Authentication and Legalization

We can notarize, authenticate and legalize many documents, including: international powers of attorney, birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, passports, driver's licences, citizenship cards, permanent resident cards, immigrant visas and records of landing, university, college or high school transcripts and provincial or federal articles of incorporation.

Don't see your document listed? Contact us using the form on this page or emailing us at info@downtown-notary.ca. We will help!

Generally, authentication and legalization takes 14 business days. This time may be shorter or longer due to wait times at Official Document Services, Global Affairs Canada or the consulate or embassy. Please note that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Global Affairs Canada is taking up to eight weeks to process authentication requests.

Each embassy and consulate sets its own requirements for authentication. Some consulates and embassies will only accept authentications from Global Affairs Canada. If you’re not sure, we recommend contacting the embassy or consulate for assistance.

Global Affairs Canada is the department of the Government of Canada that manages Canada's diplomatic and consular relations. Global Affairs Canada provides authentication of documents issued in Canada that will be used outside of Canada. Global Affairs Canada is located in Ottawa, Ontario.

Official Document Services is the department of the Government of Ontario that authenticates official documents issued in Ontario that will be used outside of Ontario. Official Document Services is located in downtown Toronto.

Absolutely! If you require a document certified by a Canadian notary, then authenticated and legalized for use outside of Canada, you can mail the documents to us. We will take care of the notarization, authentication and legalization, then mail the documents back to you. To get started, complete the form on this page or email us at info@downtown-notary.ca.

Each consulate or embassy has its own requirements and processes for legalization. For example, they may require appointments, application forms, multiple visits or specific methods of payments. Our categories and corresponding fees reflect the differences in requirements and processes:

* Group A consulates and embassies have straightforward processes and require a single visit

* Group B consulates and embassies have straightforward to complex processes and may require multiple visits

* Group C consulates and embassies have complex requirements and generally require multiple visits

The good news? When you choose Downtown Notary to handle the legalization of your documents, we deal with all of this for you!

Apostille means the process through which a document issued in one country is legally certified for use in another country. Apostille is not done in Canada because Canada is not a member of the treaty that covers apostille. Instead, Canada uses authentication and legalization, which is the equivalent to apostille.