Global Apostille Canada / Destinations / United States
United States: apostille and legalization from Canada
Apostille only · no embassy stage
The United States is a party to the Apostille Convention, so a Canadian document needs only the Canadian apostille to be used there. What makes this corridor its own thing is that the receiving body is almost always a state rather than the federal government: a Secretary of State office, a licensure board, a county recorder, a school district. Each sets its own expectations about what a document has to look like before it will act on it.
The route your document takes
The Hague Apostille Convention applies to this destination (United States). A single apostille from the Canadian competent authority is enough, with no embassy stage.
- TranslationCertified translation into the language your destination requires. Depends on your document
- NotarizationA notary or commissioner certifies the copy, the signature or the translator's affidavit. Depends on your document
- ApostilleThe competent Canadian authority issues the apostille certificate. Always
- LegalizationEmbassy or consular stamp, for destinations outside the Hague Convention. Not required
This is a preliminary route, not a legal opinion. Convention membership and embassy requirements change; we confirm the exact chain for your file in writing before any work starts.
What people usually send
The documents we most often prepare for this destination. If yours is not here, it is almost certainly still something we handle.
- Corporate records for a state filing or registration
- Board resolutions and banking authorisations
- Degrees and transcripts for state licensure boards
- Birth and marriage certificates for immigration filings
- Court judgments, including custody and adoption orders
Worth knowing
Americans use "notarized" for several things a Canadian would name separately, so a request for "a notarized copy" may mean a notarization, an apostille, or both. Send us the wording you were given rather than your reading of it. This is the most common reason a US file gets run twice, and it costs a week each time.
Where is your document from?
The authority that issues the apostille depends on the province the document was issued in, not on where you live.
- Own apostille office
- Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan
- Every other province and territory
- Global Affairs Canada, Ottawa