Educational Documents Authentication and Legalization

Moving abroad for work or to continue your education may require you to have your Canadian Educational documents authenticated and legalized. The authentication and legalization process can be referred to as Apostille and Attestation. Possible Educational Documents could include University Degree, College Diploma, Transcripts, High School Diploma, Report Cards etc. These documents must be authenticated by Global Affairs Canada and legalized by the Embassy or Consulate of the destination country. The authentication and legalization process can be confusing and time consuming. Our expert staff would welcome the opportunity to discuss your unique situation while offering exceptional guidance that is very cost effective.

Common Educational Documents Questions

Do I need to use original educational documents or must they be notarized?

It is important that this question be directed to the person or entity in the destination country. They should be able to answer that question clearly. In many cases you can use notarized copies. In certain specific instances original Educational Documents must be authenticated and legalized.

Can I use my original Educational Documents?

In most cases, you are able to use original educational documents. When necessary, our office can arrange for notarized copies to be made.

We specialize in the authentication and legalization of Canadian educational documents for use in foreign countries.

Can your office assist with notarizing copies of my Educational Documents?

Our office works closely with a notary who can make a certified true copy of your educational documents.

How long does it take to authenticate and legalize my Educational Documents?

Using an authentication and legalization service, such as our office, can definitely speed up the processing. By using a third-party service, in some instances, the processing can be completed within a few days. We will happily discuss your options.

When processing Educational Documents what sets your office apart from the local competition?

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.

The specialists in our office would be happy to clearly explain our cost-effective approach to the authentication and legalization of your Educational Documents.

What methods of payment does your office accept?

Our office offers a number of different payment options such as money order, e-transfer, direct payment into our account, credit card (visa or mastercard). If you have any questions about payment methods, please feel free to reach out to our office either by e-mail or telephone as we will happily discuss payment options.

How can documents be shipped to your office?

We suggest using a national courier such as FedEx, Purolator, DHL or Canada Post “Xpresspost”. Each of these courier options offers a form of tracking and considering that the documents are sensitive in nature the ability to track your item is strongly recommended.

How can documents be returned to me?

Once the authentication and legalization services have been completed, our clients can provide a prepaid return courier to our office. If however it is more convenient, our office will happily arrange for the return courier either to our client directly or to an authorized third party of their choosing.

Does Capital Authentication use regular lettermail to return documents?

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.

Can I use original or notarized copies of documents?

This is a very good question and it really depends upon 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.

What happens if a problem arises with the authentication and legalization of my 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.