How Legalization of Documents in Canada Works

Cross-border travel has increased rapidly in the last few decades. More and more people and companies are creating relationships overseas through trade, marriage, adoption, etc. In some cases, these travelers are asked to provide documents that are official and legally valid because documents from one country will not necessarily be valid in another country.

 

What is legalization?

Legalization is a process that confirms that an individual with the appropriate authority issued a document. It also verifies that the stamps, seals and signatures on the documents are genuine. This generally means that some documents may need to be signed by various officials in order to be deemed "legalized". This is sometimes referred to as the legalization chain.

 

Legalization Chain Method

As you already know, not all countries accept apostilles. If your documentcomes from a country that is not a party to the "Apostille Canada Convention", then you need to follow the Legalization process of the country that you are presenting the document to. This is the legalization chain of authentication.

 

As countries have various agreements with one another, the embassy legalization chain can vary between different countries. What is most essential is that the foreign office authenticates the documents. The foreign representativecan only legalize the stamp or seal of an office that they recognize. They will not legalize documents that are not notarized or authenticated by an official who has the authority to do so.

 

Legalization of documents in Canada

In Canada, a legalization authority will authenticate public documents only after they have confirmed that a Canadian public official's signature, stamp or seal is valid. Simply put, your document will only be legalized if there is already an existing seal from a public official. Documents from a court or government agency will usually have a seal that is recognizable and all other document may require the stamp and seal of court's clerk or a notary public.

 

Court Clerk

A court clerk will usually place their seal on documents that have been notarized by a notary registered in their province.

 

Notary Public

The primary function of a notary is to bear witness when someone signs a document. The person signing the document must present a valid ID and sign the document in front of the notary. In return, the notary will attest to being a witness during the signing of the documents by putting their seal and/or signature on the document.Most people may be unsure of what a notary does. A notary public is an individual who is sworn in by the provincial government after proper application. The practice of appointing a notary varies between provinces. It takes about two and a half years to get the appointment. In several Canadian provinces, a lawyer is automatically designated a notary public. In Alberta every law student, MP, Judge, MLA, and Senator is also automatically made a notary. Also in Nova Scotia, all officers of the Canadian Forces are empowered to perform the duties of a notary public.

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