Updates to the authentication services
Canada Post resumption of service
December 19, 2024
All documents held at our office due to the Canada Post labour disruption have now been sent out through the original method of return (regular mail or Xpresspost). The service disruption did not affect requests submitted by courier services or the forwarding of documents to diplomatic missions located in the Ottawa area.
Please note that we are processing in priority the requests that were held up in the mail and that are now being delivered to our office.
Requesting a status update for requests submitted between November 5 and November 15, 2024
You should expect delivery delays through the remainder of 2024 and into January 2025. If you submitted your documents between November 5 and November 15, 2024, using Canada Post as your shipping or return method and have not yet received them, please wait until January 13, 2025, to request a status update from our office.
Canada Post labour disruption
November 15, 2024
The delivery or return of documents submitted to ¶¶ÒùÊÓƵ’s Authentication Services Section through Canada Post (including Xpresspost) will be delayed because of the Canada Post labour disruption. This disruption will not affect courier services or the forwarding of documents to diplomatic missions located in the Ottawa area.
If you have not yet submitted your documents to ¶¶ÒùÊÓƵ
If you have not yet submitted your documents, you can send them through a courier company or deliver them in person to ¶¶ÒùÊÓƵ’s Distribution Centre at 2421 Lancaster Road, Ottawa, ON, K1B 4L5.
If we already have your documents
If you have requested that a document be sent to an embassy or high commission in the Ottawa region
We will use the department’s internal courier service. There is no fee associated with this service.
Note: If your request for authentication services included a request to have your documents forwarded to a consulate located outside the Ottawa region through Canada Post, they will be handled as follows.
If you asked to return or forward your documents using Canada Post
If you asked for your documents to be returned or forwarded using Canada Post, you have 2 options:
- We can hold on to your documents after we process them and send them to you when the Canada Post labour disruption is over.
- You can provide an alternative shipping method, such as a private courier. You may provide this alternative method any time after submitting your documents to us. If you do not provide an alternative shipping method, we will keep the documents that indicated Canada Post as the return method and mail them back to you when the labour disruption is over.
To provide the Authentication Services Section with an alternative shipping method, please follow these instructions:
- Obtain a prepaid shipping label from a courier service
- Email ¶¶ÒùÊÓƵ’s Authentication Services Section at docs@international.gc.ca from the email address you indicated on the authentication service request form (EXT2165) following these instructions:
- In the subject line of your email, write:
- Change of return method
- In the body of your email, provide:
- the applicant’s name as it appears on the envelope and on the service request form (EXT2165)
- the date you mailed your document and, if available, the date it was delivered
- the tracking code (if you sent your documents by registered mail)
- Attach the shipping label as an attachment to the email
- In the subject line of your email, write:
New mailing address and drop-off location
August 15, 2024
Please note that the drop-off location and the mailing address to submit requests to the Authentication Services Section have changed effective immediately. The new address can be found under 4. Send your documents. Any request sent by mail or courier to the previous mailing address (125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa) will automatically be forwarded to the new location.
The Apostille Convention took effect in Canada
January 11, 2024
Visit the Changes to authentications services in Canada for information on changes to authentication services in Canada.
Simplified translation policy for proof of life documents drafted in a foreign language
June 14, 2023
The translation policy for proof of life documents (also known as life certificates) drafted in a foreign language has been simplified. Under the new policy, it is no longer necessary to translate proof of life certificates written in a foreign language provided that the text does not exceed half a page. For more details, please see the Exceptions section under Get your documents translated.
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