Authenticating & Legalizing a Document- 3 Essential Tips

George Brook, CEO of International Documents Canada covers the steps of having a Canadian documents certified in another country. When you need to have a Canadian document certified as legal in another country it needs to go through a process called document authentication and legalization. This process is also known as the apostille process

A lot of people find authenticating and legalizing a Canadian document to be frustrating, annoying, and confusing. At IDC we specialize in managing the authentication and legalization process for people just like you. We see the same mistakes being made over and over again, so to help you avoid the most common pitfalls in document authentication and legalization we’ve prepared this short video.

We’re going to give you three essential tips that will help you save time, money, and aggravation.

First tip: pay attention to time

Depending on the time of the year when you send your documents into the
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade for authentication
it can take anywhere from seven to over 40 business days for them to process your documents. The solutions are either budget for this time or use a professional service like IDC. We can have your documents authenticated in as little as one day

Second tip: think about the value of your original document

In many cases your original document is quite valuable
A lot of people are nervous about releasing a valuable document into the authentication and legalization process, not wanting to risk loss or damage. The solution: you can often use what's known as a certified ‘true copy’ for the authentication and legalization process rather than using your original document

We've written an article about using certified true copies in the authentication and legalization process.

Now if you want the maximum in peace of mind about the safety of your document, my company IDC, provides a secure chain of custody throughout the authentication and legalization process. Your document is always with an IDC specialist unless released directly into the custody of the Department of Foreign Affairs or the relevant embassy for processing

And the third tip: pay attention to details

When preparing your documents for the authentication and legalization process pay attention to the details, they matter. Follow the specific guidelines established by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the embassy of the country in question because a mistake will often mean you need to start the process over from the beginning

Now here's the complication:

Each Embassy has its own unique rules and regulations regarding the authentication and legalization process. There are no standard requirements, they are different for every country. This can make the process of researching the specific procedures for your
document quite challenging.

Visit us at: http://www.idocscanada.ca/