Under The Hague Apostille Convention, signatory countries of this treaty have agreed to recognize public documents issued by other signatory countries, providing those documents are authenticated by the attachment of an internationally recognized form of authentication known as an “apostille“. An apostille ensures that public documents issued in one signatory country will be recognized as valid or legal in all other signatory countries.
As Canada is not a signatory to this Hague Convention, it is not possible to obtain an apostille on Canadian documents. To be recognized in a foreign country, Canadian documents must be “authenticated and legalized”.
The authentication and legalization process enables your Canadian documents to be recognized in another country. This two-step process involves first, having your documents authenticated at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFATD). Next, they must be legalized at the diplomatic mission for your destination country.
International Documents Canada (IDC) is the expert in Canadian document authentication and legalization. Contact IDC for more information and to discuss your specific situation.
Call us toll free at 1-888-433-1011 or visit us at idocscanada.ca
