Canadian Court Documents and Divorce Papers for Türkiye

For court documents, Canadian offices look closely at how the paper was signed and sealed. A divorce order needed in Türkiye has to come from the court in a form the apostille office recognizes, and each office describes that form a little differently.

Global Affairs Canada accepts court orders and judgments without notarization when they bear the original seal, signature and printed name of a judge, registrar or clerk of the court; other court documents must be notarized. British Columbia asks for original court documents, not photocopies, stamped and signed in ink by a court employee. Saskatchewan likewise accepts only originals issued by a Saskatchewan court.

Dates, seals and districts

Ontario draws a line by date. Documents of the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice issued as of 10 July 2023 need no notarization, while court-issued documents from before that date still do. A divorce order issued in 2020 therefore goes through a notary first.

Alberta's rule for a Certificate of Divorce is about the seal: the clerk of the court must sign it originally and seal it with an impressed court seal.

In Quebec, rulings of the Court of Québec, the Superior Court and the Court of Appeal, and divorce certificates, are requested from the clerk's office in the district where the ruling was handed down.

Recognition in Türkiye

After the apostille, translators sworn in Türkiye translate the court document into Turkish at our Ankara office, with notarization of the translation where the Turkish authority requires it. How a Canadian divorce is recognized is decided by the Turkish authority. The table lists the office for each jurisdiction.