Vital statistics documents are the most frequently apostilled Canadian records. The process for each type has distinctions based on format, province of issue, and destination requirements.

Order the original from the provincial Vital Statistics office that issued it. The relevant office is in the province where the birth was registered - not where you currently live.

Ontario birth → ServiceOntario 

BC birth → BC Vital Statistics 

Alberta birth → Service Alberta (registry agent) 

Quebec birth → Directeur de l'état civil

Decide between long-form and short-form based on what the destination requires:

• Citizenship applications, foreign birth registration, dual citizenship, marriage abroad → long-form (with parents' names) almost always required
• Simple visa application where identity and age are the only concern → short form may suffice

The certificate must be full-size and unlaminated. If the only copy you have is a wallet card or a laminated certificate, order a new original before doing anything else.

Modern polymer vital statistics originals in Ontario, Alberta (within date cutoffs), BC, Saskatchewan, and Quebec go directly to the relevant provincial authority without notarization.

Follow the same process as birth certificates - submit the civil registration original to the relevant authority. Religious-ceremony-only marriage certificates (church, mosque, synagogue, temple records that were not also registered with the provincial government) are not apostilleable. They are not public documents under the Convention. The apostilleable record is the civil registration issued by the provincial government.

Required for international estate settlements, inheritance claims, pension transfers, and marriage applications where a previous spouse has died. Submit the Vital Statistics original to the appropriate authority.

Funeral home death certificates differ from Vital Statistics registrations. BC accepts funeral home documents if signed by a funeral home employee. Not all provinces do. Check the specific provincial authority's guidance.

Divorce documents sit at the intersection of vital records and court documents.

• Certificate of divorce issued on or after July 10, 2023 → apostille directly without notarization
• Certificate of divorce issued before July 10, 2023 → must be notarized or reissued from the originating court

Reissued divorce certificates carry a new signature and date. They are eligible without notarization. Request a reissue from the court where the divorce was originally filed.

In other provinces: divorce certificates go to the relevant provincial authority or GAC (for non-authority provinces), with notarization requirements depending on how the certificate is signed and the issuing court.

Divorce orders and judgments (the full document setting out divorce terms) are court documents. They require the court clerk's original signature and an embossed court seal before apostille submission.