DEATH CERTIFICATE AUTHENTICATION

Whatis

DEATH CERTIFICATE AUTHENTICATION

A step-by-step guide to level up your Death Certificate

Types in Canada

BY LEGALIZATION SERVICE

A Death Certificate Authentication, also known as a Death Certificate Attestation, Death Certificate Legalization or Death Certificate

Apostille, is a legal validation which proves that the signature, position of an official, and seal on the certified document are authentic. Once a death certificate is authenticated, it will become valid and legally recognized by other countries around the world.

What is Death Certificate Authentication? importanttip

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Why Might You Need It?

Here are some reasons why you may need to authenticate a death certificate:

For the registration of a death abroad

In order to close a deceased one ’ s bank account

To address estate matters

For legal matters

Other reasons

Mainly, authentication is required in order to make a death certificate valid and recognizable in countries other than the one where it was issued. The process makes the document of legal standard, which allows it to be recognized across different nations.

What Needs to be Done

In order to authenticate a death certificate you will need to follow a three step process that involves document preparation, document authentication, and document legalization.

Step 1: Document Preparation

Having your documents prepared before beginning authentication is a crucial step and one that can make the difference between a hassle-free process or one ridden with delays and set-backs. What sort of preparation you require may be subject to your specific scenario, but here are a few things that you may need to get done before you can authenticate.

Liaison with end-country to obtain their specific requirements

Document Translation

Document notarization

Making notarized “true copies” of the document

Collecting other relevant, required, and supporting documents

Step 2: Death Certificate Authentication

During this step, your death certificate will be presented to Global Affairs Canada, a governing body that will verify whether the signature, position of the official, and seal are authentic. When they are satisfied with the truthiness of these components, they will apply a red seal to your document thus confirming that it is authentic according to their examination and standards. You may now legalize this document.

Global Affairs Canada – Rules, Regulations, and Guidelines

In order to make sure your death certificate obtains the Global Affairs Canada seal mentioned in Step 2, your document will need to meet their standards and comply with their rules and regulations Below are a list of the criteria that they will use to assess your document:

Only Canadian signatures are acceptable on your document

Only the original long form of death certificates can be authenticated, which must have been issued by the office of vital statistics from the relevant province/territory. Plastic or wallet-sized copies of these documents are not acceptable for authentication.

Religious documents cannot be processed, even if they are notarized

Signature authentication requires the name of the person to be provided, unless the signature is legible and complete

It is your responsibility to ensure that the lawyer you select to notarize your document is a notary.

If the document is not an original, only certified true copies of death certificates that are signed and sealed by a Canadian notary can be processed. It is your responsibility to ensure that your end-country will accept a photocopy.

Step 3: Death Certificate Legalization

Legalization of your document is the third and final step of having it recognized outside of Canada. For this step, you will need to present your document to the appropriate consulate or embassy, who will conduct their own examination of the Global Affairs Canada seal on the document to verify its authenticity.

Note: Embassies and consulates often have their own processes and fees for acknowledging the validity of your authentication. Often, their rules, regulations, and fees of the verification process change making any previous knowledge of their process redundant. We keep up-to-date information on the most current changes in these embassies and consulates, meaning your processing time will not be lengthened due to unknown changes.

Death Certificate Types in Canada