Canadian Passport Guarantor: Requirements, Duties, and Rejections

A Canadian passport guarantor is the person who confirms your identity on your application by signing the form, endorsing one of your photos, and providing their own passport details. You need one when you’re applying for your first Canadian passport or when you don’t qualify for a simple renewal. For a standard renewal, no guarantor is required at all.¹

When You Need a Guarantor

The guarantor requirement kicks in for first-time applicants and for anyone who can’t renew. You’re ineligible to renew if your previous passport expired more than a year ago, was lost, stolen, damaged, or was issued before you turned 16. In those cases you’re treated as a new applicant and a guarantor is mandatory.¹

Who Qualifies Inside Canada or the United States

If you’re submitting from Canada or the US, your guarantor has to check every one of these boxes:

Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old.
Holds a 5-year or 10-year Canadian passport that is currently valid, or expired by no more than one year on the day you submit.
Was at least 16 when they first applied for their own passport.
Has personally known you for at least two years.
Can be reached by passport officials if verification is needed.

The guarantor’s passport also has to show their current legal name and date of birth. A passport that has been suspended, revoked, reported lost or stolen, damaged, or destroyed by the Passport Program disqualifies the holder from serving.¹

Family counts. A parent, sibling, spouse, or other relative can be your guarantor as long as they meet every requirement above; there’s no rule excluding relatives from this role. What they can’t do is charge you. Acting as a guarantor is unpaid, and a guarantor who accepts a fee will be rejected. You also can’t help them fill in their own portion of the form.¹

Who Qualifies Outside Canada and the United States

Submit from anywhere else and the rules change. Your guarantor no longer needs to be a Canadian citizen, but they must be a licensed professional currently practicing in the country where you live. The eligible occupations are:

Judge
Lawyer or notary
Notary public
Medical doctor
Dentist
Pharmacist
Veterinarian
Police officer
Dean or head of a university or college
Signing officer of a bank or trust company that offers full banking services

They must be registered or licensed with the appropriate local authority. Retired professionals can still serve, but only if their name is still on their professional association’s active list.¹

What Your Guarantor Actually Has to Do

Three tasks, all in the guarantor’s own hand.

On the form, the guarantor personally completes four fields: their signature, the place they signed, the date, and how many years they have known you. They also list their full legal name, date of birth, and Canadian passport number.¹

On the back of one of your two identical passport photos, the guarantor writes: “I certify this to be a true likeness of [applicant’s full name],” then signs the bottom of that same photo.²

For adult applications, the guarantor also signs and dates photocopies of any supporting ID you’re including, confirming they’ve seen the originals.³

Rules for a Child’s Application

If you’re applying on behalf of your child, you cannot also be the guarantor on that application. The other parent or legal guardian, if they qualify, can serve in that role.¹

The two-year knowledge rule is measured against the applying parent, not the child. The guarantor must have known the parent or legal guardian submitting the application for at least two years and must also know of the child. There is no shortened timeframe for infants or very young children.¹

Reasons a Guarantor Gets Rejected

Applications come back when the guarantor fails any of these tests:

Their passport is expired by more than a year, or has been reported lost or stolen, suspended, or revoked.
The Passport Program tried to reach them and couldn’t.
They charged the applicant a fee.
There is evidence the applicant helped the guarantor complete their fields.
On a child’s application, the same parent signed as both applicant and guarantor.
The two-year personal knowledge requirement isn’t met.

Any of these sends the file back and adds weeks while you find another qualifying guarantor or correct the documents.¹

If You Genuinely Can’t Find a Guarantor

When no one you know meets the requirements, you can file a Statutory Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor. This form replaces the guarantor section of the application. It isn’t available online; you request it from the Passport Program or the nearest Canadian government office.

You sign the declaration under oath before someone legally authorized to administer one. Inside Canada, that’s typically a notary public or commissioner for oaths. Outside Canada, it’s a Canadian or British diplomatic or consular representative, or a qualified local official. The person administering the oath signs the form and also signs the back of one of your passport photos. You pay their fee, which is separate from the passport application fee.¹

References Are Not the Same Thing

Alongside your guarantor, you have to list two references on the application. They’re a separate requirement with different rules. References don’t sign anything; they just agree to be contacted if the Passport Program wants to verify your identity.³

Each reference must be at least 18 and have known you for at least two years. They do not need a Canadian passport. They cannot be family, whether by blood, marriage, adoption, or guardianship, and your guarantor cannot double as a reference.³

The Signature Carries Legal Weight

The guarantor’s declaration on the application, and the statutory declaration if you use one, are sworn statements. Knowingly making a false statement is perjury under the Criminal Code, an indictable offence carrying a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.⁴ That exposure applies to a guarantor who lies about an applicant’s identity and to an applicant who provides false information under oath. Passport privileges can also be revoked.

1
Government of Canada. References and Guarantors for Canadian Passport and Other Travel Document Applications
2
Government of Canada. Passport Photo Requirements
3
Government of Canada. What You Need to Apply for a New Adult Passport in Canada
4
Justice Laws Website. Criminal Code RSC 1985 c C-46 – Section 132