprise contracts.

Name

CDN Consular Services

Legal name

CDN Consular Services Ltd

Website

https://cdn-consular.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CDN Consular Services is a UK-based private firm, founded in 1983, that provides consular and export documentation, certified translation, business visa, and pharmaceutical document legalisation services to individuals, SMEs, and multinational corporations trading internationally across 30+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consular Documentation Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Transportation (488)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Consular Services & Citizen Assistance (BPAIAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Bills of Lading (B/L) & Sea Waybill Issuance/Management (TLACAHAA)

Keywords

• Consular documentation services
• Export document legalisation
• Apostille certification services
• Pharmaceutical regulatory submissions
• Certified translation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Egham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Translation Services: Translation services priced on a per-page or per-order basis. Standard processing within 24-48 hours with expedited service available for urgent deadlines at additional cost.
2. Document Certification Services: Certification and legalisation services for export documentation including Certificates of Origin, invoices, EUR1 movement certificates, and ATA Carnets. Pricing varies based on document type, destination country, and required certifications.
3. Pharma/Healthcare Document Legalisation: End-to-end legalisation services for pharmaceutical documents including CPP (Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product) applications, apostille, and embassy legalisation. Full managed service with direct liaison with health authorities worldwide.
4. Business Visa Services: Processing of business visa applications with daily embassy visits by dedicated couriers. Service includes complete security and confidentiality handling throughout the application process.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CDN Consular Services is a one-stop specialist that processes export documentation, regulatory affairs, IP, and legal affairs documentation for individuals, SMEs, and major corporations operating in international trade. Core services include export document certification (UK, Irish, Dutch, Arab Certificates of Origin), FCDO Apostille Legalisation for Hague Convention countries, dedicated pharmaceutical document legalisation with health-authority liaison, certified translation services, business visa processing, and ATA Carnet services, all delivered through direct embassy visits and an online client portal.

Product overview

CDN Consular Services offers a comprehensive suite of consular documentation services for international trade. The company's core offering centers on its Online Certification Portal, a proprietary platform for managing document submissions and tracking. The service portfolio includes: Export Documentation Services (UK, Irish, Dutch, and Arab Certificate of Origin), FCDO Apostille Legalisation for Hague Convention countries, Pharma Services with CPP handling and health authority liaison, Translation Services, Business Visa Processing, and ATA Carnet services. These services are delivered through CDN's own offices in the UK, USA, and Netherlands, supplemented by a global network of international affiliates and trusted translation partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Export Documentation Services Authentication and certification of UK export documentation including UK Certificate of Origin (C of O), certified invoices, and EUR1 movement certificates for goods being exported internationally. Targeted at UK-based exporters.
• Dutch Export Documentation Certification of Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK) issued documents including C of O, C of O with invoices, EUR1 certificates, and ATR documents for goods exported from the Netherlands. Targeted at exporters shipping from the Netherlands.
• Irish Export Documentation Dublin Chamber of Commerce certified documents including Irish Certificate of Origin and certified invoices for goods exported from the Republic of Ireland. Targeted at Irish exporters.
• Arab Documentation Services Certification and legalisation of documents for export to Arab destinations including Certificates of Origin, certified invoices, and country-specific documentation requirements for Bahrain, Iraq, Egypt, and other Arab markets. Targeted at exporters shipping to the Middle East.
• FCDO Apostille Legalisation Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) apostille and legalisation services for documents destined for Hague Convention countries, including standard next-day and same-day expedited processing via the Milton Keynes FCDO office. Targeted at individuals and businesses needing Hague Convention legalisation.
• Pharma Services End-to-end pharmaceutical document legalisation including Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CPP) requests, manufacturing licences, Free Sale Certificates, GMP Certificates, and ancillary documents. Liaises directly with top 10 health authorities worldwide (Spain, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Switzerland, UK, USA, and EMA). Targeted at pharmaceutical companies requiring international regulatory submissions.
• Translation Services Certified, notarised, and legalised translation services for export documents and official documents, supported by a 20+ year translation partner network. Covers multiple languages including French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Arabic. Standard processing within 24-48 hours with expedited service available. Targeted at exporters, individuals, and businesses needing certified translations.
• Business Visa Services End-to-end business visa application processing including embassy liaison and application submission via daily visits by a dedicated in-house courier team. Includes secure and confidential handling of applications throughout the process. Targeted at professionals and corporate travellers needing embassy-mediated visa services.
• ATA Carnet Services ATA Carnet processing for the temporary export of goods, facilitating international trade exhibitions and the movement of professional equipment across borders. Targeted at businesses and professionals exhibiting at or moving equipment to international trade events.
• Online Certification Portal A proprietary online portal and Client Interaction Portal (CIP) where clients submit certification requests, manage communication, and track document progress in real time throughout the legalisation process. Targeted at exporters and other documentation clients needing visibility over their requests.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30+ countries supported for apostille and embassy legalisation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Chambers of Commerce NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCDN works with Chambers of Commerce including Arab British Chamber of Commerce, Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, and Dutch KVK for document certification and legalisation services. These partnerships enable processing of Certificates of Origin, certified invoices, EUR1 movement certificates, and ATR documents.
• Health Authorities NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDN liaises directly with top 10 health authorities worldwide including Spain (AEMPS), Germany (BfArM), France (ANSM), Netherlands (Farmatec), Belgium (FAMHP), Ireland (HPRA), Switzerland (Swissmedic), UK (MHRA), USA (FDA), and European Medicines Agency (EMA) for CPP applications and pharmaceutical document legalisation.
• Translation Partners NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCDN has a quality-controlled network of translation partners established over 20 years providing certified translations, export document translations, and legalised/notarized document translations in multiple languages including French, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, and other languages.
• International Affiliates NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCDN operates with a network of trusted international agencies supporting document legalisation in over 30 countries. Combined with their own offices in UK, USA, and Netherlands, this network enables comprehensive global document authentication services.
• Government AuthoritiescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCDN works directly with government authorities including UK FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office), US Department of State, Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and various embassies and consulates for apostille and legalisation services.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• VFS Global: World's largest visa and consular services outsourcing provider, operating on behalf of governments and embassies. Directly comparable to CDN's business visa and embassy legalisation services, serving both enterprise and individual travellers through a multi-country owned-and-partner network.
• Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce: Regional Chamber and existing CDN partner that also independently issues Certificates of Origin, ATA Carnets, and certified invoices. Comparable as a destination for exporters seeking the same underlying document services, and a co-seller in CDN's own distribution model.
• Arab British Chamber of Commerce: UK Chamber that issues Certificates of Origin for Arab-destination exports — the same certification pipeline CDN's Arab Documentation service runs through as an explicit partnership. Functions both as CDN partner and as a parallel provider exporters can use directly for the underlying Arabic-region certifications.
• London Chamber of Commerce and Industry: UK Chamber issuing ATA Carnets and Certificates of Origin on the same supply chain CDN services. Acts as the upstream certification authority for much of CDN's document certification product line and is the most direct comparable on the documents-of-trade side of the business.
• CIBTvisas (CIBT): US-headquartered global visa, passport, and document authentication services company serving corporate and consumer travellers. Overlaps directly with CDN's business visa application, passport, and document legalisation services across a similar customer base of exporters and corporate travellers.

Broad incumbents

• RWS Group: Global localisation, certified translation, and intellectual property services company. Direct overlap on the certified and notarised translation leg of CDN's workflow, but operates at much larger scale across language, IP, and regulated content services.
• Bureau Veritas: Global testing, inspection and certification group serving trade, marine, and government services. Touches CDN's regulatory and certificate-of-origin perimeter at the broader trade-compliance level, but at much larger scale and across many adjacencies.
• Intertek Group: Global TIC group with a Government Services line that includes certificate-of-origin, export documentation, and customs-related filings in multiple regions. Broadly comparable as a global quality and compliance incumbent that touches exporters' regulatory and document-adjacent workflows.
• TÜV SÜD: Global testing, inspection and certification group including regulated-document and pharma-adjacent services. Adjacent comparable for the legalisation-on-behalf-of-pharma side of CDN's business, though CDR is not the certification core.
• LanguageLine Solutions: Large-scale certified translation and interpretation provider with extensive enterprise and government footprint. Comparable on the per-page/per-order translation and certified document translation product lines offered by CDN's 20-year translation partner network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CDNConsular
• Facebookfacebook.com/cdnconsular

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CDN Consular Services