Quality and Authenticity Certificates

Note: Before requesting certification by the Chambre des notaires du Québec, make sure that the required notations appear on the documents (see no. 3). Otherwise the certification cannot be completed and the documents will be refused.

Step 1: Fill out the paper application form

If you have any questions, contact the certificate officer:
By phone: 514-879-1793 or 1-800-263-1793, extension*5640
By email: [email protected]

Step 2: Send your application form and the documents to be certified to the Chambre des notaires:

(a) Send the documents to the address below by mail or using a carrier or courier of your choice:

Chambre des notaires du Québec
Attention: Certificate Officer
101-2045 Stanley Street
Montreal, QC  H3A 2V4

(b) Drop off your documents (no appointment required):

Steps to follow when dropping off your certification request at our office

• n person at the reception desk:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday: 10:15am to 12pm and 1pm to 4:30pm

• Or in person in the lobby on the first floor to the right:

Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Drop your request in one of the black boxes located to the right of the reception door provided for this purpose.

Address:
101-2045 Stanley Street, Montreal, QC  H3A 2V4

On the ground floor, look to your right:

• Fill out the Certification application form on the table, to your right.
• Place the form and your documents in an envelope (available on the table) and write “Certification” on the envelope.
• Drop the envelope in one of the two black boxes to the right of the door leading to the front desk.

Basic price and turnaround time:

• $60 (plus taxes) per certificate
• $30 (plus taxes) as of the fifth certificate in the same file

– We issue one certificate per document.
– A document may contain several pages.

Turnaround: Applications are processed within 20 business days following the day your documents are received.

Payment methods:

• Mastercard or Visa
• Certified cheque or money order
• Debit card

Step 3:  Retrieval of certified documents

At the Chambre des notaires du Québec

Your documents will be placed in secure lockers in the lobby of the Chambre des notaires du Québec’s office. We will call or email you once your application has been processed to let you know how you can pick up your documents.

By mail or courier

By regular mail (no fees, delivery not guaranteed)
By Purolator, at your expense (rates vary by destination)
With your return envelope (Xpresspost, courier)

After having analyzed and verified the documents received, the Secretary of the Order authenticates the notary’s signature by comparing it to the signature officially on file with the Order, and certifies the notary’s professional status. This information is recorded in a certificate affixed to the documents submitted for certification.

Subsequently, and if applicable, the client must bring the documents to the consulate of the country where they are intended to be used to have the signature of the Secretary of the Order authenticated. There is a possibility that the documents need to be validated by Global Affairs Canada. You will need to confirm this requirement with the consulate. Validating the signatures at different levels gives the documents a probative force to be valid abroad.

Note: Before requesting certification by the Chambre des notaires du Québec, make sure that the required notations appear on the documents (see no. 3). Otherwise the certification cannot be completed and the documents will be refused.

Documents may require “certification” by a notary and by various organizations to be valid abroad. For a variety of reasons, a client may ask a notary to affix his or her signature, initials or seal to a broad range of documents intended to be used abroad, giving them probative force.

If you submit documents OTHER than notarial deeds to a notary, note that certain notations are required for the certification.

Be sure to bring in the original documents to the notary (e.g., original or certified true copy of a judgment, police certificate, driver’s licence, birth or death certificate, passport, register, diploma/degree, academic transcripts, etc.). The notary may not add the mention “true copy of original” or “true certified copy” on the photocopies, followed by his or her signature on documents not drafted by him or her.

The following required notations must be indicated on the documents submitted to the notary or drafted in a separate document (attestation or notarial declaration):

1. Declaration in regards to the purpose of the certification (what will the documents be used for once they reach destination).
2. Declaration that the notary has verified the identity of the person who has appeared before him or her.
3. Legible entry of the notary’s name.
4. Entry of the date the notary signed the documents.
5. The notary’s initials affixed to all pages that are part of the same document.
6. All other declarations that the notary deems relevant according to the nature of the documents submitted to him or her.

Should one or more of the above-mentioned required notations be missing, the Order cannot certify the documents and as a result, incomplete documents will be refused.

Note: Unless it is required abroad, avoid attaching photocopies of a passport, driver’s licence, health insurance card or any document that contains personal information to the documents submitted for certification.

Be sure to have your photo IDs with you when you go meet with the notary.

Additional certification required depending on the country of destination

IMPORTANT – Please note that your documents may require additional certification by the consulate of the country where they are intended to be used and/or Global Affairs Canada. As Canada has not acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention, a document to be produced abroad may require certification by a variety of authorities.

You must check whether your documents need to be submitted to the consulate of the country where they are intended to be used, so the signature of the Secretary of the Order may in turn be authenticated.

It is recommended that you refer to the websites of consulates of countries where the documents are intended to be used, to confirm the requirements specific to each country.

Validating the signatures at different levels gives the document a probative force to be valid abroad.

Certification of documents written in a language other than French or English 

• When the notary understands the foreign language

If the notary understands the foreign language contained in the submitted documents, a translation will not be required, if the notary attests on the documents that he or she is proficient in the foreign language in which the documents were drafted and understands their content (in addition to the required notations).

• When the notary does not understand the foreign language

If the notary does not understand the foreign language contained in the submitted documents (all documents drafted, in full or in part, in a language other than French or English), the documents must be accompanied by a certified translation done by a member of the Ordre des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec (OTTIAQ), so that the notary may know the content of the documents and add the required notations indicated above.

• When the documents are drafted in two languages, including one that is not an official language (i.e., other than French or English)

If the notary understands the foreign language contained in the submitted bilingual documents, a translation would not be required if the notary attests on the documents that he or she is proficient in the foreign language in which the documents were drafted and understands their content (in addition to the required notations).