What does “notarized” mean? What is “apostilled”?
20 August 2019
An Ontario Notary Public’s notarial seal on a document indicates that you are saying that the facts contained in the document are true, correct, or accurate, and that the Notary has verified the identity of anyone signing or executing the document. The seal has the same effect as swearing to tell the truth under oath in a court of law.
In Ontario, a lawyer licensed Notary Public is also a Commissioner of Oaths (also called a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits).
Apostille is the international term for the process of Notarizing, Authenticating, and Legalizing a document. This is similar to, but distinct from having a document notarized.
Canada is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, which means that clients in Canada will need to have their documents notarized, authenticated and legalized in order to be considered ‘apostilled‘.