Apostille Convention

On May 12, 2023, the Government of Canada joined the Hague Apostille Convention to give Canadians a cost-effective, streamlined method for getting their Canadian public documents accepted abroad. 

The Apostille Convention came into effect in Canada on January 11, 2024.

What is the Apostille Convention?

As of January 11, 2024, Canadian public documents that have been authenticated now have a certificate called an “apostille” attached to them. This certificate allows the documents to be submitted for use in 125 countries that are members of the Convention without the additional step of legalization by a country’s consulate or embassy here in Canada. The additional step of legalization may still be necessary for countries that are not members of the Convention. 

In British Columbia, the B.C. Authentication Program is administered by the Order in Council (OIC) Administration Office in the Ministry of Attorney General. They authenticate B.C. public documents for use outside of Canada, and they continue to be responsible for this service now that the Apostille Convention has come into effect in Canada. See sample images of provincial certificates issued for documents authenticated in B.C. before and after January 11, 2024.

Does Apostille change how I request document authentication in B.C.?

The only change is that, as of December 18, 2023, all authentication requests must clearly identify the destination country for each document you are submitting. See Submitting your Documents for Authentication for details.

Apostille transition period

To facilitate transition to the Apostille Convention, documents received for authentication in B.C. between December 18, 2023 and January 11, 2024 will be processed on or after January 11, 2024.

If you are able to wait until after January 11, 2024 to submit your documents for authentication,

• the total cost for your authenticated documents may be reduced, and
• you will give yourself the best chance of your authenticated documents being valid in the destination country.

If you need your authenticated documents for submission to the destination country before January 11, 2024, please make sure that your authentication request form:

• clearly shows that you are requesting urgent authentication, and
• identifies the destination country for each document you are submitting.

Be sure to check with the consulate or embassy of the destination country to determine what documents you need and what other steps you may need to take before and after submission to the B.C. Authentication Program. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please email BCAuthentication@gov.bc.ca.