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PROCEDURE AND REQUIREMENT FOR THE LEGALIZATION OF SIGNATURES AND DOCUMENTS

Since Canada is not a member State to the Hague Apostille Convention, all official Canadian documents must be LEGALIZED in order to be officially accepted and be fully valid in Mexico. The six Mexican Consulates in Canada have the power to legalize Canadian documents issued within their respective jurisdiction.

The Embassy of Mexico in Ottawa has the power to legalize documents issued by Canadian authorities in any of Canada’s provinces or territories.

DOCUMENTS THAT CAN BE LEGALIZED:

- Birth, marriage, death and divorce certificates.

- Professional degrees (diplomas); certificates of study from primary school, secondary school, college or university; grade transcripts and report cards.

- Notarial copies and certificates, notarized powers of attorney.

- Records, certificates and documents issued by Canadian government departments at the federal or provincial levels.

- Judicial sentences and rulings.

- Medical records certified by a notary public.

THE FOLLOWING WILL NOT BE LEGALIZED:

- Documents from countries other than Canada.

- Wallet-sized birth certificates.

- Translations or photocopies that have not been stamped and signed by a Canadian notary public or lawyer.

- Scholastic documents not bearing the name and signature of the academic authority issuing them.

PROCEDURE for legalization of documents by the Embassy of Mexico:

If you are:

      In the National Capital Region of Canada (Ottawa – Gatineau)

1.  First, you must take the document you wish to legalize to the Authentication and Service of Documents Section at the Department of Foreign Affairs of Canada (DFAIT), located at 125 Sussex Dr., Ottawa, Ontario, Telephone: (613) 995-0119, and obtain a stamp of authenticity of the document.

2.  Then you must present the stamped document to the Consular Section at the Embassy of Mexico.

3.  Finally, you must pay the fee determined by the Federal Law on Fees. This payment must be made in cash. [Click here to check the current fee]

Turnaround time: 1 working day.

             If you are in any other Province of Canada:

          You must send the following by courier or registered mail:

1.  The document(s) to be legalized.

2.  A letter requesting the legalization of your document(s), including your contact information: full address, telephone number and email.

3.  Payment of legalization fees in the form of a Money Order made out to “Embassy of Mexico”. NOTE: Legalization is paid per document; for reference, count the number of stamps from the Authentication of Documents Section at DFAIT. [Click here to check the current fee]

4.  A prepaid envelope for the return of your documents.

          Turnaround time: 3 working days plus mailing time.

If you are in Mexico or another country outside Canada:

          You must send the following by courier or registered mail:

1.  The document(s) to be legalized.

2.  A letter requesting the legalization of your document(s), including your contact information: full address, telephone number and email.

3.  Payment of legalization fees in the form of a Certified Cheque from a Bank in the corresponding amount in Canadian dollars. [Click here to check the current fee].

4.  An international courier envelope prepaid by you, so that your documents may be returned once legalized. The waybill must be completed by you, filling in your own address as the address of destination (recipient).

          Turnaround time: 3 working days plus mailing time.

NOTE: Given that in Mexico courier companies (such as UPS, DHL and FedEx) DO NOT offer prepaid international services, we suggest one of the following three options to have your legalized documents returned to you at your cost:

a)  On the international return waybill choose the option for charging the shipping costs to a client account of the courier company. Please be sure to correctly indicate the client account number.

b)  On the international return waybill choose the option for charging the shipping costs to a credit card. Be sure to fill out the spaces corresponding to the card number, expiry date and type of credit card (Visa, MasterCard or American Express)

c)  Purchase courier service on-line from Canada Post. Be sure to print the shipping label bearing the bar code, and include it in the envelope with your documents.