Apostille Services in Toronto: Let Mirzoyan Immigration Handle Your Notarization and Submission
Table of Contents
What Is an Apostille and When Do You Need One?
Why Notarization Is the Foundation of Every Apostille
How Mirzoyan Immigration Handles Your Apostille from Start to Finish
Your Step-by-Step Process with Mirzoyan Immigration
Documents Mirzoyan Immigration Notarizes for Apostille
Documents That Can Be Apostilled Without Notarization
Same-Day Apostille Preparation in Toronto
Apostille for Documents Issued Outside Ontario
Mistakes That Delay or Derail Your Apostille
FAQ
Conclusion
Key Takeaways
Most documents must be notarized by a licensed Ontario notary public before the government will issue an apostille. Without proper notarization, your submission is returned unprocessed.
Mirzoyan Immigration handles the full process in Toronto, from notarization and certified true copies to government submission for apostille, so you do not have to navigate it alone.
Same-day notary appointments are available Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. In-person government processing can return your apostilled document within a single business day.
The most common apostille rejection happens when people use a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits instead of a notary public.
A licensed RCIC and notary public under one roof means your apostille documents and the immigration case they support can be managed in a single appointment.
What Is an Apostille and When Do You Need One?
If you need to use a Canadian document in another country, you are likely searching for apostille services in Toronto. An apostille is an official certificate that proves the signature and seal on your document are genuine. It does not verify the document's content. It only confirms the document was properly signed and sealed by a recognized authority.
Canada joined the Hague Apostille Convention on January 11, 2024. Over 120 countries participate in this treaty. Before that date, getting a Canadian document accepted abroad required a slow, two-step process. You authenticated it with the government and then legalized it at a foreign embassy. Now, a single apostille replaces both steps for member countries.
Here is what that means for you. Your document is notarized, submitted to the government, and returned with an apostille certificate attached. That certificate, called an "allonge", is then accepted internationally without further legalization.
You might need an apostille in Toronto if you are:
Accepting a job or study placement abroad
Getting married in another country
Filing an immigration application with a foreign government
Executing a power of attorney for overseas property or business
Transferring corporate records across borders
The process sounds simple. The challenge is in the preparation. Most apostille rejections happen before the document ever reaches the government. They happen at the notarization stage, or because notarization was skipped when it should not have been.
Mirzoyan Immigration eliminates that risk. The team notarizes your documents, reviews them for compliance, and submits them on your behalf.
Why Notarization Is the Foundation of Every Apostille
Ontario's Official Documents Services (ODS) is the government authority that issues apostille certificates in Ontario. But ODS does not prepare your documents. It only verifies signatures and seals that already exist.
For the majority of document types, you need a licensed Ontario notary public to notarize your document before the government will process it. The notary applies their official seal and signature. The government then checks those credentials against its records. If they match, the apostille is issued.
If the seal is illegible, the signature does not match government records, or the notarization was done by the wrong type of official, the submission is rejected. Your documents come back unprocessed, and you restart from zero.
The Notary Public vs. Commissioner Trap
In Ontario, all notaries public are also Commissioners for Taking Affidavits. But not all Commissioners are notaries public. This matters because the government only accepts a notary public seal for apostille purposes. A Commissioner's stamp alone is not enough.
Many people discover this distinction only after their documents are returned. By then, they have lost days or weeks — and may have missed a deadline abroad.
This is the single most common reason apostille submissions fail in Toronto. It is also entirely preventable when you work with a qualified notary who understands apostille requirements.
How Mirzoyan Immigration Handles Your Apostille from Start to Finish
Mirzoyan Canadian Immigration Services is a Toronto-based firm that combines notary public services with regulated immigration consulting under one roof. The firm is led by Narek Mirzoyan, a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC #R1005184) and Licensed Paralegal (P12490) with the Law Society of Ontario. When you bring your documents to Mirzoyan Immigration, the team manages the entire apostille process for you.
Notarization
The licensed notary public reviews your document, verifies your identity, witnesses your signature (if required), and applies the official Ontario notary public seal. Every notarization is checked to ensure the seal is legible, the signature is clear, and the notary's credentials are current in the government system.
Certified True Copies
If you need to keep the original document, the notary prepares a certified true copy. The copy is compared against the original and certified with the notary's seal. The government can then apostille the certified copy instead of the original.
Affidavits and Statutory Declarations
Many apostille requests involve sworn statements — for immigration applications, property matters, or legal proceedings abroad. The notary administers the oath, witnesses your signature, and formats the document so it meets government requirements.
Submission Review
Before anything goes to the government, the Mirzoyan Immigration team reviews your complete package. This catches problems before they cause rejections. Unclear seals, wrong document types, missing translations, or documents that should go to a different authority are some of the top reasons for rejections.
Government Submission
Once your documents are notarized and reviewed, Mirzoyan Immigration handles the submission to Ontario's Official Documents Services on your behalf. You do not need to navigate the government process yourself. The team submits, tracks, and returns your apostilled documents to you.
Your Step-by-Step Process with Mirzoyan Immigration
Step 1 — Contact Mirzoyan Immigration
Call 1-888-636-2122 or reach out online. Describe the document you need apostilled and the country where it will be used.
The team will confirm:
Whether your document requires notarization
Whether a certified true copy or the original should be submitted
Whether a certified translation is needed
Which government authority handles your type of document
Your estimated timeline and costs
Step 2 — Book a Notary Appointment
Schedule a same-day appointment. Bring your original document and valid government-issued photo ID.
During the appointment, the notary will:
Verify your identity
Witness your signature (if the document requires it)
Apply the official Ontario notary public seal and signature
Prepare a certified true copy if you need to retain the original
Verify that the seal impression is sharp and legible
If a translation is needed, bring it to the same appointment. The notary can notarize the translation attestation alongside the main document.
Step 3 — Document Review and Package Preparation
Before submission, the team reviews your complete package to confirm:
The notary seal and signature appear on the same page as the document content
The document is a hard copy (government offices do not accept electronic submissions)
Any required translation is attached and properly certified
You are submitting to the correct government authority
All required forms and payment are included
This is the quality check that prevents rejection. Every document leaves Mirzoyan Immigration apostille-ready.
Step 4 — Government Submission
Mirzoyan Immigration submits your notarized documents to the appropriate government authority for apostille processing. You do not need to visit a government office yourself. The team handles the submission and follows up on your behalf.
Step 5 — Receive Your Apostilled Documents
Once the government attaches the apostille certificate (allonge) to your document, Mirzoyan Immigration returns the completed package to you. You can pick it up in person or receive it by secure mail.
For Hague Convention member countries, no further legalization is needed. If the destination country is not a member, you may still need embassy legalization — Mirzoyan Immigration can advise on this as well.
Documents Mirzoyan Immigration Notarizes for Apostille
Mirzoyan Immigration notarizes, commissions, certifies, and witnesses virtually any document for apostille submission. Here are the most common types the team handles.
Personal and Vital Documents
Birth certificates (certified true copies), marriage certificates, death certificates, passports, driver's licences, citizenship certificates, permanent resident cards, change of name applications, proof of life certificates
Immigration Documents
Permanent residence applications, visitor visa applications, student visa applications, immigration forms, invitation letters, custodianship declarations
Legal and Financial Documents
Powers of attorney, affidavits of marital status, affidavits of service, statutory declarations, promissory notes, loan agreements, bank documents, bills of sale, full and final releases
Business and Corporate Documents
Corporate resolutions, share and asset purchase agreements, articles of incorporation, letters of intent, commercial and residential leases, RIN letters for corporate vehicles, licensing applications
Educational Documents
Degrees, diplomas, certificates, transcripts (certified true copies)
Real Estate Documents
Closing documents, mortgage documents, identification and verification forms, foreign property ownership documents
This is not an exhaustive list. If your document is not mentioned here, contact Mirzoyan Immigration to confirm. In most cases, the answer is yes.
Documents That Can Be Apostilled Without Notarization
Since Canada joined the Hague Convention, certain Ontario government documents no longer require notarization before apostille. The government can process them directly based on the official signature and seal already on the document.
These directly eligible documents include:
Vital statistics documents — Ontario polymer birth certificates, marriage certificates, and death certificates issued by the Office of the Registrar General
Business registry documents — Issued since 1991 by the Business and Personal Property Branch or the Ontario Business Registry
Court-issued documents — From the Superior Court of Justice or Ontario Court of Justice, issued on or after July 10, 2023
Post-secondary educational documents — Diplomas, degrees, and transcripts from Ontario public post-secondary institutions, issued since January 2019
Certificates of Divorce issued before July 10, 2023 require either notarization or a reissued certificate from the court. A newly reissued certificate qualifies for direct apostille.
Every other document type requires notarization first. If you are unsure, the team at Mirzoyan Immigration will tell you exactly what your document needs when you get in touch.
Even documents that do not need notarization still need to be submitted to the government correctly. Mirzoyan Immigration can handle that submission for you, ensuring the right forms, payment method, and return instructions are included.
Same-Day Apostille Preparation in Toronto
If you are facing a tight deadline, a visa filing date, a job start date, a court proceeding abroad speed matters. Toronto is the only major city in Canada where apostille services in Ontario can be completed within a single day.
Mirzoyan Immigration makes this possible with same-day notary appointments and immediate package preparation. Here is what a fast-track timeline looks like:
Step 1: Call or message Mirzoyan Immigration first thing in the morning.
Step 2: Attend a same-day notary appointment. Bring your original document and photo ID.
Step 3: The team notarizes your document, reviews the submission package, and prepares it for government processing.
Step 4: Mirzoyan Immigration submits directly to the government for expedited in-person processing.
Step 5: Your apostilled document is returned — often within the same business day.
This same-day path is only available in Toronto. Every other province in Canada requires mail-in submissions with multi-week processing times.
Mirzoyan Immigration's extended hours — 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Friday — mean early-morning notarizations leave the full government business day for processing and return.
If your deadline is especially tight, contact Mirzoyan Immigration before your appointment to discuss the fastest available route for your document type.
Apostille for Documents Issued Outside Ontario
Ontario's government authority can only apostille documents that were issued or notarized within Ontario. If your document came from another province or from the federal government, it cannot be apostilled through the Ontario process directly.
But there is a practical solution available through Mirzoyan Immigration in Toronto.
Certified True Copy — The Toronto Workaround
An Ontario notary public at Mirzoyan Immigration can prepare a certified true copy of a document originally issued anywhere in Canada. The notary compares the photocopy against the original, certifies its accuracy, and applies their official seal.
Because the certified true copy was notarized in Ontario, it becomes eligible for apostille through Ontario's process. This is often significantly faster than mailing your original to another province's authority.
Mirzoyan Immigration regularly handles this for clients whose documents were issued in provinces such as Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and others. The notarization and apostille submission can happen on the same day.
Important: Not every receiving country or institution accepts a notarized copy in place of the original. Mirzoyan Immigration will advise you on whether this approach works for your specific destination before proceeding.
Federal Documents
Certain documents issued by the Government of Canada — such as RCMP police certificates, IRCC citizenship certificates, and federal corporate records — must go to Global Affairs Canada (GAC) for apostille. GAC accepts mail-in submissions only, and processing takes approximately 20 business days. [VERIFY: Confirm current GAC processing time.]
If your apostille involves both Ontario-processed and federal documents, Mirzoyan Immigration's RCIC team can coordinate both streams — preparing Ontario submissions for same-day processing and handling GAC submissions by mail in parallel.
Mistakes That Delay or Derail Your Apostille
Every rejected apostille submission costs time. Some cost deadlines. Each of the following mistakes is one that Mirzoyan Immigration's process is specifically designed to prevent.
Using a Commissioner Instead of a Notary Public
This is the number one reason apostille submissions are returned in Ontario. A Commissioner for Taking Affidavits stamp is not the same as a notary public seal. The government will not accept it.
At Mirzoyan Immigration, every notarization is performed by a licensed Ontario notary public whose credentials are current in the government system. You never have to worry about this distinction.
Submitting a Plain Photocopy
The government requires original documents or notarized certified true copies. An unmarked photocopy regardless of how clear it looks will be returned unprocessed.
If you need to retain the original, Mirzoyan Immigration prepares a certified true copy with the notary's seal. That seal transforms a photocopy into a valid submission.
Seal and Signature on Different Pages
The notary's seal and signature must both appear on the same page as the document content. If they are on a separate page, or the seal impression is too faint to read, the submission is rejected.
The Mirzoyan Immigration team checks seal clarity before your document leaves the office. If an impression is unclear, the notary redoes it immediately.
Sending Documents to the Wrong Authority
Ontario-issued or Ontario-notarized documents go through one process. Federal documents go through another. Sending a document to the wrong authority means it comes back unprocessed.
Mirzoyan Immigration identifies the correct authority for every document during your appointment and routes the submission accordingly. You do not need to figure this out on your own.
Missing a Required Translation
The government will not process documents in a language other than English or French without a certified translation attached. Missing the translation means a full restart.
The team at Mirzoyan Immigration confirms whether a translation is needed when you first describe your documents. Arrange translation beforehand, and the notary will certify it in the same session.
Forgetting a Return Envelope for Mail-In Submissions
Some documents must be submitted by mail. Forgetting to include a prepaid return envelope means your documents may be returned without tracking.
Mirzoyan Immigration handles return logistics as part of the submission process, ensuring your apostilled documents are returned safely and on schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Your total depends on the document type and the preparation it requires. Most documents need notarization before the government will issue an apostille. Mirzoyan Immigration's notary fees start at $19.95 for the first notarization and $14.95 for each additional. Government processing fees are charged separately. For a personalized estimate, contact Mirzoyan Immigration with a description of your documents.
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Mirzoyan Immigration is located in Toronto. The team handles everything from notarization to government submission and document return. Same-day appointments are available Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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Same-day notarization is available at Mirzoyan Immigration. In-person government processing can be completed within hours for most document types. That means you can go from unnotarized document to apostilled document in a single business day. Mail-in processing takes approximately 15 business days.
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Item description
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Yes. An Ontario notary public at Mirzoyan Immigration can prepare a certified true copy of a document issued in another province. The notarized copy can then be submitted for apostille through Ontario's process. The team will confirm whether your destination country accepts notarized copies before proceeding.
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Both are issued by the same government authority in Ontario. An apostille is for documents going to Hague Convention member countries — over 120 worldwide. A certificate of authentication is for non-member countries. The apostille typically means you do not need further legalization at a foreign embassy.
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Yes. The document must be issued within Canada, notarized by an Ontario notary public, and accompanied by a certified translation. Mirzoyan Immigration can notarize the document and the translation attestation in a single appointment.
Conclusion
Getting an apostille in Toronto does not have to mean navigating government offices, decoding eligibility rules, or risking rejections over technical details.
When you bring your documents to Mirzoyan Immigration, the process is handled for you. The team notarizes your documents with the correct Ontario notary public seal. They review the full submission package for compliance. They submit to the government on your behalf and return your apostilled documents when they are ready.
If your apostille is connected to an immigration case — a police clearance for sponsorship, a birth certificate for a citizenship application abroad, a diploma for an international work permit — the RCIC team makes sure your document strategy supports the full application. Notarization and immigration advice under one roof, in a single appointment.
Same-day appointments. Over 250 five-star reviews. A licensed RCIC and paralegal who understands the notarization and the immigration case behind it.
Book a notary appointment at Mirzoyan Immigration to get your apostille handled from start to finish. Or schedule a consultation if your apostille is part of a larger immigration application.
