# Apostille in Nova Scotia

- **Source:** https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/nova-scotia/
- **Title:** Apostille in Nova Scotia — Canada | Andrii Co.
- **Language:** en · also published as Markdown at /{lang}/handbook/apostille/ca/nova-scotia/index.md for: en

> Apostille guide for Nova Scotia, Canada: the competent authority is No provincial competent authority — apostilles issued by Global Affairs Canada. Verified 2026-08-09.

Everything below is transcribed from this office's own published sources and printed in its words. A value we could not confirm against an official page is marked "(unverified)" — but the absence of that marker is not a guarantee that a fact was checked, and the source's own doubts stay inside the notes reproduced here verbatim. Confirm fees, addresses and deadlines with the office before you send documents or money.

- **Jurisdiction:** Nova Scotia, Canada
- **Verified as of:** August 9, 2026

## Who issues the apostille

No provincial competent authority — apostilles issued by Global Affairs Canada

No apostille authority. Documents issued or notarized in Nova Scotia are apostilled by Global Affairs Canada, Authentication Services Section, 2421 Lancaster Road, Ottawa, ON K1B 4L5 (fee $0 — see ca/federal). Practical path: get the document issued (vital statistics original) or notarized by a local notary public, then mail to GAC Ottawa with form EXT2165 (fee $0, ~25 business days + mail). No official novascotia.ca guidance page found

## Nova Scotia does not issue its own apostilles

There is no apostille authority in Nova Scotia. Documents issued or notarized here are apostilled by Global Affairs Canada, Authentication Services Section (JLAC), and you deal with that office directly.

Everything under the headings below is that office's own published process, not Nova Scotia's — each heading says so. Remote-notarization rules further down the page ARE Nova Scotia's own.

Full guide: https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/federal/index.md

## Which documents this office will accept — at Global Affairs Canada, Authentication Services Section (JLAC)

- **Wet ink:** The document must carry an original, hand-signed signature (and seal where one applies). An electronically notarized document — what a remote online notarization produces — cannot satisfy that, so a RON notarization cannot feed this paper chain.
- **Copies:** Plain photocopies refused. Vital statistics: notarized copies NOT accepted ("if you need a copy, it must be issued by the appropriate vital statistics office")
- **provincial/territorial vital statistics birth/death/marriage certificates; divorce certificates signed by a court clerk; original university/college diplomas signed by registrar; RCMP HQ criminal record checks with Director General signature + dry seal; court documents with original seal/signature/judge's name:** No notarization needed
- **provincial/municipal police checks, bank documents, medical documents, school (K-12) diplomas, business records, private legal documents, etc.:** Notarization required
- **From the source:** Document must bear "an original, recognized signature (and seal, if applicable)". Pocket-sized certificates and religious-institution documents refused. Laminated/glued documents refused. Non-English/French documents need a certified translation (member of a provincial translators' association) or notarized translator attestation; exceptions: diplomas in Greek/Latin, proof-of-life documents under half a page. Remote-notarization interplay: GAC requires original/wet-ink signatures and seals — remotely executed, purely electronic notarizations are generally unusable for apostille unless printed/wet-signed by the commissioner

## Certifications you may need first — at Global Affairs Canada, Authentication Services Section (JLAC)

No additional certification step is required before the apostille.

## The request form — at Global Affairs Canada, Authentication Services Section (JLAC)

A PDF request form. Form: EXT2165 Download: https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/assets/pdfs/about-a_propos/services/authentication-authentification/ext2165e.pdf Authentication Request form EXT2165

## Requesting online — at Global Affairs Canada, Authentication Services Section (JLAC)

Part of the request is made online; the documents themselves still reach the office on paper. Portal: https://apostille-gac.powerappsportals.com/en/search-document/ Partial — online triage portal (launched Oct 30, 2025) to determine document requirements and start a request; physical documents must still be mailed/dropped off

## What it costs — at Global Affairs Canada, Authentication Services Section (JLAC)

- **$0.00 CAD** flat fee — Applies to: all (requests submitted in Canada) — "We do not charge a fee for our service."
- **$50.00 CAD** per document — Applies to: all (requests at Canadian diplomatic/consular missions abroad) — At Canadian missions abroad: $50/document (Consular Fees (Specialized Services) Regulations; per HCCH page)

## How to pay — at Global Affairs Canada, Authentication Services Section (JLAC)

- N/A (free in Canada). Return shipping is the applicant's responsibility — see returnShipping

## Where to send your documents — at Global Affairs Canada, Authentication Services Section (JLAC)

- **Mailing address:** Global Affairs Canada, Authentication Services Section, 2421 Lancaster Road, Ottawa, ON K1B 4L5, Canada
- **From the source:** Address in effect since Aug 15, 2024

## How long it takes — at Global Affairs Canada, Authentication Services Section (JLAC)

- **By mail:** 90% of applications in 25 business days (the site phrases it as currently processing applications received 25 business days ago), plus mailing time "normally 5-10 business days if shipped from Canada."
- **Expedited:** Priority processing only for "exceptional and urgent circumstances outside of your control."
- The office runs a rolling date-based queue and posts the live currently-processing date on its updates page; the reference snapshot records the ~25-business-day figure, not a dated queue position, so this is encoded as fixedRange (rollingDate requires the posted date — never invented)
- Courier account numbers are not accepted; only prepaid labels
- Applicant must enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope or prepaid courier shipping label for return

## Checking status and verifying an apostille — at Global Affairs Canada, Authentication Services Section (JLAC)

- **Verification register:** https://apostille-gac.powerappsportals.com/en/eregister-eregistre/ — Verification tool launched June 20, 2025; verifies apostilles issued by Global Affairs Canada, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia
- **Check request status:** https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/about-a_propos/services/authentication-authentification/status-statut.aspx?lang=eng — Online portal for service request numbers starting "R-"

## Remote online notarization

- A COVID-era remote-notarization framework ceased to have effect, and no successor was enacted.
- **How the signer is identified:** None prescribed for remote; NSBS client ID rules (FLSC model: photo ID; virtual verification with authentication technology) apply to lawyers
- No maximum fee is recorded here for a remote act. A missing cap is not the same as "no cap" — the reason is in the notes below.
- **From the source:** No permanent framework found. COVID-era authorization (ministerial direction under the Emergency Management Act + NSBS guidance permitting virtual witnessing/commissioning, 2020–2022) lapsed with the provincial state of emergency (ended March 2022 (date unverified)). As of Aug 2026 the NSBS website surfaces no current virtual witnessing/remote commissioning guidance (homepage and practice-resources checked; search blocked). Default: physical presence; remote-commissioned documents accepted only at the receiving authority's discretion (unverified). Who can do it: notaries public and commissioners of oaths (Notaries and Commissioners Act, RSNS 1989, c. 312 — barristers are ex officio); no remote authorization identified. Fee rules: no statutory cap found (unverified)

> **RCW 42.45.230(5):** I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in this state. I am not allowed to draft legal records, give advice on legal matters, including immigration, or charge a fee for those activities.

## Other Canada jurisdictions (Markdown)

- [Apostille in Federal](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/federal/index.md)
- [Apostille in Alberta](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/alberta/index.md)
- [Apostille in British Columbia](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/british-columbia/index.md)
- [Apostille in Manitoba](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/manitoba/index.md)
- [Apostille in New Brunswick](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/new-brunswick/index.md)
- [Apostille in Newfoundland and Labrador](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/newfoundland-and-labrador/index.md)
- [Apostille in Northwest Territories](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/northwest-territories/index.md)
- [Apostille in Nunavut](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/nunavut/index.md)
- [Apostille in Ontario](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/ontario/index.md)
- [Apostille in Prince Edward Island](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/prince-edward-island/index.md)
- [Apostille in Quebec](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/quebec/index.md)
- [Apostille in Saskatchewan](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/saskatchewan/index.md)
- [Apostille in Yukon](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/yukon/index.md)

## All jurisdictions (Markdown)

- [Apostille requirements, jurisdiction by jurisdiction](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/index.md)

## Other pages on this site (Markdown)

- [All international document services. One stop location in Washington state.](https://andrii.co/en/index.md)
- [Mobile notary and expedited apostille for Greater Seattle](https://andrii.co/en/notary/index.md)
- [Book a notary or apostille appointment](https://andrii.co/en/notary/booking/index.md)
- [Form I-9 verification, done in person and on time](https://andrii.co/en/notary/i9/index.md)
- [Washington State apostille](https://andrii.co/en/apostille/index.md)
- [Service of process, served right and proven on paper.](https://andrii.co/en/service-of-process/index.md)
- [We chase the record so you don't have to.](https://andrii.co/en/vital-records/index.md)
- [A real address that answers your mail and tells you about it.](https://andrii.co/en/registered-agent/index.md)
- [A local face in Washington](https://andrii.co/en/commercial-representation/index.md)
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