Legalization services in Toronto and Canada

Consular legalization is one of the specialized services provided by DocService Canada – department of DocsBase.

Any document submitted to authorities of another country usually needs to be legalized. Documents issued in Ukraine, for example, are only valid in Ukraine. Embassies or other authorities of foreign countries will, in most cases, look for legalization of the documents.

Countries that signed the Hague convention use a simplified apostille system that assures a document’s authenticity. It also certifies the position and signature of the person who signed the document and offers the authenticity of a seal or a stamp. Canada is not a member of the Hague Convention and uses a consular legalization procedure that is more complicated.

Consular legalization ensures the authorized person’s signature is authentic. It also certifies authenticity of the seal of an authorized public authority. Depending on the type of document, consular legalization is made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice or in consulates of corresponding countries. Consular legalization is valid only for the country for which the legalization was made.

The consular legalization procedure in Toronto can be used to confirm authenticity of notarized copies of personal documents, such as birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates; diplomas; leaving certificates and criminal record checks. Corporate documents can be confirmed, as well, including, memorandum, articles, incorporation certificates and tax registration certificates. Consular legalization can also confirm the authenticity of original documents signed in the presence of a notary (consents, applications, instructions, powers of attorneys, etc.).

Usually, the consular legalization procedure consists of the following stages:

1) Certification of the true copy by a notary
2) Translation of the document
3) Certification of the translation by a notary
4) Certification of the document by the relevant authority, such as Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada, the embassy of the issuing country or another organization authorized to do so
DocsBase Canada team in Toronto is part of a multinational organization that has offices in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and will help you with your document translation and legalization in any part of the world, in any language.