Apostille in Ontario
Which documents this office will accept
- From the source
Most private documents must be notarized by an Ontario notary public. NOT required for: Ontario vital statistics certificates, business registry documents since 1991, court documents after July 10, 2023, public postsecondary credentials since 2019 (ODS authenticates the official's signature directly). Non-English/French documents: notarization + certified translation required
Certifications you may need first
No additional certification step is required before the apostille.
The request form
- Form
No paper form: the request is made through the online portal.
- From the source
Request handled via the online portal / appointment system; no separate PDF form found on ontario.ca
Requesting online
- Online route
Part of the request is made online; the documents themselves still reach the office on paper. unverified
- From the source
ODS online request portal — start/submit request online; physical notarized documents still delivered by mail or in person — full online-only scope per document type (unverified)
Where to go in person
Toronto
777 Bay Street, Lower Level, Toronto, ON M7A 2J8- Access
Open for walk-in service.
Appointments are also offered.
- Hours
Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. (except statutory holidays)
- Same-day service
Available.
- From the source
Walk-in allowed; appointments bookable since Nov 1, 2023 at https://cxp.mgcs.gov.on.ca/eab-web/home (applies to all 5 offices)
Ottawa
161 Elgin Street, Fourth Floor, Ottawa, ON K2P 2K1- Access
Open for walk-in service.
Appointments are also offered.
- Hours
Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m. (except statutory holidays)
- Same-day service
Available.
Sault Ste. Marie
101-420 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 1Z7- Access
Open for walk-in service.
Appointments are also offered.
- Hours
Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. (except statutory holidays)
- Same-day service
Available.
Windsor
205-400 City Hall Square East, Windsor, ON N9A 7K6- Access
Open for walk-in service.
Appointments are also offered.
- Hours
Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. (except statutory holidays)
- Same-day service
Available.
Thunder Bay
113-435 James Street South, Thunder Bay, ON P7E 6T1- Access
Open for walk-in service.
Appointments are also offered.
- Hours
Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. (except statutory holidays)
- Same-day service
Available.
What it costs
| Fee | Applies to | Details |
|---|---|---|
| $16.00 CAD per document | notarized (legal) document | Two-tier fee, tax-exempt, per document. "Fees apply to each document authenticated. For example, if you have two notarized documents that need to be authenticated, the fee is $32 ($16 x 2)." |
| $32.00 CAD per document | Ontario government official document; Ontario court-issued document; Ontario public postsecondary degree/diploma/transcript | Two-tier fee, tax-exempt, per document — the $32 tier applies to each of the three government-document categories |
How to pay
- By mail
Certified cheque / bank draft, money order, or card payment.
- In person
Cash, card payment, certified cheque / bank draft, or money order.
- Make it payable to
Not published. This office accepts a mailed cheque or money order but prints no payee name — confirm the payee on the official request form before you write it.
- From the source
In person: cash, Visa, Mastercard, debit, certified cheque, money order. By mail: certified cheque, money order, Visa, Mastercard. (certified cheque represented under the cashiersCheck token; debit under card.) The source publishes no payee string for the certified cheque / money order — confirm the payee on the official instructions before mailing
Where to send your documents
- Mailing address
- Official Documents Services, 777 Bay Street, Lower Level, Toronto, ON M7A 2J8
How long it takes
- By mail
"within 15 business days" of receipt
- In person
While-you-wait — "standard wait time is about 30 minutes if your documentation is complete" (i.e., same-day service); exception: court-issued documents "up to 10 business days"
Checking status and verifying an apostille
- Verify an issued apostille
https://www.officialdocuments.mgcs.gov.on.ca/en-US/validity-check/
Ontario runs its own validity check (requires apostille number + issuance date). Ontario apostilles are NOT in the GAC shared tool
- Check a request's status
No status-tracking page is published for this office.
Remote online notarization
- Status
Remote online notarization is permitted here.
- Legal basis
O. Reg. 431/20 "Administering Oath or Declaration Remotely" under the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act (made Aug 2020, no sunset; still in force and reflected in Ontario's current commissioner guide)
- How the signer is identified
Reg. text: "The person administering the oath or declaration confirms the identity of the deponent or declarant" — no prescribed method; Ontario guide requires "reasonable precautions." Practice: government photo ID shown and inspected on video; for lawyers/paralegals, LSO By-Law 7.1 client-verification methods (authentication of government photo ID via technology, credit-file, or dual-process method) apply when acting for a client. No KBA requirement
- Fee caps
No maximum fee is recorded here for a remote act or for a standard notarial act. A missing cap is not the same as “no cap” — the reason is in the notes below.
- From the source
Permitted, permanent. Covers oaths, affirmations, statutory declarations. The Notaries Act has no express remote-notarization provision — virtual "notarization" in practice rides on O. Reg. 431/20 for sworn documents; fully-remote certified true copies are common market practice but not expressly legislated (unverified). Who can do it: commissioners for taking affidavits (incl. every Ontario lawyer and paralegal by virtue of licence) and notaries public administering oaths/declarations. Other statutory conditions (verbatim from reg): live audio-video "see, hear and communicate... in real time throughout the entire transaction"; modified jurat stating the oath "was administered in accordance with this Regulation" + locations of both parties; commissioner's stamp info on the document; "shall keep a record of the transaction." Fee rules: no statutory cap on notarial fees; commissioners/notaries set market fees. Market rates (as of Aug 2026): Notarize.ca (online commissioning under O. Reg. 431/20): "$37.99 for the first notarization and $24.99 for each additional notarization, plus HST" — also states recipients "are not required to accept" remotely commissioned documents. NotaryPro (notarypro.ca) offers "virtual commissioning and virtual witnessing" but disclaims online notarial acts: "Online or remote notarization is not yet explicitly regulated under Ontario law. As a result, NotaryPro does not provide online notarial services." — advertises ~7-minute completion; per-document price not published on fetched page (typical $25–$45 range (unverified)). Canada Notary (canadanotary.ca): $15 promotional rate at new Ontario locations. Toronto notary practice (torontonotary.com): remote OK for oaths/declarations; certified true copies and seal-bearing notarial acts require in-person ("the notary must see the original physically") — relevant to apostille workflows. Apostille interplay: GAC and provincial competent authorities require original/wet-ink signatures and seals — remotely executed, purely electronic notarizations are generally unusable for apostille unless printed/wet-signed by the commissioner