Express Entry Document Requirements: Complete 2026 Guide

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is Canada's flagship immigration system for skilled workers seeking permanent residence. It manages applications for three main economic programs:

• Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
• Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

Understanding the document requirements from the start can save you months of delays. One thing to know up front: the Express Entry application is submitted online with scans of your original documents. IRCC does not, as a rule, ask for notarized or certified copies — and for police certificates it explicitly refuses them. A notary fits in a few specific places, covered below.

Express Entry Process Overview

Before diving into documents, here's how Express Entry works:

1. Create Profile — Submit your Express Entry profile with basic information
2. Enter Pool — Receive a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score
3. Receive ITA — Get an Invitation to Apply if your score is high enough
4. Submit Application — Provide all documents within 60 days
5. Processing — IRCC reviews your application
6. Decision — Receive your Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR)

Documents Needed for Profile Creation

When creating your initial profile, you don't upload documents yet, but you need them ready for reference:

Language Test Results

You must take an approved language test before creating your profile. IRCC's approved tests are:

Results must be less than 2 years old both when you complete your profile and when you submit your permanent residence application.

Educational Credential Assessment (ECA)

If your education is from outside Canada, you need an ECA to show it's equivalent to a Canadian credential. IRCC designates these organizations (plus professional bodies for certain regulated occupations, such as the Medical Council of Canada for physicians):

• World Education Services (WES)
• International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS)
• Comparative Education Service (CES) — University of Toronto
• International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)
• International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES) — BCIT

What you'll need for ECA: each organization sets its own document rules and will tell you how to submit your documents once you choose it — some accept photocopies, some want transcripts sent directly by your institution. Follow the assessor's instructions rather than assuming a notarized copy is needed; get a certified copy only if the assessor asks for one.

ECA Validity: less than 5 years old when you complete your profile and submit your application.

Documents for Invitation to Apply (ITA)

Once you receive an ITA, you have 60 days to submit your complete application. You upload clear, legible scans of the originals; keep the originals in case IRCC asks to see them. Here's what you'll need:

1. Identity Documents

Passport validity: keep your passport valid throughout the process, and renew early if it is close to expiry.

2. Education Documents

3. Work Experience Documents

Proving your work experience is critical and often the most complex part:

Reference Letters

Each employer must provide a letter on company letterhead including:

• Your job title
• Duties and responsibilities (detailed, matching NOC description)
• Dates of employment (start and end)
• Hours worked per week
• Salary and benefits (optional but helpful)
• Supervisor's name, title, and contact information

What if your employer won't provide a letter?

If you can't get a reference letter (company closed, uncooperative employer), you can use:

• Statutory declaration explaining why the letter is unavailable
• Affidavits from coworkers who can verify your employment
• Pay stubs, tax documents, and contracts as supporting evidence

Supporting Employment Documents

• Employment contracts
• Pay stubs (several per year of employment)
• Tax returns or T4s (for Canadian experience)
• Promotion letters or performance reviews

4. Police Certificates

You need police certificates from every country where you've lived for 6 months or more in a row since age 18. You do not need one for time spent in Canada.

IRCC's timing rules:

• For the country you currently live in, the certificate must be issued no more than 6 months before you submit your application.
• For any other country, it must be issued after the last time you lived there for 6 months in a row or longer.

Upload a colour scan of the original certificate. IRCC states that certified true copies will not be accepted and will result in the application being rejected — so do not have a police certificate notarized.

Start early! Some countries take months to process. IRCC's police certificate page links to country-by-country instructions.

5. Medical Examination

If you have never had an immigration medical exam, IRCC's guidance is to get one after you're invited to apply, with an IRCC-designated panel physician who submits the results directly to IRCC. Results must be valid when you submit your application and when you become a permanent resident; follow IRCC's medical-exam page for current timing.

6. Proof of Funds

Unless you have a valid job offer or are applying through CEC, you must show you have enough money to settle:

These settlement-fund amounts are updated by IRCC every year. Confirm the current figures on the official page before you rely on them: Express Entry — proof of funds.

Accepted proof: IRCC asks for official letters from your bank or financial institution, on letterhead, listing your accounts, when each was opened, current balances, the average balance over the past six months, and any outstanding debts. The letter itself is the proof — there is no notarization step.

7. Family Documents

If you're including family members:

Where a Notary Fits in an Express Entry File

IRCC does not generally require notarization for Express Entry. A notary public — or a commissioner of oaths — comes in at three points:

• Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union (IMM 5409) — declared by both partners before a commissioner of oaths or notary public. A commissioning act, so it can be done online by video.
• Affidavits or statutory declarations for missing documents — for example, explaining why a reference letter cannot be obtained. Bring the document prepared and unsigned; the notary commissions it and cannot advise on what it should say.
• Translator's affidavit — see Translation Requirements below.

Certified true copies are needed only where a specific checklist, a credential assessor, or a foreign authority asks for one. They are in person only, at our Orléans office in Ottawa or by mobile visit within Ottawa. Do not certify police certificates.

What a notary can and cannot do: A notary public commissions declarations and affidavits and certifies copies. A notary does not advise on eligibility, CRS strategy, what to include, or how to respond to IRCC. That is the role of an immigration lawyer or a regulated Canadian immigration consultant (RCIC).

Translation Requirements

Any document not in English or French must be submitted with a translation. IRCC accepts either:

• A translation by a certified translator — a member in good standing of a provincial or territorial organization of translators and interpreters in Canada. No affidavit is needed.
• A translation by someone who is not a certified translator, accompanied by the translator's affidavit swearing to their language proficiency and the accuracy of the translation. The affidavit is sworn before a commissioner of oaths or notary public — a commissioning act that can be done online.

Translations must not be done by you or by a member of your family. Keep the original-language document and the translation together when submitting.

Common Express Entry Mistakes

Avoid these errors that cause delays or refusals:

❌ Incomplete Reference Letters

Letters missing duties, hours, or dates will be questioned. Ensure each letter matches the NOC code you're claiming.

❌ Expired Documents

• Police certificates issued outside IRCC's timing rules (see above)
• Medical exam results that are no longer valid
• ECAs 5 years old or older
• Language tests 2 years old or older

❌ Poor Quality Scans

Blurry, cropped, or illegible documents slow down processing. Upload clear, complete colour scans.

❌ Certified Copies Where IRCC Wants Scans

Uploading a notarized copy in place of the scan IRCC asks for does not help, and for police certificates it leads to rejection.

❌ Mismatched Information

Your name must match exactly across all documents. If you've used different names (maiden name, married name), include documentation explaining the change.

Document Preparation Timeline

Start preparing documents before creating your Express Entry profile:

Costs to Budget For

Note: the first signer is included; if more than one person signs, each additional signer is charged an additional-signer fee of $24.95, shown before you pay.

IRCC fees change periodically. Confirm the current processing fee and Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) on IRCC — pay your fees before you budget. Budget also for your language test, ECA, police certificates, medical exam and translations — each provider publishes its own fee.

Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP)

Many applicants boost their CRS score through Provincial Nominee Programs, which add 600 points. Each province has its own document requirements in addition to Express Entry requirements.

How We Can Help

At Minute Notary, we commission and certify what an Express Entry file actually calls for:

• Statutory Declarations — IMM 5409 common-law declarations and declarations for missing documents
• Affidavits — Translator's affidavits and affidavits for special circumstances
• Certified True Copies — In person, only where a checklist or assessor asks for one

Declarations and affidavits are commissioned online by video; an online appointment averages 3–4 minutes, and same-day online appointments are usually available.

Ready to Get Started?

Need a declaration or translator's affidavit commissioned for your Express Entry file? Book an appointment with Minute Notary.

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