Death Certificate Authentication Legalization or Death Certificate Apostille
A Canadian Death Certificate must be authenticated and legalized to be recognized as valid in another country. The process is also known as Death Certificate Apostille or Attestation. The authentication process can be easily completed with us.
Reasons to Authenticate and Legalize a Death Certificate
A Death Certificate may need to be authenticated and legalized for various reasons, such as registering a death abroad, closing a bank account, or resolving estate matters. Regardless of the reason, we are here to help. We have been assisting with the authentication and legalization of Death Certificates for 30 years for countries like the USA, Russia, Colombia, the UAE, and China.
Official Death Certificate for Authentication and Legalization
It's important to ensure you have the correct style of Death Certificate that Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services can authenticate and that the embassy can legalize. A Funeral Director's Certificate issued by a funeral home, even if signed by a notary, cannot be authenticated by Global Affairs Canada. Please refer to our Global Affairs Canada Authentication Requirements for more information.
How the Process Works
Our services ensure your document is correct to prevent delays. Both authentication and legalization must be completed for a Death Certificate to be recognized as an Apostille in a country that has signed the Hague Convention. The first step of authentication takes place at Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
Ordering a Death Certificate for Authentication and Legalization If you don't have the correct style of Death Certificate, you can easily order one from the provincial government vital statistics departments listed on our Document Resources page. It's also possible to have the certificate delivered directly to our office, which can speed up the authentication and legalization process.
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Step 1: Global Affairs Canada Authentication
The Death Certificate must be issued by a provincial government vital statistics office where the death took place to be accepted by Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services. It can be the certificate-sized version or the long form certified copy of the death registration, both of which are certified true originals from the provincial Vital Statistics department.
It's important to start the authentication process as soon as possible, as processing times are longer than ever at Global Affairs Canada. You can find out their current processing time here.
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Step 2: Legalization – Attestation at the Embassy Consulate
The second step of legalization takes place at the embassy consulate of the country where the Death Certificate will be used. Most embassy consulates are located in Ottawa and charge a fee for their legalization services. Our document legalization services will ensure the process is done correctly and meets your timeline. After authentication and legalization, we can return the Death Certificate to you or anywhere in the world using one of our document shipping solutions or your preferred delivery method.
Other Documents Requiring Authentication and Legalization
If you need to authenticate and legalize a Death Certificate, you may also need to authenticate and legalize other documents such as a Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Will, or Power of Attorney. We can help authenticate and legalize these and other documents. Contact one of our friendly agents for assistance.
FAQ’s about using a Canadian Death Certificate Internationally
As Canada’s experts, ALSC can efficiently help you get your Canadian Death Certificate ready for international use by providing you with 30 years of experience with the most up to date knowledge about the rules and regulations of Global Affairs Canada and the Embassy. Not only will ALSC help you process your documents quickly we also make it easy by guiding you through each step providing you with the up to the minute status of your documents using our Online Status Tracker. Talk to one of our experts on how to get the Death Certificate accepted internationally and get the experts working for you.
No, as per the Global Affairs Canada rules and regulations, only an original Death Certificate issued by a Canadian Provincial Vital Statistics Department can be authenticated. A notarized or certified copy made by a Canadian Notary Public cannot be authenticated.
There are two different styles of Canadian Death Certificates such as the certificate size or the long form certified copy of the registration of death. Both come as certified true originals from the provincial Vital Statistics department. It's important to remember that the one you got from the Funeral Director or Funeral Home is not an official death certificate. The provincial statistics department of the province where the death took place issues the official death certificate. If you need to order a Death Certificate you can find links on our resources page on how to do it.
A Canadian Death Certificate is initially only valid for use in Canada therefore a foreign country will not accept a Canadian Death Certificate. To make the Death Certificate valid for use in a foreign country, it will first need to go through the process of Authentication at Global Affairs Canada and then Legalization at the Embassy Consulate of the country in which the document will be used. In both steps the authenticity of the foregoing signature is verified, effectively making the document valid for use in that foreign country. Some countries might ask you to get the Death Certificate Apostilled since that is the process most used in that foreign country. Since Canada has not signed the Hague Apostille Convention, the original two-step process of Death Certificate Authentication and Legalization is considered the international equivalent of an Apostille and serves the same purpose.
Currently you cannot get an Apostille for a Canadian Death Certificate. Since Canada has not signed the Apostille Convention the original process of Authentication and Legalization is still used to make a Canadian document valid for use in another country. The Death Certificate will therefore first need to be authenticated by Global Affairs Canada and then legalized by the Embassy or Consulate of the country in which you will be using the Death Certificate. These two steps of authentication and legalization together are the equivalent of an Apostille in other countries.
Most Vital Statistics Departments have an option to have the Death Certificate sent directly to a third party such as ALSC. Once you have been in contact with one of our agents regarding your request and confirmed how you want to proceed, we will provide you with our mailing address where the Death Certificate can be sent. A few Vital Statistics Departments, such as the Quebec État Civil, do not allow the Death Certificate to be sent directly to a third party. In this case the Death Certificate will need to be delivered to you first, then you can send it to us for Authentication and Legalization.
If you have never ordered a Canadian Death Certificate, you have misplaced or lost the Death Certificate, the original you have is damaged, you can order a new or a replacement Death Certificate from the Provincial Vital Statistics Department in the province where the death took place. You can find links to the various vital statistics departments on our document resources page.
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