How to Apostille a Document in Canada: Authorities, Fees, and Processing

To apostille a document in Canada, get the document notarized if it isn’t already a sealed government record, send it to the correct competent authority based on where it was issued or notarized, pay the fee, and wait for the apostille certificate to be returned attached to your original. Since January 11, 2024, when the Hague Apostille Convention entered into force in Canada, that single certificate replaces the old two-step authentication and embassy legalization process for the 129 countries in the convention.¹²

Get the Document Ready

Public documents issued by a Canadian government body are the simplest. Birth, marriage, and death certificates from provincial or territorial vital statistics offices, court records bearing an original seal, and federal records such as an RCMP criminal record check can go straight to the competent authority as long as they carry a recognized original signature and, where applicable, an official seal.³

Private documents need a step first. Powers of attorney, university diplomas, and corporate contracts have to be taken to a Canadian notary public or commissioner of oaths, who either witnesses the signing or certifies a true copy and applies a professional seal. That notarization is what lets the issuing authority verify the document, because the authority matches the notary’s signature and seal against its own registry. A document signed by a notary who isn’t in that registry will be rejected.

Academic Records

University transcripts and diplomas trip people up because they come from private institutions, not government offices. A diploma sitting in a drawer can’t be apostilled on its own. A notary has to certify it first, and the province where that notarization happens determines which authority processes your request, not the province where you studied.³

Translations

If any part of your document is in a language other than English or French, include a certified translation. It has to be prepared by a member of a recognized provincial translation association, or attested by a Canadian notary who speaks both languages and certifies the translation’s accuracy in a signed declaration. Canadian university diplomas issued in Greek or Latin are exempt.³

Send It to the Right Authority

Canada split apostille duties between the federal government and five provinces. Sending your package to the wrong office means rejection, so this decision matters more than people expect.

The Five Provincial Authorities

Five provinces run their own programs and handle documents issued or notarized within their borders:⁴

Alberta – Ministry of Justice
British Columbia – Ministry of Attorney General
Ontario – Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery
Quebec – Ministère de la Justice
Saskatchewan – Ministry of Justice and Attorney General

In Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, if the notarization happened in the province, that province’s authority handles the document regardless of where the underlying record originated.³ British Columbia and Quebec are stricter. BC can authenticate BC public documents and certain federal documents notarized in BC, but not documents issued by another province, even when the notarization happened locally.⁵ Quebec applies a similar limit. If you’re in BC or Quebec with a document issued elsewhere, it has to go to Global Affairs Canada.

Global Affairs Canada

Global Affairs Canada handles everything the provincial authorities don’t:⁶

Federal documents, including records from the Canada Revenue Agency, Health Canada, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, regardless of where you live
Documents from Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador
Anything issued or notarized in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, or Yukon

If your document was notarized in any of those provinces or territories, Global Affairs Canada is the correct destination even when the underlying record came from somewhere else.³

Fees

Global Affairs Canada charges nothing for apostille services.³ Provincial fees vary:

Ontario: $16 for a notarized document, $32 for an Ontario government official document⁴
British Columbia: $20 per document⁷
Alberta: $25 per document, paid as one combined amount per submission⁸
Saskatchewan: $50 per apostille certificate⁹

Payment methods differ. BC accepts credit cards through its online form, plus money orders, bank drafts, and cheques.⁷ Confirm accepted methods on the authority’s website before mailing anything.

How to Submit

Global Affairs Canada accepts submissions through an online portal or by paper mail, and the processing timeline is the same either way.¹⁰ Provincial authorities each have their own forms and instructions. Whichever route you use, you’ll be asked for your contact information, the destination country, and the number of documents in the request.

For paper submissions, include a prepaid return envelope with tracking. Your originals are coming back with the apostille physically attached, and you don’t want that package lost. In-person drop-off is rare, so budget shipping time on top of processing time.

Once the package arrives, officials verify the signature on your document against their records of registered notaries and government officials. If the signature isn’t on file, which sometimes happens with older documents or recently appointed officials, the authority has to locate the record before proceeding, and that adds time.

Processing Times

Global Affairs Canada is currently processing requests received about 20 business days earlier, plus 5 to 10 business days for return mail within Canada.¹⁰¹¹¹² Provincial timelines fluctuate with volume.

There is no expedited service. If you have a genuine emergency outside your control, you can contact the Authentication Services Section to request priority handling, but they won’t grant it if you have other options available.¹⁰ Third-party companies advertising “rush” apostille service submit to the same office; the documents sit in the same queue.

What Comes Back

Canadian authorities issue the apostille as an allonge, a separate certificate page securely attached to your original document. It carries a unique identification number, the date of issuance, and details of the issuing authority.³ When the package arrives, check that the name, document type, and date on the certificate match the underlying document. Catching a clerical mismatch before you mail it overseas is a two-minute save.

The Hague Convention does not set an expiration date on apostilles, but receiving countries sometimes do. Some require the apostille to have been issued within the past three or six months. Confirm the destination country’s rule with its embassy or consulate before assuming an older apostille will be accepted.¹³

If the Destination Country Isn’t in the Convention

An apostille only works automatically in the 129 convention countries. For documents going to a country outside the convention, you still need the older two-step process: authentication by a Canadian competent authority, followed by legalization at the destination country’s embassy, high commission, or consulate in Canada.³ Global Affairs Canada will still issue an apostille in these cases, but the embassy will need to review and legalize the document separately. Embassy fees, timelines, and translation requirements vary widely, and the legalization step alone can take several weeks, so contact the embassy early.

1
HCCH. Apostille Convention Enters into Force for Canada
2
HCCH. Convention 12 – Status Table
3
Global Affairs Canada. Authenticate Your Documents – Before You Start
4
HCCH. Canada – Competent Authority (Art. 6)
5
Government of British Columbia. About Authentication
6
Government of Canada. Improving Authentication Services in Canada
7
Government of British Columbia. Document Authentication Fee
8
Government of Alberta. Documents for Other Jurisdictions or Countries
9
Government of Saskatchewan. Authentication Services Frequently Asked Questions
10
Global Affairs Canada. Authentication of Documents
11
Government of British Columbia. Processing Times for Authenticating Documents
12
Government of Ontario. Authenticate a Document for Use Outside Canada
13
Government of British Columbia. Apostille Convention