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How long does an apostille take in Canada? Current times, by authority

Nobody can quote you one number, because there is no single queue. Canada has six competent authorities and each one publishes its own processing time. This page tracks what every authority is reporting right now, and shows you how to turn that into a realistic door-to-door estimate.

Figures last checked against the authorities’ own pages on September 19, 2026. Re-confirmed for every order at pre-check.

What each authority is reporting

Government processing time, before mail

These are the authorities’ own published figures. Every one of them excludes mail time in both directions, and none of them can be bought down. What changes the total is what happens before and after the government step, and that is the part we control.

AuthorityCoversProcessing (their figure)FeeHow to submit
Québec Documents issued in Québec, and documents signed by a Québec notary or lawyer About 10 business days at the office, plus mailOn September 16, 2026 the Ministère was processing applications received on September 2, 2026. $66.50 per document (indexed every January) Online request form, then the originals by mail or courier. No public counter.
Ontario Documents issued in Ontario, and documents notarized by an Ontario notary public Within 15 business days by mail; about 30 minutes in person when the file is completePublished by ODS, page updated June 8, 2026. $16 per notarized document, $32 per government-issued, court or public post-secondary document Mail, or in person at the Toronto counter
British Columbia Documents issued in British Columbia, and documents signed by a B.C. notary public or lawyer 2 to 4 weeks, not including mail timePublished by the Authentication Program, updated February 5, 2026. At full capacity the office aims for 14 business days. $20 per document Mail or courier only. No rush, walk-in, drop-off or while-you-wait service.
Alberta Documents issued in Alberta, and documents notarized by an Alberta notary public Allow at least 7 to 10 business days, plus mailPublished by Official Documents and Appointments (page dated December 2025). $25 per document Mail or courier only. No rush, walk-in or while-you-wait service.
Saskatchewan Documents issued in Saskatchewan, and documents notarized by a Saskatchewan notary public 3 to 5 business days from receipt, the fastest queue in CanadaPublished by Authentication Services, Saskatchewan Justice. $50 per certificate issued Mail, or drop-off and pickup at the Regina office, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Global Affairs Canada Federal documents (RCMP checks, federal corporations, Health Canada, IRCC) and documents from Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut About 25 business days, plus 5 to 10 business days of mail each wayOn August 26, 2026 GAC reported it was processing requests received 25 business days earlier (90% of recent files). No government fee Online request through the GAC apostille portal, then the originals by mail, courier, or drop-off at the Ottawa distribution centre (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.). No expedited service.
Business days exclude weekends and statutory holidays.“Plus mail” means the authority’s own figure does not include the envelope reaching them or coming back.
Door to door

Your real timeline is five segments, not one

Add these up for your own file. The government queue is usually the longest single piece, but it is rarely where people lose the most time.

1. Getting the original to us

One to three business days by tracked courier from anywhere in Canada. In Greater Montréal we collect the same day. From abroad, three to seven days depending on the country.

2. The preliminary step, if there is one

This is the segment most people forget. A Québec notarial act needs a Chambre des notaires authenticity certificate first: about 20 business days on the standard service, or about 72 hours on their urgent service. A lawyer-signed Québec document goes through the Barreau (about 5 business days). A private document anywhere else needs a notary before it can be apostilled. Ordering a fresh certificate from a registrar adds its own wait.

3. The government queue

The table above. Between 3-5 business days in Saskatchewan and about 25 at Global Affairs Canada.

4. Coming back from the authority

Every authority returns by regular, untracked mail unless a prepaid tracked envelope goes in with the file. We always include one, which typically saves a week and removes the one leg where a document can vanish.

5. Final delivery to you or to the destination

A PDF scan the day the document is back in our hands, then the originals by tracked courier: one to two days in Canada, three to seven internationally, longer where customs are slow.

Rule of thumb. Take the authority’s figure, add two weeks for logistics if you are in Canada and three if you are abroad, and add the preliminary step if your document needs one. If someone quotes you less than that, ask them which segment they are skipping.
Three realistic examples

What the arithmetic looks like on real files

Québec birth certificate, for an Italian citizenship file

Public document from the Directeur de l’état civil, no notary needed. Ministère de la Justice: about 10 business days at the office, plus mail. Tracked shipping both ways. Plan on four to five weeks from the day you ship to us to the day the apostilled original lands in Italy. Order the long-form copie d’acte, not the small certificate, or you start over.

RCMP criminal record check, for a work visa

Federal document, so Global Affairs Canada: about 25 business days, plus 5 to 10 business days of mail each way. Free, and there is no rush service at any price. Plan on seven to eight weeks door to door. The single biggest saving is not sending it to a provincial authority by mistake, which returns it unprocessed weeks later.

Ontario university degree, for a teaching job abroad

Public post-secondary diplomas issued since 2019 skip the notary. ODS by mail: within 15 business days by mail; about 30 minutes in person when the file is complete. Plan on three to four weeks by mail, or about a week when an in-person filing at the Toronto counter can be arranged for a deadline that justifies it.

What can be shortened

Where time can be saved, and where it cannot

Cannot be bought

  • Global Affairs Canada has no expedited service at all. Priority handling exists only for exceptional circumstances outside the applicant’s control, and it is theirs to grant.
  • British Columbia and Alberta have no rush, walk-in or while-you-wait service.
  • The Ministère de la Justice du Québec works by mail on a first-come basis.
  • Mail time in either direction, once an envelope is in the system.

Can be shortened

  • Ontario: the Toronto counter serves complete files in about 30 minutes instead of 15 business days by mail.
  • Québec notarial acts: the Chambre des notaires urgent service runs about 72 hours instead of 20 business days.
  • Saskatchewan documents already have the fastest queue in the country.
  • Every avoidable delay: wrong authority, wrong document version, missing notarization, no return envelope. These cost more weeks than any queue, and the free pre-check removes all of them.
Common questions
How long does an apostille take in Canada?
It depends entirely on which authority your document belongs to. Right now the government step alone runs from 3-5 business days in Saskatchewan to about 25 business days at Global Affairs Canada, with Québec at about 10, Ontario within 15 by mail, Alberta 7-10 and British Columbia 2 to 4 weeks. Add shipping in both directions and any preliminary step, and most complete files take three to eight weeks door to door.
Can I pay to get an apostille faster?
Not from the authorities, with one exception. Global Affairs Canada, British Columbia, Alberta and Québec offer no rush service at any price. Ontario’s counter in Toronto is the exception: a complete file is processed in about 30 minutes in person. Beyond that, speed comes from doing the surrounding steps right the first time.
Do the published processing times include mail?
No. Every authority counts from the day your package is received to the day it leaves their office. Inbound mail, return mail and the time your document spends with a notary or the Chambre des notaires are all extra. That is why we plan door to door rather than quoting the government figure alone.
Why does Global Affairs Canada take so much longer than the provinces?
It handles every federal document plus everything from Manitoba, the Atlantic provinces and the three territories, for free, through one Ottawa office. Volume is high and there is no paid tier. As of 2026-08-26 it was working on requests received about 25 business days earlier.
Which Canadian authority is the fastest?
Saskatchewan, at 3 to 5 business days from receipt, followed by Ontario in person. The catch is that you do not get to choose: the authority is fixed by where your document was issued or notarized, not by where you live or which office is quickest.
How current are the figures on this page?
We check every authority’s published figure against its own website and record the date next to each one. This page was last verified on September 19, 2026. Authorities change their figures without notice, so your written pre-check quote uses the number in force on the day you order.

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