Apostille Services
Apostille Services for Ontario Documents
What exactly is the apostille process in Ontario?
Three stages. First, your document is made apostille-ready, which for most private documents means a proper notarization or certified true copy by an Ontario notary whose signature is on file with the province. Second, the document goes to Official Documents Services, by mail or in person at 222 Jarvis Street in Toronto, with the request form and fee. Third, ODS attaches the apostille and returns the document, ready for use in the destination country. Documents issued by the federal government, like RCMP criminal record checks, follow the same logic through Global Affairs Canada instead.
What can you do for my apostille?
- Notarize your signature or certify true copies with the certificate wording ODS accepts
- Confirm whether your specific document needs notarization first or can go to ODS as issued, which is often the case for Ontario birth, marriage and death certificates ordered from the Registrar General
- Complete the package: ODS request form guidance, cover checklist, correct fee amount and return envelope
- Advise whether your document belongs with ODS or Global Affairs Canada
- Handle bundles, since foreign job, marriage and citizenship files often need four or five documents apostilled at once
Why does everything have to be in person and wet ink?
Because ODS examines the physical notarization and matches it against the specimen signature the notary has filed with the province. Scanned signatures, electronic seals and remotely commissioned documents are refused. So every apostille-bound notarization happens at my office or at a mobile visit, on paper, in ink. This is a hard rule from ODS, not a preference of mine.
How long does an apostille take and what does it cost?
My part, the notarization and package preparation, is usually done in one appointment. ODS then has its own processing time, typically a few weeks by mail and faster in person, and charges its own government fee per document; check current ODS timelines before you book flights or file deadlines. My apostille preparation package starts at $99 including the first notarization, with each additional document at $35 . ODS fees are paid separately to the Minister of Finance.
Which documents do people apostille most?
Birth, marriage and death certificates for foreign citizenship, inheritance and marriage registration; degrees and transcripts for work visas and licensing abroad; police checks for immigration and employment; corporate documents for opening foreign subsidiaries and bank accounts; powers of attorney for overseas property; and single status declarations for marrying abroad. Most bundles mix provincially issued documents, which route through ODS, with federal ones for Global Affairs Canada, and part of my preparation is sorting each item into its correct lane with the right supporting notarization.