Apostille or authentication? What changed for Canadian documents in 2024

If you are sending a Canadian document overseas — a degree to an employer in Europe, a birth certificate to a consulate, a power of attorney to a family lawyer in another country — the process changed meaningfully, and a lot of advice still online is out of date.

The old way: authentication and legalization

For decades, a Canadian document destined for another country went through two steps. First it was authenticated — a government office confirmed the signature or seal on it was genuine. Then it was legalized by the embassy or consulate of the destination country. Two offices, two queues, two sets of fees, and often weeks of waiting.

What changed

Canada acceded to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — the Apostille Convention — and it came into force for Canada on 11 January 2024. For documents going to another country that is also party to the Convention, the two-step dance collapses into one: a single certificate called an apostille.

An apostille is a standardized certificate recognized by every member country. Once a document carries one, the destination country accepts it without any consular legalization step.

Who issues it in Ontario

In Ontario, apostilles are issued by Official Documents Services, a provincial office. Global Affairs Canada also issues apostilles for certain documents. Which route applies depends on the document and where it originated — a provincially issued birth certificate and a federally issued document do not travel the same path.

Where notarization fits in

Many documents cannot go straight to an apostille. A private document — a power of attorney, a statutory declaration, a certified copy of a diploma — generally has to be notarized first, because the apostille certifies the notary's signature and seal. The apostille does not verify the document's contents; it verifies the officer who signed it.

So the order matters: notarize first, apostille second. Documents that arrive at the apostille office without the right notarial step get sent back.

What I do

I handle the notarization step and can prepare an authentication or apostille package for $160. What I cannot do is speed up the government office or guarantee their turnaround. Build in more time than you think you need — this is not a same-week process.

Requirements and processing times change. Confirm the current procedure with Official Documents Services or Global Affairs Canada before relying on any timeline, including one you read here.