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DEATH CERTIFICATE APOSTILLE – DEATH CERTIFICATE AUTHENTICATION – DEATH CERTIFICATE LEGALIZATION IN CANADA
What is Death Certificate Apostille, Death Certificate Authentication and Death Certificate Legalization in Canada?
A Death Certificate Authentication, also known as a Death Certificate Attestation, Death Certificate Legalization or Death Certificate Apostille, is a legal validation which proves that the signature, position of an official, and seal on the certified document are authentic. Once a death certificate is authenticated and legalized, it will become valid and legally recognized by other countries around the world.
Why Might You Need It?
Here are some reasons why you may need to authenticate (Apostille) and legalize a death certificate:
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- For the registration of a death abroad
- In order to close a deceased one’s bank account abroad
- To address estate matters abroad
- For legal matters
- Other reasons
Mainly, authentication and legalization (Apostille) is required in order to make a death certificate valid and recognizable in countries other than the one where it was issued. The process makes the document of legal standard, which allows it to be recognized across different nations.
What Needs to be Done
In order to authenticate and legalize (Apostille) a death certificate you will need to follow a three step process that involves document preparation, document authentication, and document legalization.
Step 1: Document Preparation
Having your documents prepared before beginning authentication is a crucial step and one that can make the difference between a hassle-free process or one ridden with delays and set-backs. What sort of preparation you require may be subject to your specific scenario, but here are a few things that you may need to get done before you can authenticate.
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- Liaison with end-country to obtain their specific requirements
- Document Translation
- Document notarization
- Making notarized “true copies” of the document
- Collecting other relevant, required, and supporting documents
- At the end of the day, how you prepare your documents will depend on what the requirements of your end-country are where you will be using the authenticated death certificate and also on which pieces of the document you are missing to begin the process. When you trust us with authentication, we ensure that your documents are prepared in accordance to your needs and within your timeline.
Step 2: Death Certificate Authentication
During this step, your death certificate will be presented to Global Affairs Canada, a governing body that will verify whether the signature, position of the official, and seal are authentic. When they are satisfied with the truthiness of these components, they will apply a red seal to your document thus confirming that it is authentic according to their examination and standards. You may now legalize this document.
While this step is otherwise simple, Global Affairs Canada has very specific rules and regulations that must be adhered to and complied with in order to have your document successfully acknowledged and authenticated by them.
Global Affairs Canada – Rules, Regulations, and Guidelines
In order to make sure your death certificate obtains the Global Affairs Canada seal mentioned in Step 2, your document will need to meet their standards and comply with their rules and regulations. Below is the list of criteria that they will use to assess your document:
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- Only Canadian signatures are acceptable on your document
- Only the original long form of death certificates can be authenticated, which must have been issued by the office of vital statistics from the relevant province/territory. Plastic or wallet-sized copies of these documents are not acceptable for authentication.
- Religious documents cannot be processed, even if they are notarized.
- Signature authentication requires the name of the person to be provided, unless the signature is legible and complete
- It is your responsibility to ensure that the lawyer you select to notarize your document is a notary.
Step 3: Death Certificate Legalization
Legalization of your document is the third and final step of having it recognized outside of Canada. For this step, you will need to present your document to the appropriate consulate or embassy, who will conduct their own examination of the Global Affairs Canada seal on the document to verify its authenticity. Once they are satisfied that the seal is authentic, they will affix their own stamp or certificate acknowledging that your document suffices their standards and requirements. With the completion of this step, your document is now authenticated and legal!
Note: Embassies and consulates often have their own processes and fees for acknowledging the validity of your authentication. Often, their rules, regulations, and fees of the verification process change making any previous knowledge of their process redundant. We keep up-to-date information on the most current changes in these embassies and consulates, meaning your processing time will not be lengthened due to unknown changes.
Death Certificate Types in Canada
Document Shipping After Authentication and Legalization Service in Canada
When you choose us to authenticate and legalize (Apostille) a death certificate on your behalf, we ensure that the process is simple, fast and reliable from your first point of contact with us until your authenticated and legalized document reaches its final destination. Once the process is complete and your certificate is attested, we can ship it anywhere in the world using our document shipping solutions safely, securely, and within your timeline!
Why Get This Process Done Through Us?
Here is an overview for why you should choose us for this service!
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- Our process is hassle-free
- We have significantly shorter processing times at Global Affairs Canada
- Quicker turn-around of document
- Our location is in Ottawa, where most embassies and consulates are located
- We make sure your documents meet the requirements of Global Affairs Canada
- We prepare all documents according to current embassy/consulate requirements
- We have up-to-date information on the requirements of most consulates and embassies around the globe!
- Documents are returned to you or shipped to their final destination anywhere in the world safely, securely, and within your set timeline.