Federal vs provincial apostille in Canada: which office takes your document

Canada runs a split apostille system since joining the Hague Apostille Convention on 11 January 2024: Global Affairs Canada (JLAC) apostilles federal documents and documents from Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, Nova Scotia, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, while Ontario, Quebec, BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan run their own issuing offices — Ontario's being Official Documents Services in Toronto. The right office is determined by where the document was issued or notarized, and sending a document to the wrong one costs you the round-trip.

How the Canadian apostille system is split

Since 11 January 2024, Canada issues apostilles through a federal-provincial split. Global Affairs Canada, through its JLAC section, covers federal documents and eight provinces and territories without their own office. Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan issue apostilles for their own documents through provincial offices.

What goes to Global Affairs Canada (JLAC)

JLAC takes documents issued by federal bodies — think of federal certificates and records — plus documents issued or notarized in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. If your document was notarized by a notary in one of those provinces or territories, JLAC is the destination.

What goes to a provincial office

Documents issued or notarized in Ontario go to Official Documents Services in the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery, handled at the Toronto office. Quebec, BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan run their own equivalents. A document notarized in Ontario stays in the Ontario lane even if you courier it from another province.

The 'where it was notarized' rule

The routing question is always: where did this document originate or get notarized? A notary's province determines the apostille office, because the apostille certifies that notary's signature and seal against the records of that jurisdiction. Mismatch the office and the package comes back unprocessed.

Timing and fees

Each office runs its own queue and fee table, and seasonal backlogs move. The working anchor for Ontario-bound planning is apostille from $140 CAD within a coordinated route, with the full Ukraine-bound chain (notarization from $90, apostille, certified translation and delivery from $120) starting from $390 CAD. Confirm current processing times before promising a date to the receiving side.

What the apostille does and where translation fits

Whichever office issues it, the apostille certifies origin — the genuineness of the signature, seal, or stamp. It makes no statement about content. The certified Ukrainian translation is produced after the apostille so it covers the final sealed document, apostille page included.

Ontario as the most common lane

Most LexRoota clients sign in Ontario, so Official Documents Services in Toronto is the usual office. The intake still checks the notary's jurisdiction on every document, because a second document notarized in another province routes separately and can travel on a different clock.