I had my documents certified at the Canadian consulate in San Francisco. They do it Wednesday mornings by appointment. Regular notaries in California can't do the required certification. I don't live in San Francisco, so getting there was a hassle, but I didn't see a reasonable alternative.
Who Can Certify Documents in the US?
- Thread starter Keith Moon
- Start date
I did my certifications with a public notary at the UPS store, and it was accepted at by IRCC. They don't stamp the actual copy anymore, but a "California Copy Certification By Document Custodian" form instead, and the notary did write and sign the "I certify that this is a true copy..." statement per the instructions on each copy. But had I known that the consulate could certify copies, I would have done that instead at the same time I went to pay the fee
.I live in San Francisco Bay Area. I am trying to have my documents copy certified at the Canada Consulate in San Francisco (for the purpose of applying for the Citizenship Certification). I have no idea how to book a Wed appointment. It is frustrating trying to reach someone in the Consulate. Luckily, this is not a life and death matter.
I spent hours calling the consulate's "General enquiries, questions or comments" Telephone: 415-834-3180. But there is no one answer the phone, and it just goes into loops. On Menu item 4, the voice recording does say that the consulate will copy certified documents with an appointment. The problem is how to get an appointment booked.
Also - I have looked through the Consulate web site for online appointment booking, and found none available.
http://international.gc.ca/world-monde/united_states-etats_unis/san_francisco.aspx?lang=eng
I sent an email requesting an appointment. So far, I got an automatic response, and no mentioning of an appointment. I have no idea if someone will reply later or not.
Does any one know where/how to book an appointment with the Canada Consulate at SF?
Thanks,
/Tina
I spent hours calling the consulate's "General enquiries, questions or comments" Telephone: 415-834-3180. But there is no one answer the phone, and it just goes into loops. On Menu item 4, the voice recording does say that the consulate will copy certified documents with an appointment. The problem is how to get an appointment booked.
Also - I have looked through the Consulate web site for online appointment booking, and found none available.
http://international.gc.ca/world-monde/united_states-etats_unis/san_francisco.aspx?lang=eng
I sent an email requesting an appointment. So far, I got an automatic response, and no mentioning of an appointment. I have no idea if someone will reply later or not.
Does any one know where/how to book an appointment with the Canada Consulate at SF?
Thanks,
/Tina
UPDATE:
I was born in the US. My father is Canadian, and my mother is a US citizen. The Canadian consulate in San Francisco certifies documents for Canadian citizens on Wednesday mornings each week. You need to call and leave a voicemail to schedule the appointment. There are no charges if the certified documents are being used to apply for proof of Canadian citizenship. However, they will need to see proof you are applying (or have applied) if you want to avoid the charges. I completed this process last month. Thank you to the person who DM’ed me with this info.
I was born in the US. My father is Canadian, and my mother is a US citizen. The Canadian consulate in San Francisco certifies documents for Canadian citizens on Wednesday mornings each week. You need to call and leave a voicemail to schedule the appointment. There are no charges if the certified documents are being used to apply for proof of Canadian citizenship. However, they will need to see proof you are applying (or have applied) if you want to avoid the charges. I completed this process last month. Thank you to the person who DM’ed me with this info.
Tina, I made my appointment entirely by email to get the consulate in SF to certify my documents. The email address I used is SFRANG@international.gc.ca. It can take several weeks to make the appointment, especially if the time slot you need is already taken. However, while the process itself was impersonal and time-consuming, my actual contact with officials there was excellent, both by email and in person.
Good luck!
Last edited:
Thank you for the info. Yes. After being frustrated trying to get to a live person, I did send an email to the SFRANG@international.gc.ca requesting an appointment. As mentioned in my posting, I got an automatic reply, basically saying that SF Consulate won't process immigration. Your info makes waiting for a "real" reply easier. I was worried that my email went in a black hole and it is a fool's errand trying to make an appointment by that email.
I have a trip to Ottawa coming up shortly. I am wondering if it might be easier to take all the documents and have them copy-certified in Canada? Has anyone done that? If you have, did you encountered any issues (for example, passports, birth certificates are issued in California)?
Last edited:
I was waiting for someone more knowledgeable than I am to reply to your question, but since so far no one has, here's my opinion.
Notary publics in Canada are not the same as in the US. In the US, requirements vary from state to state, but generally require just passing a test. In Canada, most notary publics have gone to law school and are barristers or solicitors, with some exceptions such as some government employees. My impression is that any Canadian notary public can make certified true copies of documents, so I would think that taking them to Canada to have it done would be satisfactory.
However, I am not an authority on this. I was in your position just six months ago, living in the San Francisco Bay Area and wondering how to get certified true copies. For me, going to the Canadian consulate was easier than visiting friends in Canada and having it done there (which I considered), but if you're going to Canada anyway, it may be an easier way for you to do it.
One other consideration: the consulate won't charge you if you're doing it for a citizenship certificate (be sure to pay online first and bring your receipt). I assume that a notary will charge you for the copies.
I hope that someone here who knows more than I do will weigh in on this and correct me if I'm wrong.
Notary publics in Canada are not the same as in the US. In the US, requirements vary from state to state, but generally require just passing a test. In Canada, most notary publics have gone to law school and are barristers or solicitors, with some exceptions such as some government employees. My impression is that any Canadian notary public can make certified true copies of documents, so I would think that taking them to Canada to have it done would be satisfactory.
However, I am not an authority on this. I was in your position just six months ago, living in the San Francisco Bay Area and wondering how to get certified true copies. For me, going to the Canadian consulate was easier than visiting friends in Canada and having it done there (which I considered), but if you're going to Canada anyway, it may be an easier way for you to do it.
One other consideration: the consulate won't charge you if you're doing it for a citizenship certificate (be sure to pay online first and bring your receipt). I assume that a notary will charge you for the copies.
I hope that someone here who knows more than I do will weigh in on this and correct me if I'm wrong.
Last edited:
I also did certifications with public notary and it was accepted as well.I did my certifications with a public notary at the UPS store, and it was accepted at by IRCC. They don't stamp the actual copy anymore, but a "California Copy Certification By Document Custodian" form instead, and the notary did write and sign the "I certify that this is a true copy..." statement per the instructions on each copy. But had I known that the consulate could certify copies, I would have done that instead at the same time I went to pay the fee
They just did a copy certification by document custodian but did not write and sign on each photocopy (per instruction).
https://www.notaryrotary.com/archive/forum/2013/October/Asking_for_help_from_CA_Notaries_re_certifying_copies_.html
COPY CERTIFICATION BY DOCUMENT CUSTODIAN
I, ________________________________________________ of legal age,
(Name of document custodian)
being first duly sworn, hereby swear (or affirm) that the attached reproduction of
_____________________________________________________________________
(Description of document(s))
is a true and exact copy of the correct and complete original document.
_____________________________________________________
Signature of document custodian (Affiant)
=======================================================
State of California
County of ________________________
Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on this _______ day of _______________ 20_____, by
________________________________________________________________
proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) who appeared before me.
_____________________________
(Seal)
I showed the notary the instructions about the requirement to write the "I certify that this is a true copy.." statement on the document.
I have a similar question, but slightly different circumstances. I live in the US and I need to have my father's birth certificate "certified" to apply for citizenship,by IRCC instructions. The birth certificate was issued from Quebec's Directeur de l'état civil and is only a couple of months old. The birth certificate is printed on the special security paper and looks quite impressive. There is even an on-line option to verify the certificate and whom it was issued to.
I plan to send in this certificate with my application, not a copy of it. What will "certification" do for this document? Where can go to get it certified?
Thanks,
Rick
I plan to send in this certificate with my application, not a copy of it. What will "certification" do for this document? Where can go to get it certified?
Thanks,
Rick
Nothing, as you are sending your father's original birth certificate. Certification is only for copies of documents, not originals. If you send in any original document, the caveat is that it may not be returned to you.
That was my initial thought as well and that is what confuses me. The IRCC instructions clearly state that the birth certificate must be "certified". The original is in the hands of the Directeur de l'état civil and I think I have a copy of the original, as sophisticated as it is. I'm not worried about not getting the document back as I ordered several extras.
If it is a photocopy, then it has to be compared to the original and verified as a true copy by a public notary (i.e. certified) because it lacks security features that the original would have like raised printing or seals, watermarks or holograms. Any copy you get from the government can be used as an original, unless it states it is or is stamped as a copy. Here is how they defined "certified":
- copies must be certified, meaning a person approved by us must compare the original document to the copy and confirm that they are the same.
Just to be clear, if you send the certificate you received from the government of Quebec, you don't need to do anything else. I sent the certificate (of my father's birth) I received from the government of Ontario and that was accepted. I did not get it back.