What is Legalization?
If you are using a Canadian document outside of Canada, you may need to get your documents authenticated and legalized. This blog post explains how to get your documents legalized for use outside of Canada, and how Downtown Notary can help!
What is legalization?
Legalization is the process for verifying Canadian documents for use in another country.
There are three steps to getting your documents legalized:
Have your documents notarized by a notary public
Get your documents authenticated by either the Government of Ontario’s Official Document Services or the Government of Canada’s Global Affairs Canada. Authentication is the formal confirmation that a signature, stamp, or seal on a document is genuine.
Global Affairs Canada (formerly known as Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada) is the Canadian government department responsible for promoting Canada's interests and values abroad.
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.
Get your documents legalized by the embassy or consulate of the country where you will be using them. The embassy or consulate will place their own stamp or seal on the document, which makes it official in that country.
Is legalization the same as apostille?
In Canada, legalization is the equivalent to apostille. 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.
What types of documents can be legalized?
Documents that require legalization include, but are not limited to:
Birth certificates
Statutory declarations of marital status
Marriage certificates
Divorce certificates
Death certificates
Adoption papers
Powers of attorney
Educational transcripts and diplomas
How do I know if my documents need to be legalized?
Each country has its own requirements for what type of documents must be legalized before they can be used in that country . If you’re not sure if your documents need to be legalized, contact the consulate or embassy of the country in which they will be used for assistance.
Can electronically notarized documents be legalized?
Generally, documents that are notarized with online notary services can be legalized. However, Global Affairs Canada and Official Document Services require documents to have the notary’s ink signature and embossing seal in order to authenticate them. The good news: if you need to have your electronically-notarized document legalized, we can mail you a hard copy version with your notary’s signature and seal - easy!
Does Notarize.ca provide legalization services?
Yes! Notarize.ca is proud to partner with Downtown Notary to provide easy and convenient legalization services.
This is how it works:
Complete our legalization request form
Get your documents notarized
Our authentication and legalization specialist gets your documents authenticated and legalized and returns them to you
Done!
For more information on pricing and services, visit our Authentication and Legalization page.
Questions?
If you have questions about legalization services, we’re here to help. Contact us at info@downtown-notary.ca or call us at 647-799-3531.
