# Apostille in Ontario

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

> Apostille guide for Ontario, Canada: the competent authority is Official Documents Services (ODS), Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement of Ontario. 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:** Ontario, Canada
- **Verified as of:** August 9, 2026

## Who issues the apostille

Official Documents Services (ODS), Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement of Ontario

Covers documents notarized by an Ontario notary public; Ontario government official documents — vital statistics certificates, business registry documents (issued since 1991), Superior Court of Justice / Ontario Court of Justice documents issued after July 10, 2023, Ontario public postsecondary degrees/diplomas/transcripts issued since Jan 1, 2019

## 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

No paper form: the request is made through the online portal. Download: https://www.officialdocuments.mgcs.gov.on.ca/en-US/authentication-landingpage/ Request handled via the online portal / appointment system; no separate PDF form found on ontario.ca

## Requesting online

Part of the request is made online; the documents themselves still reach the office on paper. Portal: https://www.officialdocuments.mgcs.gov.on.ca/en-US/authentication-landingpage/ 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 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 is offered. 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 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 is offered.
- **Sault Ste. Marie** — 101-420 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 1Z7 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 is offered.
- **Windsor** — 205-400 City Hall Square East, Windsor, ON N9A 7K6 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 is offered.
- **Thunder Bay** — 113-435 James Street South, Thunder Bay, ON P7E 6T1 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 is offered.

## What it costs

- **$16.00 CAD** per document — Applies to: 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 — Applies to: 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
- The payee name is not published — confirm the payee on the official request form before you write a cheque.
- 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

- **Verification register:** 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

## Remote online notarization

- 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
- 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:** 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

> **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 Nova Scotia](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/nova-scotia/index.md)
- [Apostille in Nunavut](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/ca/nunavut/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)
- [Privacy notice](https://andrii.co/en/privacy/index.md)
- [Terms of Service](https://andrii.co/en/terms/index.md)

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