Payment of fees
It is possible to pay the apostille application fee online with a credit card, or by sending a check or money order with the application.
Processing time
We are currently processing the applications received at our offices on: April 30, 2024.
Please note that due to circumstances beyond our control, the processing time is currently extended.
Updated: May 14, 2024
Sometimes a foreign country requires a certificate to make a document official. This certificate, called an apostille, attests to the document’s origin and the signature or seal of the person or body who signed or sealed it. Québec issues apostilles in French only.
It does not certify the document’s content.
Conditions
An apostille can be issued for any of the 125 countries that signed the October 5, 1961, Convention abolishing the legalization requirement for foreign documents. It can also be issued for a non-signatory country, but legalization may then be required by that country.
Documents that can be authenticated
You can request authentication of the original—or a copy certified true by the person or body who produced it—of the following:
- a document issued by a public body, such as a birth certificate or diploma
- a court document, such as a decision by the Superior Court or a municipal court
- an authentic act such as a notarized document
- a document issued by a person or body having an establishment in Québec. Such documents must be officially certified by a lawyer or notary.
You must make sure that the notarized document and lawyer or notary’s official certificate are accompanied by a signature authentication issued by the professional association. Contact the Chambre des notaires du Québec or the Barreau du Québec .
Language of documents
A document written in a language other than French or English must be the subject of an official certificate produced by a lawyer or notary stating that they understand the document’s contents or that they have obtained a translation of the document made by a translator who is a member of the Ordre des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec (OTTIAQ).
Document translated into a language other than French or English at the request of the recipient country: Depending on the requirements of the recipient country, your apostille request may be for the document only, or for the document and its translation.
Examples:
- The recipient country requires a translation of your birth certificate, but only needs the certificate to be apostilled, not the translation. In this case, you will only need to request an apostille for one document, the birth certificate.
- The recipient country requires that both your birth certificate and its translation be apostilled. In this case, you will need to request an apostille for both the birth certificate and the translation. The translation must be the subject of an official certificate by a lawyer or notary.
Bodies that issue public documents
You must obtain the document from the body authorized to issue it.
Examples of documents that can be authenticated and the bodies that issue them:
Directeur de l’état civil:
- Birth certificate
- Marriage certificate
- Death certificate
- Personal name change certificate
- etc.
You must provide documents that have been issued within the last 5 years.
Request a certificate or a copy of an act
Registraire des entreprises du Québec:
- Certificate of regularity
- Company name change certificate
- Merger certificate
- etc.
Request a copy of a document or a Certificat d’attestation from the Registraire des Entreprises
Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec:
- Secondary school diploma
- Diploma of Vocational Studies
- etc.
Request a transcript or a certification document
Transcript of grades (elementary or secondary):
This must be requested from the school.
Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur:
- Diploma of College Studies (DCS)
Request a certification of Diploma of College Studies awarded
Transcript of college grades:
This must be requested from the college.
University degree or certificate:
This must be requested from the university.
Chambre des notaires:
- Will search certificate
- Protection mandate search
- etc.
Notarial documents:
- Marriage contract
- Last will and testament
- Sales contract
- Hypothec on an immovable property
- Gift
- etc.
This must be requested from the notary who produced the original act. You must also obtain an authenticity certificate from the Chambre des notaires.
Let’s say, for example, you need to have your marriage contract authenticated. First, get a certified true copy from the notary who produced the contract. Then obtain an authenticity certificate from the Chambre des notaires to certify that the notary is a member and signed the document.
Barreau du Québec:
- Attestation of studies from the École du Barreau
- Will search certificate
- Protection mandate search
- etc.
Verifying the status of a lawyer
Ministère de la Justice du Québec:
- A Court of Québec ruling
- A Superior Court ruling
- A Court of Appeal ruling
- Divorce certificate
- etc.
You must contact the clerk’s office in the district where the ruling was handed down. If your recipient country requires a certificate of non-appeal along with the ruling, both documents will be attached and submitted as a single request for apostille.
- Certificate from the Register of personal and movable real rights
Contact the Registre des droits personnels et réels mobiliers (RDPRM)
Police documents:
- Police verification for civil purposes (previously a certificate of good conduct)
You may request this from the police station in the municipality where the person named in the verification resides. If the municipality doesn’t offer this service, you may contact a firm certified by the RCMP.
Police record check – Sûreté du Québec
You must contact Global Affairs Canada if the document is issued by the RCMP.
The document must be accompanied by a lawyer or notary’s official certificate if it is issued by a private firm.
Other documents:
For documents not listed above, refer to the apostille request form or contact customer service .
Before submitting a request
You must have the following information and documents on hand before making your request:
- Recipient country
- Your contact information
- If paying online, a credit card; otherwise a cheque or money order
- Document(s) to be authenticated
- Make sure your document’s issue date meets the requirements of the requesting entity.
- To facilitate validation, try to use recent documents.
- You must check whether a document needs to be apostilled if the recipient country requires that it be translated into a language other than French or English.
How to request authentication
Fees will apply.
To request an apostille:
- Fill out the form
- Select a method of payment (credit card, money order or cheque)
- Print the form – Please do not staple the form to the document
- Use an envelope large enough to avoid damage to your documents when the envelope is handled
- Mail the form along with the document(s) to be authenticated to:
-
Délivrance des apostilles
Ministère de la Justice
1, rue Notre-Dame Est, bureau 7.07
Montréal (Québec) H2Y 1B6
Fee
A $65 fee applies for each document. You can pay by credit card, money order or cheque.
For example:
- Your request contains a birth certificate to be authenticated. The fee is $65.
- Your request contains three documents: your birth certificate, your son’s birth certificate and his college diploma. The cost will be 3 times $65, for a total of $195.
After sending your request
Standard processing time is 10 business days. Processing time begins when the Ministère de la Justice receives your request.
Your request may be refused for the following reasons:
- The document was issued too long ago to be validated
- The document is from outside Québec
- The document has been altered
- The document is not an original or a true copy.
Your apostilled document will be returned by postal mail. Please take mail delivery times into account when sending or following up on your request.
Apostille register
You can consult the register to check the apostilles issued to date. You will have to provide the date of issue and the number of the apostille you are looking for.
Last update: May 14, 2024