How to Process an Apostille of Documents in Canada An Apostille is a certification that is issued by a regulating power and is used to establish that a notary public’s signature or seal is authentic. This originated from The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 that eliminated the need to legalize foreign public documents. This treaty was created to clarify the process of document certification and cannot be applied to diplomatic and commercial documents.
When a document is created in a participating nation for use in another country, then a notary public’s signature or seal is necessary to authenticate that document; as long as the Notary Public is certified by Apostille Canada. All participating nations select the individuals or firms who have the authority to issue Apostille certification.
Because Canada was not a signatory of the Hague Convention, therefore Apostille certification cannot be provided for Canadian public documents. Instead, Canada expects and will offer a Certificate of Authentication or Form 10 (International Certificate of Identity that is almost comparable to an apostille).
Processing an Apostille of documents in Canada
Since Canada does not have an Apostille certification, all public documents will undergo a three-step process;
Notarization. Notarization is a significant step because, without it, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) will not authenticate a public document In Canada, various professions such as Medical Doctors, Professional Engineers, and School Principals can notarize certain documents; like identity documents. Please note that some foreign Embassies/Consulates require proper binding or sealing of notarized documents to minimize and prevent fraud.