Child Travel Consent Letter
Child Travel Consent Letter, Notarized Same Day
Who needs to sign the consent letter?
Every person with custody or guardianship rights who is staying home. The usual patterns:
Child travels with one parent:
The other parent signs
Child travels with grandparents, relatives or a school group:
Both parents sign
Separated or divorced parents:
the non-travelling parent signs, and where a court order governs travel, bring it, because its terms control
Sole custody or sole decision-making responsibility:
the travelling parent may not need the other’s consent, but carry the order or agreement that proves it
Only the signers need to attend the appointment, with photo ID. The child does not need to come, though bring the child’s passport or its details.
What should the letter include?
Global Affairs Canada publishes a free sample letter and an interactive form, and I recommend starting from that template because border officers recognize it. A strong letter contains: the child’s full name, birth date and passport number; the names and contact details of the non-travelling parents or guardians giving consent; the accompanying adult’s details; destination, travel dates and, ideally, flight numbers and accommodation; and a signature block set up for witnessing. Bring your draft complete but unsigned, or email it ahead and I will look it over before you arrive.
Does the letter have to be notarized?
No law says so, and Global Affairs Canada itself notes any adult witness can sign. But GAC also says having the letter certified by someone authorized to administer oaths, such as a notary public or commissioner, makes officials less likely to question it, and that matches what families report back to me. For roughly the cost of airport parking, the signature is sworn, sealed and hard to argue with. When the destination country or airline publishes its own consent rules, follow those too; some countries, South Africa is a known example, have statutory requirements beyond Canada’s recommendation.
How does the appointment work and what does it cost?
The non-travelling signer attends with government photo ID and the completed, unsigned letter, plus the child’s passport details and any custody order. I verify identity, review the letter for the gaps officers notice, watch the signature, administer the oath where the letter is sworn, and apply my seal. Ten to fifteen minutes, walk out travel-ready. A notarized travel consent letter is $49 , a second child’s letter in the same visit is $25 , and both-parents-signing counts as one letter, not two. Evening and mobile options exist for households juggling shifts.
What if the other parent is outside Canada?
Then their consent gets signed where they are, before a local notary or commissioner, or at a Canadian embassy or consulate, and travels back to you as an original or a clear scan, depending on what your airline and destination accept. Where the letter is structured as a sworn declaration and the recipient accepts remote commissioning, an Ontario-side video appointment with me can work for a parent who is normally resident here but travelling. Build in courier time; this is the step families most often leave too late.