Global Apostille Canada / Destinations / British Columbia
British Columbia: apostille and legalization for documents issued there
Own provincial apostille office
British Columbia issues its own apostilles through the Order in Council Administration Office. Files from the province lean heavily toward Asia-Pacific destinations, most of which are now inside the Convention, so the chain often ends with the apostille.
Clients in Vancouver, Victoria, Surrey and Kelowna send their documents to our Montreal office by courier, and get them back the same way.
Which authority issues the apostille
This province is its own competent authority. Documents issued here are apostilled by the Order in Council Administration Office, within the Ministry of Attorney General rather than by Global Affairs Canada, so the file never leaves the province.
As in Quebec, a notarized document qualifies here only if the underlying document was issued in the province.
Competent authorities are set by government and can change. We confirm which one applies to your file in writing before anything is filed.
Documents issued here
The provincial and territorial records we handle most often. Federal documents (RCMP certificates, immigration papers, federal incorporations) always go to Global Affairs Canada, whichever province you are in.
- Birth, marriage and death certificates from the BC Vital Statistics Agency
- Diplomas and transcripts from BC universities and colleges
- Documents notarized by a BC notary public or lawyer
- Judgments of the BC courts
- Corporate registry documents
Then the destination decides the rest
The apostille answers only half the question. Whether a consular stage follows it depends on the country the document is going to.