Requirements vary enough between provinces to warrant a consolidated summary. This is particularly useful for applicants whose documents cross provincial lines.

Notary public or lawyer licensed in Ontario. Wet-ink signature required. Official stamp (rubber) or embossed seal required. Date required. For certified true copies: "true copy" wording required in the notarial statement.

ODS does not accept digitally signed or RON-notarized documents. The notarized copy must be a physical paper document.

Documents requiring notarization before ODS: anything not in the direct-apostille category (pre-January 2019 postsecondary credentials, pre-July 2023 court documents, private documents, foreign documents presented as copies).

Notary public or lawyer registered in BC. Same wet-ink and seal requirements. For documents going to BC's OIC Administration Office: the original document must also have been issued in BC - out-of-province originals notarized in BC require GAC or another authority depending on routing rules.

BC-specific: the OIC Administration Office verifies signatures against its registry of BC notaries and lawyers. A notary from another province whose name is not in that registry cannot produce a document BC will apostille.

Notary public licensed in Alberta. Alberta's Ministry of Justice explicitly requires documents to be notarized by an Alberta notary public only for certain categories (private documents, copies of corporate records, powers of attorney). Wet ink, stamp or seal, and date required.

Notary public or commissioner licensed in Saskatchewan for documents going to Saskatchewan Authentication Services.

Civil-law notary licensed under the Notaries Act of Quebec for notarial acts. Lawyer licensed by the Barreau du Québec for lawyer-signed documents. Both categories require prior verification by CNQ or Barreau respectively before the Ministère de la Justice apostilles the document.

For documents going to GAC: the notary must be licensed in the province where the notarization occurred. GAC checks the notary's name against the registry it holds for that province. For private documents from non-authority provinces, the notary must be licensed in that province.