Capital Authentication: Your Trusted Partner > Commonly Requested Documents > Death Certificate Authentication and Legalization

Death Certificate Authentication and Legalization

Canadian Death Certificate recognized in a foreign country typically requires the document to be authenticated by Global Affairs Canada and legalized by the specific foreign country’s diplomatic mission. The authentication and legalization process is the Canadian equivalent to an Apostille. Capital Authentication specializes in the authentication and legalization process and would welcome the opportunity to cost-effectively and efficiently have your documents processed.

Excellent service. Prompt, quick and answered my queries with full detail. Also the best price around! I highly recommend using their services.
– Robyn

Common Death Certificate Questions

Unfortunately, Global Affairs will not authenticate a notarized document of a Death Certificate. Only an original death certificate obtained from the Provincial or Territorial Vital Statistics Office is acceptable.

Global Affairs will not authenticate a notarized copy of the Death Certificate or a Death Certificate issued by a religious institution or a funeral home.

You can order a replacement Death Certificate directly from the Vital Statistics office. The following is a list of Provincial and Territorial Vital Statistics offices:

https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/about/relevant/vscc/organisations

A third party, such are our office, is not typically able to order a death certificate. Most Vital Statistics Offices have strict criteria about who can order a death certificate. Once ordered, Vital Statistics will send the death certificate to your address. To save time, you are welcome to have it directed to your office.

We receive many Government-issued documents. In many cases, you can arrange to have your copy sent directly to us at the following address:

Capital Authentication
251 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 900,
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5J6

Kindly advise us to look out for the document and have it added to your dossier.

The length of time it takes for a death certificate to be authenticated by Global Affairs and legalized by a particular diplomatic mission can vary from a few days to a few weeks. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your unique situation. We are confident that we can offer you a cost-effective and timely solution.

The process of Canadian document authentication and legalization is relatively straightforward. The document could be sent directly to Global Affairs by mail or courier. Provided that they meet the criteria for authentication, they will be processed.

For documents mailed/couriered to Global Affairs, the processing time is typically about twenty working days. The processing time varies depending upon their volume.

Diplomatic missions take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to complete legalizations.

If there are errors, Global Affairs Canada or the diplomatic mission will return the documents without being processed.

In order to efficiently and cost effectively have your documents authenticated and legalized it is recommended that you consider hiring a third-party service provider like our office.

Using a third-party company to assist with the authentication and legalization process typically saves you time and money. Our office would welcome the opportunity to discuss your unique situation. We are confident that we can save you time and money in the process.

To make it easier to understand, we have grouped our authentication and legalization fees together. Our office offers four different processing options depending upon urgency. More importantly, we employ a system that we refer to as “The Completion Time Method”. When suggesting prices, we balance the total time expected to take to have the document(s) authenticated by Global Affairs and then legalized by a particular Embassy or Consular Office. Employing our method translates into lower fees for our customers.

At Capital Authentication we do not like to return documents to a client using regular lettermail.  Regular lettermail is not encouraged given the sensitive nature of the documents.  However, where a client has specifically requests this method of return, we will comply.

This is a very good question and it really depends upon the type of document along with where one intends to use the document.  As long as the document is a Canadian document, Global Affairs Canada will generally authenticate either an original document or a notarized copy of the document.  If using a notarized document, the notary must be a Canadian notary.   The more important question to ask is whether the diplomatic mission in question will accept notarized documents instead of original documents.  It is always best to consult the diplomatic mission to determine if original documents and/or notarized documents can be used.  There are some diplomatic missions that will only accept original documents.

Should a problem arise with the processing of your documents due to a change in policy or requirements by Global Affairs Canada or at a particular diplomatic mission our office will be in contact with our clients immediately, by e-mail and/or telephone, so as to identify the problem and determine the best possible solution.

There are many instances when it is more convenient for a client to have documents sent directly to our office as opposed to their receiving them first.  For example, government issued documents such as birth certificates can be sent directly to us.  We can receive them and start compiling a client dossier with the authentication and legalization component to commence once we have all of the documents.

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If you have questions or want to receive a custom quote for document authentication and legalization or other services, use our contact form below to get started.

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