How to Apostille an Ontario Birth or Marriage Certificate

Last updated: October 15, 2026

How to Apostille an Ontario Birth or Marriage Certificate

Quick answer: An Ontario birth, marriage or death certificate is apostilled as the original, with no notary step. Order the right certificate from ServiceOntario, then file it with Ontario's Official Documents Services (ODS) in person (Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor, Sault Ste. Marie or Thunder Bay) or by mail to Toronto. The government fee is $32 per certificate. Since January 11, 2024, that one apostille is all a Hague Convention country needs; a country outside the Convention gets a certificate of authentication from ODS and then legalization at its embassy. A hospital keepsake, a church record or the officiant's record of solemnization cannot be apostilled. We can pick it up, file it and bring it back in Ottawa or Toronto.

Someone abroad has asked for your "apostilled birth certificate" or "apostilled marriage certificate": a consulate processing citizenship by descent, a town hall in Europe registering your marriage, a school enrolling your child, a court recognising a divorce. The good news is that an Ontario vital statistics certificate is the simplest document to apostille. It skips the notary entirely, because Ontario authenticates its own Registrar General's certificate.

This guide covers the part people get wrong most often, which is ordering the right certificate, and then the filing itself. For every other kind of document, including affidavits, powers of attorney and certified copies, see our full guide to how to apostille a document in Ontario.

Caption: The apostille goes on the ServiceOntario certificate itself. The first job is making sure it is the version the receiver asked for.

Key Takeaways

Does an Ontario birth or marriage certificate need to be notarized first?

An Ontario birth, marriage or death certificate does not need to be notarized before the apostille. Official Documents Services treats it as an Ontario government document and authenticates it directly, for a government fee of $32 per certificate. Ontario's authentication page lists vital statistics documents, including the polymer birth certificate, among the documents it accepts.

A notary is only part of the file in three situations:

• The receiver wants a copy, not your original. A notary makes a certified true copy from the original in person, and ODS apostilles that copy as a notarized document for $16.
• The receiver wants a translation sworn in Canada. The translator swears an affidavit about the translation before a notary, and the notarized affidavit is apostilled separately.
• The names do not match across your documents. A one and the same person affidavit, sworn before a notary, explains the difference and can be apostilled too.

If none of those apply, you do not need us for the notary step at all. Book us only if you would like us to handle the filing.

Which certificate should you order?

Ordering the wrong version is the most common reason a file comes back. ServiceOntario issues several documents for the same event, and receivers abroad often name one in particular.

Birth

ServiceOntario issues three birth documents:

Consulates handling citizenship by descent, and civil registries abroad registering a marriage or a child, usually need to see the parents. When the receiver says "full", "long form" or "with parents", ask them which of the two longer documents they mean, and order that one. Regular online service takes about 15 business days plus Canada Post; premium online service is 5 business days by courier for the birth certificate ($55) and the certified copy of birth registration ($65). ServiceOntario was not offering a premium service for the version with parental information when we checked.

Marriage

ServiceOntario issues two marriage documents:

• a marriage certificate, showing when and where the wedding took place and who was married ($15 regular online, $45 premium);
• a certified copy of marriage registration, which only the couple can order unless a court order allows someone else ($22 regular online, $52 premium).

Two timing rules catch newlyweds. The marriage has to be registered first: the officiant sends the signed licence to ServiceOntario, and Ontario says processing can take up to 8 weeks after registration. And the paper you received on the day, the record of solemnization of marriage, is not a marriage certificate. Ontario says so on its own page, so do not file it with ODS.

Death

An Ontario death certificate, often needed for an estate or a pension abroad, follows the same route: order it from ServiceOntario, then file the original with ODS.

Some receivers want a recent certificate

Some foreign registries accept only a certificate issued within the last few months. If yours is old, damaged or laminated, order a new one before you file. ODS can refuse a document it considers suspicious.

How to get the apostille, step by step

1. Confirm what the receiver needs, in writing. Which certificate, whether it must be recent, whether they need a translation, and whether the country is in the Hague Apostille Convention. If it is not, you need a certificate of authentication from ODS followed by legalization at that country's embassy or consulate.
2. Order the certificate from ServiceOntario if you do not have the right one. Have it delivered as paper: ODS does not authenticate electronic copies.
3. Start the request on Ontario's document authentication portal. You get an email confirmation and a service request number. The paper certificate and the payment still go to ODS.
4. File it in person or by mail.
   • In person: ServiceOntario College Park, 777 Bay Street, Lower Level, Toronto (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.); 161 Elgin Street, Fourth Floor, Ottawa (8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.); or the counters in Windsor, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay, Monday to Friday. You can book an appointment, and Ontario puts the usual wait at about 30 minutes when the file is complete.
   • By mail: Official Documents Services, 777 Bay Street, Lower Level, Toronto, ON M7A 2J8. It is the only office that takes mail-in requests, and Ontario says the apostille is issued within 15 business days after it receives the documents. Include a prepaid envelope or a waybill if you want tracking on the way back.
5. Pay $32 per certificate. In person, ODS takes cash, Visa, Mastercard, debit, certified cheque or money order; by mail, a certified cheque or money order payable to the Minister of Finance, or Visa or Mastercard.
6. Check the apostille before you send it abroad. It is a separate certificate attached to your document, with a number and a date. Do not remove it or unstaple it. The receiver can verify it on Ontario's portal.

What it costs

Note: our fees are before HST; Toronto and other locations, and return shipping, are quoted before we come. ServiceOntario fees are the regular online rates posted when we checked; premium service costs more. ODS sets its own processing time. See our apostille service and pricing page.

When the apostille is not the answer

• The destination is not a Hague Convention member. ODS issues a certificate of authentication instead, and the country's embassy or consulate in Canada legalizes it. ODS cannot tell you what an embassy requires, so ask the embassy first.
• The certificate was issued by another province. Ontario's ODS only authenticates Ontario documents. File it with the issuing province's authority, or with Global Affairs Canada where that province has not designated one.
• The certificate was issued outside Canada. It is apostilled in the country that issued it, not here.
• It is a religious or keepsake document. A baptismal certificate, a hospital birth souvenir or the record of solemnization from your wedding cannot be authenticated.
• The document will only be used in Canada. Canadian agencies accept the ServiceOntario certificate as it is, so an apostille only adds a fee.

Common mistakes

• Ordering the short birth certificate when the receiver needs the parents. It is the most frequent reason a file is sent back. Ask first, order second.
• Filing the wedding-day record instead of the marriage certificate. Wait for the registration and order the ServiceOntario document.
• Mailing a scan or an emailed PDF. ODS authenticates paper only.
• Getting the apostille before the translation is settled. If the receiver wants a translation done in Canada, plan both steps together, because a sworn translation is apostilled as its own document.
• Assuming the apostille makes an old certificate acceptable. It confirms the signature, not the date. A receiver that wants a recent certificate will still refuse an old one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does an Ontario birth certificate need to be notarized before the apostille?

An Ontario birth certificate does not need to be notarized before the apostille. Official Documents Services authenticates the ServiceOntario certificate itself, as an Ontario government document, for a government fee of $32 per certificate. A notary comes in only if the receiver abroad wants a certified copy instead of the original, or a translation sworn in Canada.

Which birth certificate should I apostille?

The birth document to apostille is the one the receiver abroad asks for. ServiceOntario issues three: the birth certificate, which has no parents' names; the birth certificate with parental information; and the certified copy of birth registration, a copy of the full registration endorsed by the Office of the Registrar General. Citizenship, marriage and family files abroad often want parents' names, so check the receiver's wording before you order.

Can I apostille the marriage record our officiant gave us?

The record of solemnization the officiant gives you on the wedding day cannot be apostilled as proof of marriage. Ontario says it is not the same as a marriage certificate. Order a marriage certificate or a certified copy of marriage registration from ServiceOntario, which Ontario says can take up to 8 weeks to process after the marriage is registered, and apostille that.

How much does it cost to apostille an Ontario birth or marriage certificate?

Apostilling an Ontario birth or marriage certificate costs the ODS government fee of $32 per certificate, plus the certificate itself if you need a new one: a ServiceOntario birth certificate is $25 by regular online service and a marriage certificate $15, with premium options higher. If we pick up, file and return it for you, our fee is $119 for the first document and $39 for each additional one, plus a $60 handling fee in Ottawa and HST.

Can a birth certificate from another province be apostilled in Ontario?

A birth certificate from another province cannot be apostilled by Ontario's Official Documents Services. It goes to the competent authority of the province that issued it, or to Global Affairs Canada where that province has not designated its own. A certificate issued outside Canada is apostilled, if at all, in the country that issued it.

How long does the apostille take?

The apostille time depends on the channel. By mail, Ontario says Official Documents Services issues the apostille within 15 business days after it receives the documents. In person, it puts the usual wait at about 30 minutes when the file is complete, longer for several documents. Ordering a new ServiceOntario certificate first adds its own processing time.

Final Recommendation

Start with the receiver's instructions, then order exactly the ServiceOntario certificate they name. The apostille itself is the easy part: one document, $32, filed at a counter or by mail. You need a notary only if the receiver wants a copy, a translation sworn in Canada, or an explanation of a name difference. If you would rather not take the certificate to ODS yourself, we pick it up, file it and bring it back.

Book Your Appointment

Want your Ontario birth, marriage or death certificate apostilled without the trip to ODS? We pick it up in Ottawa or Toronto, file it with Official Documents Services and return it to you.

• Contact us: Ask a question or request a pickup
• Call: (613) 434-5555
• Service page: Apostille & Authentication
• Need a copy instead of the original? Certified true copies
• Hours: Every day, Saturday and Sunday included, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (Ottawa time)

Sources

• Ontario — Authenticate a document for use outside Canada (Official Documents Services)
• Ontario — Get or replace an Ontario birth certificate
• Ontario — Get a marriage certificate
• Ontario — Get or replace an Ontario death certificate
• HCCH — Apostille Convention status table

Related Articles

• How to Apostille a Document in Ontario: The Full Process
• How to Apostille a Degree, Diploma or Transcript in Ontario
• Apostille vs Notarization: What's the Difference?
• Notarized Copy vs Certified Copy vs Witnessed Copy