"How much does an apostille cost?" has two honest answers. The government fee alone is small: between $0 and $66.50 per document. The real cost of a file is everything around it, and that is where quotes stop being comparable. This article lists every line that can appear, with September 2026 figures, so you can price your own file or check anyone's quote, including ours.
Line 1: the government fee
Every apostille in Canada is issued by one of six authorities, and each sets its own fee per document.
| Authority | Documents it covers | Fee per document |
|---|---|---|
| Global Affairs Canada | Federal documents (RCMP checks, federal corporations, Health Canada) and MB, NB, NL, NS, PE, YT, NT, NU | $0 |
| Ontario, Official Documents Services | Documents issued or notarized in Ontario | $16 notarized, $32 government-issued |
| British Columbia | Documents issued or notarized in B.C. | $20 |
| Alberta | Documents issued or notarized in Alberta | $25 |
| Saskatchewan | Documents issued or notarized in Saskatchewan | $50 |
| Québec, Ministère de la Justice | Documents issued in Québec, or signed by a Québec notary or lawyer | $66.50, indexed each January |
The authority is decided by where the document was issued or notarized, not where you live. See who can apostille a document in Canada.
Line 2: a notary, when the document is private
A government can only apostille a signature it has on file. A doctor, a bank or a private college is not on file, so their documents are certified by a notary first, and the apostille goes on the notary's signature. Powers of attorney, sworn declarations and certified copies are notarial documents from the start.
- In Ontario and the western provinces, the notary's signature goes straight to the provincial authority. The only extra line is the notary's own fee, which each notary sets.
- In Québec, there is one more step. The Chambre des notaires must certify the notary's signature before the Ministère will apostille it: $77.03 on regular service, about 20 business days, or $206.96 on urgent service, about 3 business days, taxes included. A document signed before a Québec lawyer goes through the Barreau du Québec instead.
This is the line that surprises people most, and it is why a Québec power of attorney costs more to authenticate than an Ontario one. Our guide to the Chambre des notaires step explains it in detail.
Line 3: the right document
An apostille cannot fix the wrong document. Sometimes the cheapest line in the file is ordering a new one:
- Québec civil records must be the long-form copy of the act. A fresh copy from the Directeur de l'état civil is often needed anyway, because many destinations want a recent document.
- A digital diploma or a PDF cannot be apostilled. The university must issue paper. For example, a University of Saskatchewan parchment reprint is listed at $50 plus courier, and a Simon Fraser University replacement parchment with rush processing and priority delivery came to $180.53 in September 2026.
- Private documents, such as an insurer's certificate or a bank statement, need the notary step in Line 2.
Line 4: shipping
Originals travel at least twice: to the authority and back. Add the final delivery if you are abroad. Typical carrier prices: about $25 for Xpresspost within Canada each way, about $45 to the United States, and $150 or more for express courier to Europe, Asia or Latin America. Most authorities return documents by regular untracked mail unless a prepaid tracked envelope is enclosed, so budget for that too.
Line 5: the service fee, if you use one
A private service replaces your time, not the government. Among Canadian providers that publish prices, the first document generally costs about $100 to $200, and each additional document $25 to $50, before government fees and shipping. Walk-in or in-person filing usually costs more than mail-in, because someone physically goes to the office.
What should be included for that fee: checking that the document and the authority are right before anything ships, completing the request, paying the government fee, filing, tracking, and returning the document. Ask whether shipping and government fees are billed at cost or marked up, and whether you pay before or after the work is done.
Our own prices, for comparison:
- Standard apostille: $149 for the first public document, $39 for each additional one in the same submission.
- Québec notarized document: $229, because it passes through two offices; booking the notary is included.
- Notarized in another province: $149, plus $49 when we book one of our partner notaries, who cover every province and territory, in person or by video. Outside Québec there is no Chambre step.
- Ontario in person within 48 hours: $239, filed at 777 Bay Street by our Toronto partner agent.
- A second authority in the same file adds $99, and rush handling adds $79. Pickup and delivery in Greater Montréal are included.
The full grid and a calculator are on the pricing page.
Line 6: translation
If the destination does not read English or French, a translation is usually required, and it must include the apostille itself. That is why the translation is almost always done after the apostille, and usually at destination by a translator the receiving country recognizes. See translation before or after the apostille.
Three real files, fully priced
A Québec birth certificate and an RCMP check, for citizenship in Italy. Two authorities, run in parallel. Service $149 + $99, Québec fee $66.50, Global Affairs Canada $0. Total $314.50 before shipping and tax on the service fee.
A power of attorney signed before a Montréal notary, for Spain. Québec notarized service $229, Chambre des notaires $77.03, Ministère $66.50: $372.53 before shipping, plus the notary's own fee. With a deadline, urgent Chambre service ($206.96) and rush handling (+$79) bring it to about one week.
A University of Toronto transcript needed this week. Ontario in person $239 plus the $32 fee: $271 before courier. By mail it would be $149 plus $32, with the Ontario mail queue.
When doing it yourself is the right call
If you are in Canada, your document is public, only one authority is involved and there is no deadline, do it yourself and pay only the government fee. In Toronto with an Ontario document, walk into 777 Bay Street. A service earns its fee when there is a notary step, two authorities, a destination with strict rules, a deadline, or when you are abroad and the document is in Canada. The free pre-check tells you which case you are in, and says so when you do not need us.