Certificates of Apostille are Unavailable in Canada. Oh, oh now what? Legalization + authentication.

Occasionally we get calls from people seeking a certificate of apostille or apostille stamp for a notarized document.  An apostille certificate verifies that the person who notarizes a document is a qualified notary and licensed to practice in the jurisdiction in question.  Usually, this kind of request comes from a lawyer, notary or government official in a foreign country who requires a document that will be used in that country for some legal purpose.

Unfortunately, the apostille system only applies in countries where the government has signed The Hague Apostille Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (1961). The United States is a signatory and the State Department – Bureau of Consular Affairs provides some further definitions of the functions of an apostille and where to get more information on signatories to the convention.

BUT – Canada is not a signatory.  Therefore, there is no apostille system in Canada.  Instead we have an equivalent process called “legalization and authentication” which normally means that the notarized document must be sent to the relevant Law Society or Society of Notaries where the governing body then verifies the signature of the lawyer or notary (as the case may be). An additional step is usually necessary where the consulate of the foreign country then also verifies the approval of the law society or notaries society, sometimes in conjunction with a Canadian government office.

It is very important to check with the embassy or consulate of the foreign country where you intend to use the document to determine what rules must be followed for the document to be accepted as proper documentation in that particular country. The rules do vary from country to country.  Therefore, it is prudent to call the person requesting the apostille, tell them that the process is not available in Canada because Canada is not a signatory to The Hague Apostille Convention and ask what they accept as an alternative. Sometimes they will require a regular notary stamp, then a certificate from the Notaries Society or Law Society that authenticates the notary/lawyer, then sometimes also a certificate from the relevant consulate authenticating all the previous documents.

There are services that will handle the legalization and authentication process for you.  Because it can be a complicated process you may wish to consider paying the fees and saving yourself the time and brain cells trying to figure out what to do.  A quick Google search reveals a number of services set up to help people with obtaining the equivalent of a certificate of apostille.  These businesses include:

Ottawa based Enterprise Legal which describes the process in greater detail along with the fees they charge for various services.

Document Services (Toronto) which has a convenient list of apostille countries along with information about the steps, costs and processing times.

Red Seal Notaries (with walk-in locations in Toronto, Mississauga, North York, Ottawa…and Vancouver!).  The Red Seal Website also has a list of Canadian locations for many embassies and consulates.

Another option, for those seeking a certificate of apostille for use in the State of Nevada (at least with respect to claiming a refund on taxes levied on casino winnings), is to use a local notary to handle the issue.  We thank a caller who persevered and emailed to tell us that this seemed to be the easiest approach under the circumstances – since she confirmed receipt of her tax refund, it appears to have worked.