British Columbia Apostille for Documents Used in Türkiye

British Columbia documents are apostilled by the B.C. Authentication Program at the Order in Council Administration Office of the Ministry of Attorney General. Every document authenticated in the province on or after 11 January 2024 receives an apostille certificate.

The office checks the capacity in which a document was signed. Documents signed or sealed by someone acting as a commissioner for taking affidavits, or under any other non-notary designation, are not authenticated.

Requirements by document type

Only original B.C. Vital Statistics documents are authenticated, and originals can be ordered from the B.C. Vital Statistics Agency. Court documents must also be originals issued by a B.C. court, not photocopies, and should be stamped and signed in ink by a court employee.

Notarized documents, such as a power of attorney for Türkiye, must be signed, dated and sealed by a B.C. notary public, who may be a lawyer or a non-lawyer and should already be on file with the office. Certain federal Canadian documents are accepted only if they were notarized in British Columbia.

Documents issued by B.C. private education institutions must be notarized before they are sent. Original documents from B.C. Registries and Online Services must be notarized in some cases, for example when they lack the Registrar's signature.

There is no walk-in service. All requests go by mail or courier to the B.C. Authentication Program with the printed, signed and dated request form.

Next step in Ankara

Once the apostille is attached, sworn translators in Türkiye translate the document into Turkish at our Ankara office. A Turkish notary certifies the translation if the receiving authority requires it, and that authority decides on acceptance.